August 11, 2014: Over 200 Teamsters turned out on August 9 in Louisville, Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio to hear Fred Zuckerman, Sandy Pope, Tim Sylvester and Tony Jones talk about the growing coalition to take back our union in 2016. 

The meetings were sponsored by Take Back Our Union.

The Dayton meeting drew Teamsters from Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Columbus and Lima, Ohio, as well as Dayton, and a few who made the trip from Indianapolis.

A packed hall in Louisville showed their agreement with the speakers that our union is going in the wrong direction and it’s time for a change. Members from Local 89 were the largest contingent but there were also Teamsters attending from Atlanta Local 728, Chattanooga Local 519, Paducah, Kentucky Local 236, Owensboro, Kentucky Local 215 and a carload from Columbus, Ohio Local 413.

Each speaker spoke to aspects of what it will take to win: a grassroots mobilization, getting delegates elected at the local level, member-to-member contact and info distribution, fundraising, organizing ongoing campaign committees, local meetings, and so much more.

Sandy Pope, the president of New York Local 805, ran for General President in 2011 and has a long record of experience and service to our union. Fred Zuckerman, president Louisville Local 89, was an outspoken critic of concessions in the recent UPS contract.  Tony Jones is the president of Columbus Local 413; he and Zuckerman ran for International vice president in 2011. Tim Sylvester is the president of New York Local 804, where he and an active membership won the best UPS contract supplement in the country.

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the Louisville meeting.