Tim SylvesterMay God Bless Ron Carey and his family at this at this tragic time of his passing.

He was taken too early, not just with his death, but he was taken from us ten years ago by a system that didn’t allow anyone as good as he was to remain in power in our union.

He knew that it was time to change the way unions operated, to create strategies that could beat corporate greed by empowering rank-and-file members and including families in the labor movement. He was a threat to Corporate America and to old guard Teamster officials who feared him because he threatened their bottom line and made them look impotent in comparison.

To those of us who knew him he was Ron or Ronnie. To some in the union he was “the General President” or “Mr. Carey.” How jarring that was the first time I heard it, because here in Local 804 he was one of us.

We are all better for having known him.

God had certainly blessed the members of Local 804 for all the years that our friend and leader spent with us.

I miss him already and I am not ashamed to say I loved him. He was my friend.

Tim Sylvester, Shop Steward
Local 804, New York