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October-December 2007
NEW UPS AGREEMENT The National Committee is meeting with the dissatisfied units and will identify and address the concerns of their members. The National Master Agreement was approved by a 65.03% margin. Although it will be a while before the final results will be certified, the vote breakdowns are available on the International Union’s website. The Teamsters Union represents more than 240,000 hardworking men and women who work at United Parcel Service. Some 28,000 of them work in the Western Region. About 5,000 of them are members of Joint Council 28-affiliated Locals. The largest JC-28 UPS Local by far is Local 174 with some 2,200 UPS members. JC-28 UPS LOCALS’ VOTING And the JC-28 Rider was solidly okayed by the UPS voting members in JC-28 affiliated Locals 38, 58 (Oregon), 174, 231, 252, 313, 589, 690, 760 and 839, by a 71% majority. On their part Local 174’s voting UPS members approved the National Master by 54%, the Western Supplement by 58%, and the JC-28 Rider by 57%. EARLY APPROVAL A TOUGH TASK
The IBT — pending the remaining Supplement/Rider settling — achieved early approval of the new Pact, as the UPS members had stated they wanted done in several surveys conducted by the IBT approximately a year-and-a-half ago. The new five-year UPS National Agreement addresses the top concerns of the UPS members, which were pensions and health care. Ballots for the proposed changes to the National Master UPS Agreement, Supplements and Riders were mailed to UPS Teamsters October 25th-26th. National-level bargaining wound down when some 300 Representatives from UPS Locals across the U.S. unanimously voted to endorse the then-tentative new UPS National Master Agreement Thursday, October 11th at a meeting in San Diego. Securing early approval of the UPS Master, Supplements and Riders took hard work by many people, including rank and filers. The final member discussion in 174 took place October 13th at a special UPS Contract Explanation Meeting in the JC-28 Tukwila HQ’s Main Auditorium. All proposed language changes in the new Master were reviewed. BIG ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Major gains in the new Contract include:
DHL NEGOTIATIONS CONTINUE
Formal Teamsters-DHL Negotiations began October 9, 2007. The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee has met continuously since then with representatives of DHL to secure a new DHL National Master Agreement. Appointed by IBT General President Jim Hoffa, the National Committee comprises representatives of Locals from around the United States that represent members working in every aspect of DHL Express’s business. Representing Local 174 on the National Committee are Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks and Senior Business Agent Tim Allen. SECRETARY-TREASURER’S MESSAGE: “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” DEALING WITH CHALLENGES A YEAR OF TESTS DURING 2007 TURNING POINT FOR NEGOTIATIONS This was a vision designed to encourage conscientious spending by passing more of the premium on to the actual user. Their vision has paid huge dividends in a very short period of time. For many years, prior to the escalating H&W increases of 2000-2002, your negotiators had much less resistance getting your Employers to agree with “Full Maintenance of Benefits” language — meaning your Company would pay whatever the increases were regardless. Since then the rising cost of Health Care has been the number one fight at the bargaining table in every negotiation. With the newly designed Plans performing as projected and with the expected pattern of minimal increases emerging; hopefully we can get back on track negotiating “Full Maintenance of Benefits” language in all our contracts. This has been a priority for my Administration. Another area we can be thankful for is the responsible actions of our Western Conference Pension Trustees. The tremendously unpopular (once again, I said it when it happened and I will remind you again) “short term” decision to reduce future accruals until the Trust could stop the hemorrhaging of the funds, was an absolute must at the time. The stock market had three successive years of losses and the fund lost $5 billion. This move was always intended to be temporary in spite of what those who chose to play politics with it said. As we can all see their Plan worked to perfection and the Trustees have announced that the WCT Pension Fund is once again fully funded and the multiplier will be restored to the traditional 2.65% for Teamsters over 20 years of service and 2.0% for Teamsters under 20 years of service on January 1, 2008. This will result in significant increases to your Pension’s accruals in the future. YOU ARE THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS YOUR UNION MEETINGS ARE IMPORTANT
