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Joint Council 69 Mobilizes Indiana Teamsters

October 8, 2009

“My coworkers and I formed our union with the Teamsters in 2009. Our union has changed peoples’ lives and has given us hope. It means no more rule changes. I can go to sleep at night and the next morning the rules will be the same,” said Brent Wolf, one of Local 135’s newest members.

Wolf works in the AmeriCold warehouse in Indianapolis. He helped explain to fellow Teamsters what an employer campaign looks like when you are fighting to form a union during an Organizing Bootcamp held in Indianapolis.

More than 50 Teamsters from Joint Council 69 in Indiana joined together on October 3 to attend the Bootcamp. The session was opened by Danny Barton, President of Joint Council 69 and took place at Local 135’s historic hall. Members from the warehouse industry, freight, bakery, the public sector, beverage and others united to discuss and practice strategies to increase Teamster membership.

Brian R. Buhle, Vice President of Teamsters Joint Council 69 and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 135, praised members who commit time to helping their union grow stronger.

“On behalf of the executive board of the joint council, I want to the volunteer members from across the state who have stepped up to help their locals grow.”

Robert Rans, a 30 year Teamster road driver at USF Holland and member of Local 364, explained that as a child, he grew up on a farm and saw his parents work hard every day for little pay. Today, because of his Teamster membership, Rans owns a farm, has good benefits and is able to live well.

Now, he wants to help his non-union neighbors achieve their dreams and goals, which is why he decided to become a volunteer member-organizer.

The Organizing Bootcamp is a joint program conducted by the Teamsters Organizing Department and the Department of Training and Development. The Bootcamp trainings are designed to recruit and deploy 1,000 new Teamster member-organizers by the end of the year. For more information, contact your Local Union, Joint Council, or the Organizing Department (202-624-8718).