In my first blog I talked briefly about the organization I have been interning for: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters. I want to take some time and share more in depth about who the Teamsters are and what they strive to achieve.
The Teamsters Union is the largest union across North America and organize workers in both the private and public sector. Overall, they organize workers who want to bargain collectively and negotiate a contract. The Union then works to enforce said contract and invokes contract grievance procedures if a management chooses not to. When comparing union and non-union jobs, benefits and wages under Teamster contracts are significantly better than non-union employees in a similiar career. Teamsters are actively working to secure their members job security, decent wages, health coverage, fair promotion, paid time-of and retirement income.
More specifically, I was interning for Local 763 of the Teamsters. My father who is currently Secretary-Treasurer of this local is one of my biggest role models. The saying "you tend to follow in your families footsteps" seriously applies to me when becoming interested in a career field. My mother also works for the Teamsters Life with Dues, which is a program provided to full dues-paying Teamsters. Along with that, my Uncle works for Teamsters Local 174 representing UPS workers. My family history with the Teamsters goes way way back and my interest in this career field grew bigger and bigger from when I was a small child.
James P. Hoffa is the General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and has been recognized for his leadership and accomplishments throughout his Teamster history.
My father (left) and I pictured with
General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James P. Hoffa
Thanks for taking the time to ready my blog! Enjoy your day!
Renee
(Blog 2)
This is good stuff Renee. Prior to coming back to school to work on my graduate degree in Public Administration I was Vice-President and Chief of Staff for a local labor organization representing Az state Correctional Officers.
ReplyDeleteWe can call each other union sisters, Renee! I am currently interning for Arizona AFL-CIO. I have always been a strong union supporter in terms of what they do, but wanted to learn more about how they function from the inside, hence applying for this internship. I am their legislative intern so I track what kinds of bills and such are happening in the Arizona Legislature that affects members of the unions. I am sure we face similar challenges in regards to that! Maybe one day I'll have the opportunity to meet you at a function.
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