Local 528 Mourns Death of Carhaul Member

Local 528 in Atlanta is mourning the death of a 12-year carhaul member who died January 4, 2009 from injuries he suffered on the job.

Mike Pratt, 47, was a driver for Allied Automotive Group in Lawrenceville, Georgia. On December 8, 2008, he was preparing to unload a vehicle on the head ramp when he fell from his truck. He suffered massive injuries.

According to a letter prepared by a coworker to Pratt’s fellow Teamsters before he died, when Mike fell from the truck and the nurse arrived to help him they had his Teamsters jacket under his head, but he asked them to remove it because he could not breathe. When his wife, Becky, arrived at the hospital all Mike could tell her was to find his Teamsters jacket. She told him that they would get him another one, but he said, “No, they do not make them like this one anymore.” They did find the jacket and Becky has it with her.

The note said the family just wanted his fellow Teamsters to know just how proud of being a Teamster worker he is and that he is going to miss his job and all the wonderful friends he has made along his long road as a car hauler.

Before the union could send the note out, Mike died.

“We all thought the world of Mike and he will be missed,” said Don Toney, President of Local 528. “We, Local 528, want to express our condolences to the Pratt family. Mike was a good Teamster.”

A fund has been set up to help the family with expenses. To donate, make your check payable to the “Fund to Benefit Mike Pratt” and mail it to the Chattahoochee Bank of Georgia, P.O. Box 2397, Gainesville, GA 30503.