“They are in the trenches with us” is the sentiment being murmured by Teamsters all across the country in reaction to the near-constant presence of International Teamsters leadership at worksites and locals across the country. General President Sean M. O’Brien, General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, National Freight Division Director John A. Murphy, and Assistant Director Danny Avelyn joined alongside Teamsters Local 41 leadership as they toured multiple job sites on October 24th across the Kansas City region.

  The entourage of union leaders visited a YRC terminal, an ABF terminal, and UPS Teamsters at multiple locations across the city to talk about issues facing membership in their industry. O’Brien and the accompanying union leaders took time to speak to stewards at each site and talked to members about upcoming national contract negotiations in 2023 and what the international union is doing to restore faith in the freight industry. O’Brien warned UPS Teamsters to be prepared for a contract fight that could potentially result in a strike if the corporate giant doesn’t cooperate with the needs of the working-class. 

  On October 25th, hundreds of Teamsters met at a downtown hotel in Kansas City for the Teamsters Central Regional Meeting – the last of four meetings held this month to provide locals with a transparent update on what the International has accomplished and is currently working on under the O’Brien-Zuckerman administration. General President Sean M. O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman were joined by National Freight Division Director John A. Murphy and Assistant Director Danny Avelyn as well as Airline Division Director Joe Ferreira. The Teamster leaders discussed issues including: the union’s top priorities in core industries, organizing wins, and strategies to protect UPS Teamsters and freight members while building worker power at Amazon. Retired US Navy SEAL and motivational speaker Jon Fussell, who gives talks on teambuilding and leadership, also spoke at the meeting.

  “The international leadership is out fighting alongside our membership because they understand that we have to be a fighting union again. The O’Brien-Zuckerman administration has shown that they want to be in the trenches alongside us, fighting for the best possible contracts for our membership and listening to what our members want from on the ground,” said Local 41 President Ralph Stubbs. “Our job is to respond to this support from our leadership at the international level by building stronger member-to-member relationships and preparing for any outcome in contract negotiations in 2023.”

  “Local 41 was happy to host our international leadership and give them the opportunity to directly engage with our membership. You can easily see the impact they’ve already had, and will continue to have, on our union,” said Local 41 Vice-President Susan Barthol-Turner. “At the end of the day, our strength is only found in our membership. They know that and are coming directly to the members to make sure we are ready to fight together. They know that Kansas City is essential to presenting a unified front in 2023.”