Business Agents

 Rich Abitia, Business Agent

Rich represents UPS.

Rich’s Teamster career first began in 1997, when he was hired as a UPS holiday helper. In 1998, he started work on the Local Sort, and became a full-time UPS driver at the Pacific building in 2004. He served as a Shop Steward for over two years, and joined the team at Local 174 as a Business Agent in February 2019. He is excited to take on his new role representing UPS Teamsters on a larger scale.

Rich’s UPS jurisdiction includes: Pacific Drivers and Local Sort; Port of Tacoma Drivers.

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Kerry Breakfield, Business Agent

Kerry represents: First Student

Kerry comes to us from First Student, where she was a school bus driver for 18 years. She spent five years driving a K-12 big bus, and the last 13 years driving special needs children from pre-k to 12th grade for all Seattle Public Schools. She served as a Shop Steward for 7 years.

She is excited to join the team so that she can passionately represent our school bus drivers and fight for their rights on the job.

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Ted Bunstine, Senior Business Agent/President

Ted represents: American Water Enterprises, UPS.

Ted is Local 174’s President and its United Parcel Service Division Director. He has been a Teamster since 1979 when he was hired by UPS, and has been a Steward and Alternate at UPS. He was a Local 174 Business Agent during the Bob Hasegawa and Scott Sullivan Administrations, and was a member of the UPS Bargaining Committees during the 1997, 2002, 2007, 2013, and 2018 UPS Negotiations. He was an Alternate Delegate to the 2006 and 2011 IBT Conventions, and a Delegate for the 2016 and 2021 Conventions.

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Kris DeBuck, Business Agent

Kris represents UPS.

Kris joins us after working at UPS for over ten years, first as a package car driver and then as a feeder driver. He was a shop steward at the Seattle UPS building for eight years, and has been a strong Teamster activist within the UPS membership throughout his career.

He is excited to have the opportunity to represent our members at UPS, who have shown such passion and support for the labor movement. He is looking forward to fighting hard for the members of one of the most militant Teamster Local Unions in the country.

His UPS jurisdiction includes: Redmond Preload and Drivers; Tukwila Preload, Drivers, and Local Sort.

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Ron Dong, Senior Business Agent

Ron represents UPS.

Ron Dong has been a Teamster at UPS since 1989, where he worked for three years as a part-timer and then 25 years as a full-time package car driver out of the Seattle building. He was a shop steward representing the needs of his Seattle coworkers for 11 years before finally making the jump to represent his Brothers and Sisters across UPS as a Local 174 Business Agent.

Ron’s experience with UPS and the Teamsters goes beyond the walls of the Seattle UPS building, as he has served as a Delegate to the IBT Convention in 2011 and 2016 and was a member of the UPS Bargaining Committee during the 2013 UPS Negotiations.

Between the decades spent behind the wheel of a UPS truck, and his years serving his UPS Brothers and Sisters as a shop steward, Ron has a firm grasp of the types of issues that are faced by UPS members and is more than ready to handle them as a Business Agent.

His UPS jurisdiction includes: Seattle Drivers; Shoreline Preload, Local Sort, and Drivers; BFI Sunrise and Drivers.

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Carl Gasca, Senior Business Agent/Recording Secretary

Carl represents: ACME Farms, Active USA, all Heavy Construction, Northwest Auto Transport, Rail Terminal Services, Safeway, Safeway.com.

Carl’s Teamster career began in 1984 when he joined Teamsters Local 741 as a dock worker at Pacific International Express (PIE). In 1987, he learned the difficult carhaul trade, and continued his career as a carhaul driver for 16 years. During his tenure in the Teamsters carhaul division, Carl also began pursuing leadership positions and was elected shop steward for eight years.

Soon after Local 741 merged with Local 174 in 2002, Carl left the carhaul business and started driving for Safeway in 2003. At Safeway, he also served as a shop steward and was elected to the Bargaining Committee in 2005.

Carl was recognized for his leadership ability and was asked to run as a Delegate with Rick Hicks in 2006. He was elected Trustee for Local 174 on the 2007 Rick Hicks slate, became a Business Agent in 2007, and was elected as the Recording Secretary in 2011, a position that he still holds. He was elected as a Delegate to the Teamster Convention in Las Vegas in 2006 and 2011, and was an Alternate Delegate in 2016.

