New Englanders Join Teamsters Boot Camp

Member organizers from the Boston area spent a recent Saturday at Teamsters Local 25, learning how to tell their Teamster story and spread the union message.

Bright green T-shirts bearing the boot camp logo were given to every participant by the local, which the members proudly wore for a big group picture.

Nearly 200 participants attended the program. The group consisted of Teamsters who have worked as member organizers in the past and who came to the training to hone their skills, as well as members newly interested in this successful program.

The member organizer program reached Teamsters General President Hoffa’s goal of recruiting more than 1,000 new member organizers in 2009. The program is continuing well into 2010, training, recruiting and putting Teamster members on the ground and to work as member organizers.

"What a great day for Local 25. Our members demonstrated their deep commitment to growing our union as member organizers. They were engaged in the program throughout the day. It made me proud," said Sean M. O'Brien, President of Local 25.

A very important piece in the day’s program dealt with “Delivering the Teamster Message by Telling Your Story.” Several members, as well as O’Brien, shared with the participants their own personal, touching stories of why being a Teamster makes a difference.

“This was a very inspiring part in the program. I believe the members learned how to convey the union message of prosperity, unity and hope by personally relating it to their own lives,” said Claudia Galloway, Senior Trainer and Program Coordinator with the International Union.

“This seminar helped me see how the union may look to a nonunion worker and how an employer may use tactics of fear to stop workers from forming a union,” said Tara Kirby, a member of Local 25 who works at UPS. “It was useful to learn that by sharing our own personal stories, it may help workers see past the employer’s deception.”

“I found the part on house calls very useful. The session on listening and using examples from your own personal stories helps us show how a union is relevant to nonunion workers,” said Bill Cliff, a Local 25 member.