Members Attending Learn How Local 174 Is Run By Its Elected Leaders & Help Them Plan For The Future By BILL McCARTHY, Communications Specialist As this Teamster Record went to press, Local 174 had held eight of its nine 2007 General Membership Meetings, with the last one set to come up on Thursday, December 13th at 7 p.m. As always the December GMM will be at the Main Hall at the Joint Council 28 Headquarters Building in Tukwila. Many items of consideration are on the agendas of the GMM's. As those who have attended 2007 GMM's can tell you, a major part of the time at these meetings has been spent reviewing ongoing, upcoming or recently completed negotiations. In 2007, the Local’s leadership conducted bargaining of contracts for about 75% of its approximately 7,000 members. The Local 174 elected leaders, the Local’s staff members, outside experts, and guests talk about many issues important to the Local’s membership. At the GMM's, many individual Local 174 members ask to speak on the open microphone for various reasons. In the photos to the right are three who did so at the Sunday, September 9th GMM. Michael Raines, who works at Allied Waste-Rabanco, thanked the Local for sending him to the 2007 A. Philip Randolph Institute’s Annual Convention recently, and reported on what went on at the event. Donny Jones, member at Boeing, thanked those present for allowing him to drive the Local 174 Truck in the then-upcoming September 15th Convoy to raise funds for the Special Olympics, Washington State Chapter. About 200 Washington trucks participated, and some 3,000 trucks nationally drove in the event. Boeing, of course, sponsored Donny. And Rolly Brazel, who works at Horizon Lines, thanked the Local for paying his dues during his recent five years of active duty in the Army. (You can read about Rolly’s Armed Forces experiences below.) LOCAL 174 TRUCK HELPS 763 & HIGHLINE STUDENTS
On October 11, 2007, Local 174 helped Sister Teamsters Local 763 solve a problem. The Highline Public Schools Sea-Tac Occupational Skills Center had been offered a donation of over 200 televisions to help the students with fundraising, from VMC in Redmond, Washington. The VMC Company does testing for Microsoft’s Xbox hardware. But Highline had no way to transport so many TV’s. The Highline School District employs many Teamster members who are in Local 763. When Evie Gradilla, Business Agent with 763, heard about this problem, she called Local 174 for assistance. Local 174’s Truck, driven by 174 Trustee/Organizer Gary Bolen, soon arrived in Redmond. Gary, with help from Evie and several Local 763 school bus drivers, tested, stacked, shrinkwrapped and loaded the TV’s into the 174 Truck. Then it was off to Highline. When they arrived at Highline, there were more than 20 students and a forklift waiting to unload this generous donation. The students had lots of questions about the Teamsters and one student stated that her dad worked at Safeway and was a Local 174 member. UPS FREIGHT WORKERS’ HISTORIC PACT
While the National UPS Master Contract was being negotiated, important connected bargaining was taking place but not receiving much public attention. UPS Freight Workers in Indianapolis, Indiana ratified a historic first-ever Contract with the IBT in a 107-1 vote. The Teamsters and UPS Freight had reached a Tentative Agreement September 30th. The Contract, which covers 125 dockworkers and drivers who belong to Teamsters Local 135 in Indianapolis, improves wages, benefits and working conditions and will serve as a model to organize thousands of other UPS Freight employees nationwide, President Jim Hoffa said. It also provides employees the protections of a grievance procedure to fight unfair management decisions, something workers have fought hard to achieve. “For more than 50 years, workers at UPS Freight’s predecessor, Overnite, fought to win a Teamster Contract,” Hoffa added. “Today the Union fulfilled its promise that we would not quit until workers achieved economic justice. Now we will help thousands of other UPS Freight employees win the same protections and guarantees on the job that the Indianapolis workers have.” Now that UPS Freight workers are in the Teamster family, said Hoffa, the IBT will focus future organizing on FedEx Freight. “This is a historic day,” said Ken Hall, Director of the Teamsters Parcel and Small Package Division, who was Lead Negotiator. “Thousands of Overnite workers fought hard for this day to happen. We won’t stop till all UPS Freight workers have the secure future they deserve by working under a Teamster Contract.” IBT & TMI EXCHANGE NATIONAL MASTER FREIGHT PROPOSALS
IBT leaders made significant progress in October, the IBT News Service reported, during negotiations involving Supplements, and the Union exchanged National Contract proposals on November 26, 2007 with Trucking Management, Inc., the primary multi-employer bargaining arm of the unionized Freight Trucking Industry. "The leaders from Freight Local Unions accomplished a great deal during October, giving us strong momentum in the 2008 National Master Freight Agreement negotiations," said Tyson Johnson, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division. "However, some Supplemental issues need to be resolved in the coming weeks." But the major Supplemental issues are resolved. As talks proceed, the Union’s goals include increasing job security, securing members’ pensions, and health & welfare benefits, and creating more Teamster Freight jobs. "Our members have done a great job giving us input through the Contract Surveys and Local Union meetings," Johnson emphasized. "We wouldn’t be this far along without our members’ help, and we will be calling for their help and support throughout the negotiations. Together we’ll negotiate Supplements and a National Contract that will give our members and their families a brighter future." THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, LES!