After more than 30 years as a Teamster, Carl remains deeply committed to fighting for the rights of the hardworking men and women he represents, especially in core Teamster industries such as Freight, Construction, and Carhaul. He is known for his no-nonsense approach and rapport with the membership.

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Michael Gonzales, Senior Business Agent

Michael represents:  Boeing, King County, Oldcastle Infrastructure, Port of Seattle, Seattle School District, Utility Vault.

Michael has been a Teamster since 1997, when he started working in the warehouse on the night shift at K&L Distributors. While working at K&L, he got his CDL and became a delivery driver, transporting truckloads of kegs through the narrow streets of Ballard. He became a shop steward at the age of 19, and continued in that role during his entire tenure at K&L.

In 2003, Michael worked as an Organizer at Local 174, helping to organize groups at Columbia Distributors and the Operators at Cedar Grove.

Michael became a Business Agent at Local 174 in 2007. He was an elected Delegate to the IBT Convention in 2006, and was appointed to the Political Committee for the IBT Convention in 2011.

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Brett Lohrman, Business Agent/Organizer

Brett represents: Baker Commodities, Costco MDO, MacMillan Piper, ReNu, Waste Management Eastmont, Waste Management South Sound & Mechanics,  Waste Management Recycle Northwest, Waste Management RST/Tri Star, Waste Management Seattle.

Brett started his Teamster career in 1998 washing garbage cans at Waste Management. A year later, he became a full-time garbage truck driver, and never looked back. He spent nearly 14 years as a Shop Steward helping his Teamster Brothers and Sisters fight for their rights on the job, and will now put those same skills and passion to work for the members as a Local 174 Business Agent and Organizer.

In addition to his time as a Shop Steward, Lohrman has also served on the rank-and-file Bargaining Committee for the last three Waste Management contracts and mid-contract extension. In 2011, he served as an elected Local 174 Convention Delegate at the IBT Convention.

He looks forward to serving the members in the large and growing Solid Waste & Recycling Division, as well as working as an Organizer to help nonunion groups find their voice on the job.

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Ken Marshall, Senior Business Agent/Vice President

Ken represents: Cedar Grove Composting, Clean Harbors, Republic Services Bellevue, Republic Services Seattle, Transervice Logistics, Waste Management Marysville & Mechanics, Waste Management Woodinville, Waste Management North Sound & Mechanics.

Ken became a Teamster with Local 174 in 1994 when he took a job as a driver for the Seattle Times. In 1997, he began working in the Sanitation Industry for Allied Waste/Republic Services, which was known as Rabanco at the time. Unbeknownst to him, he had found the niche where he would spend his career.

In 2006, he was recognized as a future leader during the Allied Waste negotiations as a committee rank-and-file member. He joined the staff at Local 174 as a Business Agent for the Sanitation Industry in June of 2006. He has been representing Sanitation Industry Teamsters for the Local ever since.

In 2009, Ken was elected to the position of Vice President of Local 174, and was reelected to that position in 2012 and 2015. He is a firm believer that solidarity wins strong contracts.

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Adam Murphy, Business Agent

Adam represents: Columbia Distributing, Macy’s Logistics, Veritiv Operating Corp, Bunzl, Vigor Shipyard, Pacific Ship Repair, Bloch Steel, Seattle Iron & Metals, American Steel, EMJ Metals, Alaskan Copper & Brass, WSP CVEO4, WSP CO4, Univar Solutions, Lee & Eastes, Sound Oil, Glendale Heating & Oil, Genesee Fuel & Heating Co.

A Teamster for 23 years, Adam comes out of Columbia Distributing where he had worked in the warehouse on both day and night shifts since November of 2002.

Adam became involved with his Union by serving as the shop steward on both shifts, between 2007 and 2018. He was also nominated and elected to represent his coworkers at every contract negotiation during those years.

Prior to becoming a full time Business Agent in the spring of 2018, Adam served the Local 174 membership as a Trustee on the Executive Board from 2013-2018.

With a passion for the labor movement and protecting workers rights, Adam works diligently to uphold the terms of our contracts and represent our membership.

