Souvenier Book - Teamsters Local 391 Anniversary Souvenir... · President Jimmy Hoffa and his wife, Jo. More than 1,600 members attended the event. The local union added a branch

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Teamsters Local 391: Serving the Members for 75 Years

Tony Scott,Vice President

Rachel Eitzen,Recording Secretary

Karen Matthews,Trustee

Wayne Gibbs,Business Agent

Keith McCorkle,Assistant BusinessAgent

Rick Armstrong,Business Agent

Vernon Gammon,Secretary-Treasurer

Jimmy George,Trustee

JoCarolyn Wilkins,Trustee

Chris Vaughn,Business Agent

Paris Ware,Business Agent

Mike McGaha,President

Teamsters Local 391Elected

Officers & Business Agents



Scenes from the Local 391 strikes of 1938 and 1939 at Southern Oil Transport, Great SouthernTrucking Company and Mundy Motor Lines.

The Early DaysThe drivers for Southern Oil Transport weremaking $8.33 for a 400-mile trip from Wilmingtonto High Point to Charlotte to Fayetteville in 1938.It wasn’t enough money.

So, the drivers took advantage of the relativelynew National Labor Relations Act, whichPresident Franklin Roosevelt signed into law in1935. They struck the company for recognition ofthe Teamsters, and for a first contract.

“Old Man” Brinson, the owner, was playinghardball, so the struggling Teamsters turned upthe heat. They started signing up the drivers forAtlantic States, which Brinson also owned.

When Brinson caved under the pressure, this“was the beginning of 391” according to J.D.Whitlock, one of the local union’s first presidents.

A delegation of the drivers traveled to Teamsters’headquarters and petitioned for recognition bythe Teamsters union, which obliged, granting the26 drivers an official charter on July 23, 1938.

Many other trucking company employees quicklyorganized, including Great Southern Trucking Co.(later Ryder Truck) and Mundy Motor Lines,which both struck to win recognition. RoadwayExpress and Associated Transport also followed.

As a result, the membership of Local 391 grewfrom about 36 at the end of 1938 to nearly 400 bythe end of World War II in 1945.

The home base of Local 391 changed fromWilmington to Laurinburg in 1939, and then toHigh Point where the local union established itsfirst real office in 1949.

In 1942, Whitlock left his post as president to join theservice, like many of his brothers.


J. D. Whitlock, Local 391’s first president, mans apicket line.

The placard at left appeared on trucks pressedinto service by the Truck Conservation Corps ofthe federal government for the World War IIeffort. Convoys of trucks hauled ammunition andequipment up and down the highways.

World War IIWorld War II had a big impact on the truckingindustry and its employees, as it did on manyaspects of American life.

Tires and fuel were in short supply, and federallyregulated by the Truck Conservation Corps ofthe federal government.

The Corps had the authority tocommandeer any truck and to pressboth truck and driver into servicehauling equipment and material for thewar effort.

Ralph Nelson, who served as president ofLocal 391 in the late 1940’s, recalls: “Theyjust told you what to haul, when to haul it . .. and you carried them there . . . And whenyou drove them out they issued you anenvelope, and your envelope was giving youinstructions where you were going.”


Former Local 391 President Ralph Nelson poses by an Associated Transport truck in 1955.

Local 391 opened its first office in High Point in 1948.

The Growth YearsIn the five-year period from 1945 to 1950, Local391’s membership swelled from less than 400 tomore than 900. McLean Trucking and PilotFreight Carriers signed first contracts during thistime. Meanwhile, other carriers like RoadwayExpress and Associated Transport grew andhired more employees, helping the local union toadd more members.

Organizing victories continued into the 1950’s,including Hennis Freight. However, the major

North Carolina Teamster event of the eraoccurred in 1951, when Local 81, headquarteredin Raleigh-Durham, merged into Local 391.

So much organizing activity occurred in Local391 from 1951 to 1959 that it would beimpossible to detail it all here. Most significantly,perhaps, is the Teamsters union starteddiversifying from its truck driver roots. The unionwas now organizing maintenance employees atthe trucking companies, for example. As a result,Local 391’s membership grew from 930 in 1950to 3,800 in 1960.


Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa and his wife, Jo, are welcomed by members of Local 391 as heopened the local’s new union hall in 1963. Local 391 President Stan Willard is at right.

Local 391 opened an office in Lexington in the1970’s to support an organizing campaign.

A 1974 meeting of Local 391’s rank-and-file.

S.C. “Fat” Jones was an ardent organizer in theearly 1950’s, and served as the local union’spresident. He was succeeded in 1956 by D. StanWillard, who held the presidency for 13 yearsfrom 1956 to 1969.

In 1955, Teamster drivers saw the first area-widefreight contract talks for North and SouthCarolina. These and other area talks around thecountry became a precursor to the NationalMaster Freight Agreement.

In the 1960’s, Local 391 began organizing in theindustrial sector. The Local was growing, and theunion needed a new base of operations to


On September 23, 1968, the employees of Gilbarco struck, demanding a first contract. Gilbarcowas owned by the Esso brand of the Standard Oil Corporation. Local 391 took on the nation’slargest company in this struggle and called for a boycott of Esso products. Shown above, Secre-tary-Treasurer Bruce Blevins drove a hearse in front of the White House to help spread the union’smessage. The members won the strike in February of 1969 and got their first contract.

adequately serve the members. Construction of anew union hall began in 1962 and was completedin March of 1963. The local union also beganpublishing its newsletter, The Voice, that year. Inthe first issue, the union noted that dues receiptstotaled $22,500 for the month – less than one-tenth the normal dues receipts today.

Local 391 held an “Open House” to showcase itsnew headquarters to the membership. This eventwas highlighted by the attendance of TeamstersPresident Jimmy Hoffa and his wife, Jo. Morethan 1,600 members attended the event.

The local union added a branch office in Raleigh-Durham in 1965 to better serve the membersworking in the Eastern portion of the state.

This era launched the union leadership career ofTeamster giant R.V. Durham. He was firstelected Secretary-Treasurer in 1960, and thensucceeded Willard as president in 1969.

The transition ushered in the career of anotherTeamster stalwart, Bruce Blevins, who assumedthe secretary-treasurer’s post and held it until heretired in the 1990’s.

Both Durham and Blevins were committedorganizers, and the total number of members roseabove 5,000 in 1966, to more than 6,000 in 1969.

The Gilbarco CaseIn June of 1968, Local 391 was chosen as therepresentative of Gilbarco employees inGreensboro. This company builds gasolinepumps and was owned by the Standard OilCorporation (Esso). When the company refusedto bargain in good faith, the new Teamsters wereforced to strike on September 23. The battlewaged on for months.

Local 391 did not back down when it took on thelargest corporation in the world. The Teamsterscalled a boycott of all Esso products and went onthe road, in a hearse, to wage its public relationscampaign. Teamster activists rallied in front ofthe White House in Washington, D.C. and on thestreets of New York City. The pressure mountedand the company agreed to a fair contract inFebruary of 1969. So, 400 workers finally had theopportunity to officially join the Teamsters union.


Local 391 kept on growing. By 1976, it had 8,000members. This was the time when CharlieWilliams went to work for the local union as abusiness agent. He later served as secretary-treasurer in the 1990’s when Blevins retired.

By 1977, with 8,598 members, Local 391 wasrecognized as the 17th largest of the Teamster’s742 local unions. Soon afterwards, in 1978, Local391 scored a big victory with an organizing win atthe Miller brewery in Eden. The number climbedagain in 1978 to eclipse 10,000 members.

New Attacks on LaborPresident Jimmy Carter advanced the MotorCarrier Act of 1980, which deregulated thetrucking industry. The new law introduced manynew small truck lines and individual “Ma and Pa”carriers into the business. These changesdecimated the unionized portion of the truckingindustry. The turnover left only the largest ofTeamster firms in business after the turn of thecentury.

Local 391’s membership numbers declined, asdid that of all Teamster freight locals.

This era also saw the rise of an entire industry ofunion busting attorneys to fight union organizingefforts. Their abuses of labor laws rendered the

National Labor Relations Act obsolete, thusmaking it extraordinarily difficult for any union toorganize in private sector industries.