By BILL McCARTHY, Communications Specialist No one knows how Les Albright, who is now an energetic 85-year old, has done it and still continues to do it. That even includes his wife Jean, who is 83 and knows him best. He has been amazing Local 174, Joint Council 28, and the Teamsters General Retirees Club with it for years. It, for those unfamiliar with Les, is his hobby as a Master Collector. Les, for decades, has collected many things — in fact his and Jean’s home in North Seattle looks a bit like a Museum. Knickknacks of many kinds are proudly displayed in abundance. Les is a guy who lives in the present, looks forward to the future, but believes it is vitally important that we remember and value the past. Also, he just simply likes to collect things — including fancy rocks, weird pencils, teddy bears, Washington State sales tax tokens from a past era, dated railroad nails, garden hose nozzles, colored glass insulators from the tops of phone poles, and some 5,000 buttons from many sources, such as political campaigns. Fortunately for Local 174, one of the main things Les has collected through the past six decades or so, has been 174 mementoes — old contracts ... literature from political contests and initiative campaigns both inside 174 and in the Seattle, County and State Arenas ... outside community newspapers and 174 magazines and newspapers ... and his specialty, the Local 174 Union Buttons given to 174’s members through the years. On November 13th of this year, Les gave Local 174 a batch of his historical 174-related “stuff,” something he does every now and then — kind of like a necessary clearing-out to give him room to collect still more. Back in 2002 Les gave Local 174 a collection of its Union Buttons passed out from 1964-2002, which have been mounted and are on display in the Local Office. The things he gave 174 this time — picked up to Les’s surprise by 174 staff members who arrived at his home in the 174 Teamster Truck — included more 174 Union Buttons to update the Button Display, and big piles of old contracts, literary publications and handouts important to 174. They are now in the Local Office, too, near Les’s previously donated items. Thanks, Les. Also, if you visit the Albrights’ home, you’ll see some of Les’s handcarved and handpainted Native American-style art, including the two pieces in the photo on this page ... handmade designed scale-model homes ... and Northwest scenic photos he’s taken over the years during his travels. Les packs a lot into his days. Les joined 174 in 1947 as a toll collector on the Mercer Island Floating Bridge. In 1949 he moved on to driving trucks for Troy, Empire and Kirkland Laundries. In 1952 he worked as a rug delivery driver for D.A. Burns & Co. From 1953 till 1982, when he retired, he drove general delivery trucks for Frederick & Nelson. He and Jean have been married 65 years. Les continues to be known in retirement to veteran JC-28 folks as the “Local 174 Button Guy.” Les tells anyone who’ll listen how grateful he is for the earlier regu-lar active income and benefits, and now the retiree’s pension, provided over the decades by the IBT and Local 174 — helping him, Jean, and in the past son Richard and daughter Cathy, live great lives. Horizon Driver Spends 5 of Past 7 Years In ‘War On Terror’
FEATURED MEMBER: ROLLY BRAZEL By BILL McCARTHY, Communications Specialist Those at the September 9, 2007 General Membership Meeting heard from one of Local 174’s many “heroes” who are now or have been serving in the U.S. Armed Services during the post-9/11/2001 “War on Terror.” He was Rowelette “Rolly” Brazel, 18-year Tacoma Teamster driver, who first spent 13 years with Local 741 and the past 5 at 174 after the merger of the two Locals, all with the same employer. His employer has had three incarnations during his 18 years — 8 as “Sealand,” then 3 as “CSX,“ and the past 7 as “Horizon Lines.” Almost all of the past 5 of his 7 Horizon years have been spent actively serving in the War. Rolly had asked to step to the microphone at the GMM to thank Local 174 for paying his dues during his two 2-1/2-year tours. The Local happily pays dues like it did for Rolly for all its active Service men and women. Discharged At 60 All 174 members living here in the safety of America’s Homeland owe Rolly and others like him who fight for our Freedom much gratitude. No matter what people’s individual views of the hostilities involving the U.S. in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, or elsewhere are — everyone admires the courage of the men and women in our volunteer Military Service. Many of them have served in the Middle East during our “War on Terror.” Nearly 4,000 of them have died, nearly 30,000 of them have come back wounded physically, and 100% of them have been injured mentally and financially. Our Freedom has cost many of our active Armed Forces members a lot already, and some of their future troubles will be big ones. Rolly like many other patriots joined the Service to aid America — but as his lengthy stay in uniform indicates, he has sacrificed more than many, because of his extraordinary expertise. Master Sergeant Brazel Rolly’s first 