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Marge Newgent, Senior Business Agent

Marge represents: Construction

Marge comes to us from the Operating Engineers Local 302, where her specific expertise has been in dealing with Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and Community Workforce Agreements (CWAs), which are a major part of the construction industry in Washington. Her impressive background and experience will be a great benefit to the members of Local 174.

Marge comes from a strong Union family. She became involved in unionized construction jobs at an early age, starting an apprenticeship with the Ironworkers in 1986. After an injury, she landed at the Operators Local 302 in 1990, where she worked heavy highway and infrastructure – she ran a forklift, oiled, ran squirt booms and friction truck cranes, and earned a class A CDL. Her next Union job was at Boeing as a crane operator and member of IAM Local 751, before finding her way back to the Operators in 2001. She became a Shop Steward in 2004, and a Business Agent in 2007.

In addition to her work experience, Marge also served as a Seattle Building Trades delegate, MLK Labor Council delegate, and served on the bargaining team for the Operators’ Master Labor Agreement in 2015 and 2018. She was also on the Advisory board for the SVI/PACT pre-apprenticeship program, and was a member of the City of Seattle Priority Hire Advisory Committee.

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Todd Parker, Business Agent

Todd represents: Cadman, CalPortland/Glacier Northwest, Lehigh Cement, Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel, Stoneway Concrete

Todd first became a Teamster while driving for Reddaway. He then became a concrete mixer driver at Cadman Black Diamond, which was nonunion at the time. Unsatisfied with non-Teamster life, Todd led an organizing drive and the group became members of Teamsters 174 in 2005.

Throughout his years as a Teamster, Todd has served on four rank-and-file Bargaining Committees, has represented his members as a Shop Steward for eight years, and was a picket captain and leader on the strike line during the 2021-2022 concrete strike. He has consistently shown himself to be a strong leader and dedicated to the service of his fellow Teamsters, and we are excited to have him join our Business Agent staff.

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Chris Porter Business Agent

Chris represents: ABF, DHL, Reddaway, Reddaway (Western), Peninsula Truck Lines, YRCW.

Chris joins the staff from Reddaway, where he has been a Teamster for over 26 years. He was trained and mentored by his former Business Agent and longtime friend Brian Davis. Brian Davis had always spoken very highly of Chris and his ability, and would be very proud to see him in this new role.

Chris’s time at Reddaway was split between dock work and driving work, as he spent 14 years as a driver and then 12 years working on the dock. He has been an active Shop Steward for 22 years, during which time he made sure to attend every single Steward and Activist Training at Local 174. He has also served on two Reddaway contract bargaining committees, and accepted and was elected as a Delegate on the Hicks slate to represent the members of Local 174 at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention in 2011.

In addition, Chris was instrumental in helping to organize a new group of Reddaway Tacoma workers into Local 174, resulting in over 100 new members of our Local Union.

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Longinue Shipp, Business Agent

Longinue represents: Mondelez, Puratos Bakery Supply, Recology, Recology MRF, Republic Services Kent.

Prior to being hired as a Business Agent, Longinue Shipp has spent the last 16 years working for Waste Management Seattle. He moved to the Seattle area and started with Waste Management in 2005, working his way up and joining Teamsters Local 174 after six months. Since then, he has been active and engaged with his Teamster Brothers and Sisters as a trainer, a lead, a Shop Steward, and Safety Committee Chair. He was also elected to the rank-and-file Bargaining Committee to help negotiate the 2019 Waste Management contract, which was a historic Master Agreement that brought together all Waste Management locations in Local 174 and 231 under one contract.

Longinue is extremely excited to join our family. He has always been passionate about making sure everyone is treated fairly and feels valued, and is especially dedicated to his coworkers’ wellbeing now after living through the COVID-19 pandemic as an “Essential Services” worker.

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Eric Skog, Business Agent

Eric represents: UPS

Eric first became a Teamster in 1994 when he was hired as a temporary peak season worker at the Redmond UPS building. He became a permanent employee in January of 1995, and has served as a Shop Steward since 1998. He was also a Teamsters Local 174 UPS Business Agent for three years. He became a Business Agent once again in February 2019, and  looks forward to putting his experience back to work serving the members.

Eric’s UPS jurisdiction includes: Redmond Twilight and Night; BFI Twilight; Port of Tacoma Twilight and Night; Seattle Twilight; Import.

