In a bitterly fought election, Steven Dayan has knocked off incumbent Leo Reed to become the new head of Los Angeles-based Teamsters Local 399.
Dayan, the local’s business agent for more than a decade, won 56% of the 2,354 votes cast, while Reed, who has headed the local for 24 years, managed 43% of the vote, the union announced Tuesday.
Reed served eight terms as secretary treasurer of the powerful union, which represents 4,500 transportation coordinators, location managers, casting directors, animal handlers and drivers. The Teamsters are critical allies for Hollywood’s other labor guilds because that their front-line presence gives them the muscle to shut down production in the event of a strike.
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More than half the local’s members voted in the election, an indication of how closely contested the race was.
Dayan said he was fired from his job as a Teamsters business agent in July after he told his boss he wanted to run against him. In his campaign he said that Reed, 74, had lost touch with the rank-and-file and criticized him for having two relatives on the union payroll.
Reed called Dayan and his supporters “traitors” and said they were pro-management.