2-1/2 year tour involved two years at Fort Lewis and 6 months in the Middle East, most of the time in Iraq but some of it in Afghanistan. His second 2-1/2 year tour was all spent at Fort Lewis. He said, “Like the others serving, I just did the job my country needed done. I don’t argue about why we are at war, but the fact is, we are, and our Forces will do whatever we can to achieve our military goals.” He keeps his family matters private, except to admit, “It hasn’t been easy during the past few years, but we have coped with the challenges.” Rolly personally was in many dangerous situations in Iraq during his first tour. He recalled, “My Medic team members and I were all over Iraq, including in the Green Zone at Saddam Hussein’s big main former Palace in Baghdad. We were in the field most of the time. Rockets and mortar rounds around us got to be routine.” He added, “It is painful to watch the ever-increasing death and injury tolls on both the U.S. and the Iraqi sides. Many thousands of families have been hurt. The scope of the tragedy grieves me deeply.” BROKEN WHEEL
The following Local 174 members passed away recently, or suffered the loss of relatives. We offer our most sincere condolences to them and their surviving families and friends.
LOCAL 174 NEWS & VIEWS At Coca Cola, as we go to press, Erv reports he is currently in negotiations with the Checkers that are trying to get a contract that will take care of their needs and get them closer to the rest of the Teamsters at Coca Cola. The other Teamsters at Coca Cola are giving their support to the Checkers, which is greatly appreciated. Herche Transfer Teamsters have a new agreement in place and they are very busy. Erv says we have several challenges at Pepsi. It seems that the employees have had many changes handed them by the Company. The Company is now two Companies with the same management, and the same location; however, it appears that the solidarity has been weakened. We need to strengthen the solidarity at the Company. By contrast, at Shasta Beverages, everything at Shasta seems to be running smoothly, The Shop Stewards keep everything running smoothly. In addition to the guys at Herche Transfer, the members at United Warehouse have a new Contract in place and the Company is trying to keep the warehouses full. The outlook there is favorable at this time. Business Agent Dave Jacobsen has been involved with the Metal Trades negotiations with Foss Maritime. They voted down the last and best offer from the Company. We will be conducting a strike vote. Please stay tuned for any future actions that might take place. Praxair in Ferndale, WA voted to accept their contract. Highlights: full MOB, Pension increases, and wage increases. Dave has also been fighting many work jurisdiction issues at Woodinville Lumber. As busy as he has been, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dave Jacobsen for all his help while I was gone last month at DHL National Negotiations. Thanks to being appointed to the DHL National Negotiating Committee earlier this year, my summer and now the fall has been very busy (see story on page 1). In between all the travel that has entailed, I have been busy with other negotiations. XPEDX negotiations have certainly proved to be very challenging, and with the unanimous rejection of the employer’s offer by both our drivers and the warehousemen represented by Local 117. This is an employer who certainly doesn’t understand the current job market as far as class A drivers are concerned. For probably the first time since I started my Teamster career nearly 30 years ago, Class A drivers are finding jobs plentiful and all of our other negotiations have benefited from the high demand and short supply for class A drivers. After the rejection, we met again with the employer who seems entrenched in their unrealistic position. We continue to assess our options — along with other Locals in throughout the West who are also in bargaining with the employer. Patent Construction negotiations which have dragged on since April, appear to finally be ending as we go to press. I want to thank Chad Rowden for his assistance at the table. Chad has really stepped up during this process, and Business Agent Tom Mann and I really have appreciated all his help. He has represented his fellow workers well. After 30 years, longtime Steward Ron Hadford has retired from the Seattle School District. This has led to several grievances there concerning the District’s attempts to replace someone who is (based on all the controversy) irreplaceable. Steward elections are also in progress there. Speaking of retirements, American Steel Steward Mike Bender has headed out to pasture. DHL bargaining on the Local Rider began November 28th. Change has been the central theme in these negotiations on a national level, as the Company tries to reinvent itself in an attempt to compete with the “Big Two.” This need to change challenges all of us associated with the Company. The Local Rider negotiations will be more about stability, as we seek to make sure those local provisions that are unique to us continue on under the new National Agreement. ON THE JOB INJURY?
