Pete Camarata Explained

Pete Camarata
Birth Date:	September 7, 1946
Birth Place:	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Death Place:	Chicago, Illinois
Occupation:	Labor movement activist/leader

Pete Camarata (born September 7, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan) was a Teamster labor activist and one of the founders of Teamsters for a Democratic Union a rank-and-file union democracy movement organizing to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters.

Early years

Camarata was born in Detroit, Michigan, the auto capital of the world. Pete was the son of a United Auto Workers organizer, Caspar Camarata who worked for Packard Motor Car Company.^[1]

Teamster activism

At the young age of 29, Camarata was the solo TDU affiliated delegate to the 1976 Teamster convention, where he spoke out against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters leadership. He was later beaten unconscious for his opposition.^[2]

Death

Camarata died of renal cancer at the age of 67 in Chicago, Illinois, on February 9, 2014.^[3]

Notes and References

1. News: Martin . Douglas . Pete Camarata, Who Fought Fellow Teamsters for Reforms, Dies at 67 . 29 April 2020 . New York Times . 15 Feb 2014.
2. News: Baker . Bob . Teamsters Wrestle With New Image in Remaking Union : Labor: Under U.S. supervision, doors open for reformists and younger candidates to challenge established leadership at convention. . 29 April 2020 . LA Times . 28 Jun 1991.
3. Web site: Martin . Douglas . 17 February 2014 . Pete Camarata, 67; fought fellow Teamsters for reforms - The Boston Globe . 2024-07-14 . BostonGlobe.com . en-US.