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Janita Stone, Business Agent

Janita represents: UPS

After 15 years representing members on the shop floor as a Steward, Janita Stone has finally made the commitment to bring her natural leadership skillset to the Teamsters Local 174 staff as a UPS Business Agent. Her years of experience working with and taking care of members on the preload shift will provide crucial voice for these workers as a Business Agent. Her jurisdiction to start will include the preload shifts at Pacific and the Port of Tacoma building.

Janita began her career at UPS in 1992 in the Tukwila building, and subsequently moved to the Pacific building when it opened. She spent most of her years working part-time as a preloader, eventually earning a full-time 22.3 position as a clerk where she continued to represent preload and fulltime inside workers as a Shop Steward. She also served on the rank-and-file Bargaining Committee in negotiations for the Joint Council 28 Rider and Sort Addendum to the 2018 UPS Contract, and was elected to be a Local 174 Delegate to the International Teamster Convention in 2016 and 2021.

Janita’s UPS jurisdiction includes: Pacific Preload, Port of Tacoma Preload, Seattle Preload.

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Abe Taylor, Senior Business Agent

Abe represents: AB Sales of Washington, Coca-Cola Bottling of Washington, Coca-Cola Bottling Co Checkers, HERC, Pepsi-Cola, Shasta Beverage, Southern Wine & Spirits, United Warehouse Co. #4, United Warehouse Co/Gro Ser Center, United Warehouse Tukwila.

Abe is a proud second-generation Teamster whose father worked at Horizon Lines (then SeaLand) for 20 years. His father made sure that Abe always had a solid understanding of the issues facing working people, and he made it clear how lucky he considered himself for having a job at a Teamster company. Abe took these lessons to heart.

Abe’s own career began at non-union Columbia Distributing, and he went about joining the Teamsters the hard way: by organizing his coworkers. After a long and difficult campaign, Abe and his 300+ coworkers voted to join Teamsters Local 174, and he has never looked back.

Abe stayed involved with the Union and eventually met Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks, who encouraged him to get more involved in Local 174. Abe was hired as an Organizer in April 2013, and then became a Business Agent in January 2014. He has found his passion, standing with and speaking for his fellow Teamsters, and is thankful every day for the opportunity to be a part of such a great organization.

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Patty Warren, Director of Negotiations, Director of Collective Bargaining/Organizing at JC28, Senior Business Agent

Patty represents: Motion Picture

Patty Warren has worked in Labor Relations for over 40 years. She started her career with the National Labor Relations Board and has since then worked for a variety of Unions, including 6 years with Local 174 in the 1990’s. In addition to her Business Agent responsibilities Patty is responsible for negotiating all first contracts and is the co-chair with Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks for most of the large contract negotiations. She has experience in negotiations, grievance processing, arbitrations, staff direction, and steward training. She has a wealth of experience and is a valuable resource for staff and members alike.

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Marcus Williams, Senior Business Agent

Marcus represents: APP/World Fuel Services, Armstrong Lumber, Blackstock Lumber, BMC West, Harbor Foods, Huttig Building Products, Matson, Swissport, UPS Feeder Department, UPS CSI, T-Force (formerly UPS Freight), US Foods.

Marcus brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience via the industries he has represented. He got his start as a Teamster at age 19, working at Amerisource-Bergen as a member of Teamsters Local 117. A few years later, at age 22, he became the youngest Business Agent ever hired at Local 117, and covered steel and lumber companies. He swiftly proved his talent and saw his jurisdiction expand to include grocery distribution, food service distribution, public sector, and just about everything in between. He has negotiated hundreds of contracts, and coordinated a team of Business Agents responsible for over 5,000 Local 117 members.

Marcus also has meaningful leadership experience. He was elected to serve as a Delegate to the last two IBT Conventions, and he was appointed to the Local 117 Executive Board as Vice President in 2015. He was then reelected to continue serving in that position until 2019, when he departed Local 117 to join the staff of Teamsters Local 670 in Salem, Oregon.

It was in Salem that he first cut his teeth in the world of UPS, serving as UPS Business Agent – this on top of his roles as food production Business Agent and Organizer. Within UPS, he was responsible for multiple package centers and feeder hubs.