The prime user of the PCE is UPS, but it appears to be spreading. It is used primarily when an employee with an on-the-job injury has been cleared by their attending personal Physician to return to work with little to no restrictions. Before agreeing to return an employee to work, the employer (or the employer’s third party administrator) requires an employee to pass a PCE. The PCE is a series of strength and physical dexterity tests. It is supposed to be used along with your job analysis. A job analysis sets out the actual physical demands of the essential functions of a job, such as requirements for sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, etc. A PCE should measure your abilities to perform the physical requirements on your job. BUT it looks to us like the PCE’s are going way beyond the requirements of the job. For example, you may be rated unfit for duty because you can’t lift 100 pounds over your head, even though you are not required to lift 100 pounds and you are not required to lift anything over your head. If you “fail” the PCE, the employer will not allow you to return to work, setting in motion the closing of your claim. L & I uses “medical preponderance” to determine your ability to return to work. If you have been sent to an Independent Medical Exam and had an unfavorable result, and you then get sent to a PCE and get an unfavorable result, your claim may be closed. NOTE ON INDEPENDENT MEDICAL EXAM If you are asked to go to a PCE, you should do the following:
174 POLITICAL ACTION
By MICHAEL GONZALES As 2007 draws to a close we have had many changes in our local political landscape. The biggest of these has come at the Port of Seattle and Seattle School Board. Both Alec Fisken and Bob Edwards lost their Port Commission seats in this last election. Alec personally has been a huge supporter of Labor and working class families and will be sorely missed. The Local would like to thank him for the job he did while in office. Also, Darlene Flynn and Sally Soriano both lost their seats on the Seattle School Board to a group of candidates heavily financially sponsored by a wealthy Eastside millionaire. Both Darlene and Sally ran a good grassroots campaign but eventually lost after being outspent 3 to 1. Both of them were responsible for saving over 80 Teamster jobs this year and this Local will support them in whatever they choose to do politically in the future. So what is ahead for us in 2008? The Governor’s race is shaping up to be the most expensive race our State has ever seen. I would not be surprised to see both sides combine for expenditures exceeding $15 million. Governor Chris Gregoire has been the best Labor Governor in our State’s history and all of Labor in Washington State must do their part to keep her in office. We will be calling on our membership to get out the vote in 2008 — so get ready. TEAMSTERS HISTORY
TOBIN-BECK GOINGS-ON ALTERED 174 By BILL McCARTHY, Communications Specialist The International Brotherhood of Teamsters just distributed another in the fine series of books it has commissioned about Teamsters Union history — a biography entitled “Daniel J. Tobin: A Teamster's Life,” by author Joy M. Copeland. Who was Tobin? The IBT was chartered in 1903. Its first General President, Cornelius Shea, shakily kept the fledgling Union going for its confusing first four years. Then, at the 1907 Convention, the delegates elected a dynamic new General President, Dan Tobin, who proceeded to lead the IBT for the next 45 years. Tobin was probably the most successful Teamster General President of them all. But this column is not about his glory days. His battle for power with the third IBT General President, Dave Beck, is what interests us here. Tobin’s replacement by Beck as the top Teamster, led to instability in Washington State that caused the emergence of 174 as a maverick Local still loyal to JC-28 but with a mind of its own. Turmoil within JC-28 led to the publishing of this newspaper. The inaugural issue of the Local 174 Teamster Record came out on October 20, 1958. WHY CARE ABOUT IBT HISTORY?
