Teamster Women Enlist as Member Organizers
Teamsters at the 2009 Teamsters Women’s Conference eagerly filled a meeting room, all anxious to get in on the excitement. Knowing that organizing is the future of their union, these women came to help build that future.
“This is my union,” said Charlotte Click, a member of Local 519 in Knoxville, Tennessee. “I’m a member of it; I pay dues; and I want to know all that I can and help all that I can help. Like the army, I want to be all that I can be.”
Attending the Member Organizer Boot Camp workshop was nothing like military boot camp training. It did not include a physical endurance challenge, but it did pump up the participants, as they learned how to communicate with other workers and found out about further opportunities for getting involved.
“I have to support the Teamsters, not to mention support the women in any way I can,” said Sidney Plummer, a member of Local 299 in Detroit. “It gives you a good feeling when you see everyone with their energy up. I want to be an organizer because times are hard and what do workers have to lose? They have a lot to gain.”
Getting Involved
The Teamsters Union has set a goal of recruiting and training 1,000 new member organizers by the end of 2009. The union needs volunteers from every part of the country in every possible job classification.
In recent months, weekend boot camp trainings have been held at Joint Councils and locals. Members have given of their time to attend the training sessions, which generally include an active component, such as a leafleting, a rally or house calling on a current organizing campaign.
“I wanted to take it upon myself to at least get that first step of education, and the training was really good. We took various organizing situations and came up with ideas on how to handle them. There were a lot of interesting points of view that people came up with and shared,” said Carrie Bateman, a member of Local 886 in Oklahoma City and a driver at UPS.
“I got a lot of good pointers on how to approach people and have an open communication line with other workers so they will feel comfortable coming to me to talk about the union,” said Mary Gavin, a chief steward with Local 495 who works at Hertz and who wants to help organize within her industry. “The most important place to be is in a union job. To me, it’s like having a warm blanket on a cold winter day.”
For more information on how to sign up to become a member organizer, contact your local union, Joint Council or the Organizing Department at 202-624-8718. Read more about the Member Organizer Boot Camp.