In the Preface to her narrative about Tobin, Copeland writes:
THE RISE OF DAN TOBIN Tobin rose through the ranks, ran, was elected IBT General President in 1907, and finally stepped aside as Teamster CEO in 1952, making way for Beck. Tobin during his 45-year Presidency saw the Union’s membership rise from 38,905 to 1,120,245. BECK’S WESTERN CONFERENCE Copeland writes: “Dave Beck, a former laundry truck driver, began his Union career as a Teamster organizer in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. When the NLRA was signed by Roosevelt giving employees ‘the right to organize, and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing,’ Beck rounded up everything on wheels in Seattle. Beck understood business and was comfortable making arguments on its behalf. He was actually able to convince employers that by paying higher wages, they would create stability and thereby make more profit.” Tobin knew his throne was threatened. Looking back, Copeland explains: “At first, Tobin viewed the growth of a potential competitor from the West with suspicion. Beck’s organization was making tremendous gains... There was not supposed to be any formal organization unit beyond the Joint Council. But Beck had decided to form a Western Conference of Teamsters and was able to persuade Tobin that his Conference idea posed no threat to the authority of the International.” The strategy behind Beck’s Conference model was unique and very sound. Writes Copeland: “The purpose of the Conference was to facilitate close cooperation among the West Coast Unions which were separated by long distances and sparsely settled territory... Beck’s Western Conference consisted of representatives from the Joint Councils and Locals of 11 Western States, plus the Canadian Province of British Columbia. Its headquarters was Beck’s home territory in Seattle. Under its umbrella, Beck was able to solidify Teamster strength across the region and with area-wide bargaining power it was able to raise wage rates for the entire region. The 11 States of the Western Conference contained 13-percent of the U.S. population, but represented 25-percent of Teamster membership.” Tobin soon realized Beck was a major rival for his post. Copeland writes: “Tobin decided that instead of fighting it, he would focus on the positive aspects of what Beck and the Western Conference had managed to accomplish. He praised the Conference's methods of administering the Union’s affairs as ‘a most worthwhile contribution in advancing the interest of the IBT,’ and de facto, recognized Beck as the ‘boss’ of the region.” In 1940, Beck was elected an IBT Vice President. In 1947 the IBT Convention delegates re-elected Tobin as General President and authorized him to appoint an Executive Vice President to assist him. Copeland relates: “Tobin was 75-years old and the job of running a behemoth organization with nearly 900,000 members was demanding. That age rationale was sufficient to create a senior position for someone to help him carry the burden of his higher office. Although, the new position’s primary purpose was to alleviate the upward push for power and to provide recognition for Beck.” Copeland writes: “Although the Convention’s action did not stipulate who Tobin must choose, no one was surprised when Tobin named Beck the new Executive Vice President, second only to himself. From then on, Beck, who had been considered the crown prince of the West, was now the heir apparent to the Teamster Presidency... As the new Executive Vice President, Beck traveled outside the Western region and gained recognition in the rest of the country.” Soon the old warrior and his younger challenger, who was 58 in 1952, were in open combat. Something had to be done. Notes Copeland: “Beck’s Western Conference continued to prosper, using tactics of which Tobin disapproved. News accounts had Tobin and Beck ‘warring behind the scenes’ over what was called Beck’s ‘union raiding and empire building.’ In a secret Executive Board meeting, which could only be characterized as a ‘showdown’ between the two men, Beck emerged as the victor... [T]he Board did not agree ... that the tactics Beck used to grow the Union were improper. The Board, in fact, gave Beck’s West Coast operations a clean bill of health.... In the summer of 1952, Tobin reluctantly announced that he would not be a candidate for re-election and would instead support Beck as his successor.” Beck took over the captaincy of the IBT ship at the start of 1953. Tobin faded away. Soon, the many external and internal political and legal shock waves of the turbulent Beck Era led to the development of the stubbornly militant, independent, ornery, and sometimes self-destructive entity that Local 174 still is today more than half a century later. In the January-March 2007 Teamster Re-cord, we reviewed developments that affected 174 during the Beck-Frank Brewster-George Cavano years. Beck, as President of JC-28 and Laundry Drivers Local 566 Secretary-Treasurer, put Washington State’s and especially Seattle’s Teamsters on the Regional, National and International stages. Brewster, Beck’s chief of staff and successor as JC-28 President and Director of the WCT, accompanied Beck nearly everywhere except to jail. Eventually Cavano, Brewster’s successor as Secretary-Treasurer of General Local 174, felt 174 needed a stronger public image in and out of the Labor Community than the frequently absent Brewster was giving it. With Brewster more concerned about WCT and IBT tasks than about helping publicize 174 in the JC-28 paper, Cavano took the journalistic bull by the horns and launched the Teamster Re-cord. Local 174 continues to speak out forcefully and has no intention of ever stopping. |
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