Local 391 countered these shifts by expandinginto the public sector, first by organizing publicschool district employees and then policeofficers. This strategy undid some of themembership losses as the local union saw itsnumbers grow from about 6,000 to more than8,000 in 2007.This growth was remarkable,considering that it occurred at a time whenunions were shrinking across the country.

The list of elected leaders who served themembers of Local 391 also changed as timemarched on. As Jack Cipriani assumed thepresidency in 1995, he did so with union-veteranLeonard Reeder at his side as secretary-treasurer. When Reeder retired, he was replacedby Mike McGaha, who came out of UPS’ ranks.He served the local union as a shop steward,trustee, and as an elected business agent.

McGaha’s talents were recognized by unionheadquarters in Washington, D.C., and he wasasked to serve as Assistant Director of theunion’s giant Package Division, which covers250,000 UPS Teamsters across North America.Claude Gray then became secretary-treasurer.Upon Cipriani’s retirement, Gray was promotedby Local 391’s Executive Board to become thefirst African-American president of the union.

McGaha and his team (who are shown on thefront cover of this book) were then elected in2011 to serve as the leaders of Local 391.

Local 391’s history over 75 years has beendefined by true dedication to the members. Asmall group of 26 truck drivers planted the seedsfor what would become the largest private sectorunion in North Carolina.

The future of Local 391 holds much promisebecause the members of Local 391 are unified inpurpose and, therefore, the union is strong. Ourfuture will continue to be charted by an unyieldingcommitment to strengthening the union, and toserving the best interests of Teamster membersand their families.

When he retired in 2009, Jack Cipriani recom-mended to Local 391’s Executive Board that theyelevate Claude Gray to the post as the localunioin’s first African-American president..


The members of Local 391 first elected R.V.Durham as a leader in 1960. He would becontinuously reelected to serve the local union forthe next 35 years. During this time, he rose toserve as one of the most prominent labor leadersin the U.S.

First elected as Local 391’s secretary-treasurer in1960, Durham became president in 1969. Duringhis time as president, Local 391’s membershipgrew from less than 3,000 to more than 8,000.The local union’s treasury also grew more thanten-fold during this time.

He also served Teamsters nationwide byestablishing the Safety and Health Department at

the union’s International headquarters. In thisrole, he led the fight to overturn a federal ban oftractor-trailer drivers who had open heart surgery.

In 1991, Durham became director of the union’sgiant Freight Division. Serving as the union’schief negotiator for the National Master FreightContract that year, he won increases thatdoubled the members’ pension payments from$1,000 to $2,000 per month under the CentralStates program.

The man who started his Teamster career as along-haul truck driver for Roadway, would laterserve the union as a vice president of theInternational Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Local 391 NamesLocal 391 NamesLocal 391 NamesLocal 391 NamesLocal 391 NamesUnion Hall AfterUnion Hall AfterUnion Hall AfterUnion Hall AfterUnion Hall After

R.VR.VR.VR.VR.V..... Durham Durham Durham Durham Durham

Local 391’s members voted to name theunion’s Greensboro union hall after long-timePresident R.V. Durham in 1996.

Called the R.V. Durham Labor Center, the hallnow bears a plaque and a sign in his honor atits entrance way.

The plaque chronicles R.V.’s 35 year careeras a leader of the union.

Local 391’s membership also voted to granthim the honorary title of “President Emeritus.”

Durham was a top candidate for president ofthe International union in 1991.

R.V. Durham’s 1960 campaign flyer.


Teamster supporters working for Tyson/Holly Farms voted for the union in 1998 but had to wait 6years for their case to make it all the way through the U.S. Supreme Court.

Teamsters Local 391 won ahuge victory when the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that TysonFoods broke the law when it cutoff contract talks with Local 391in 1989, and lowered theworkers’ pay and benefits.

work for the company after it cutpay and benefits.

Following the ruling, PresidentJack Cipriani and Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Reedernegotiated contracts for theworkers.

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“Charlie the Chicken” walkedthe picket line at Tyson, untilthe bosses demanded their“property” back. Charlie hasn’tbeen seen since.

Secretary-Treasurer LeonardReeder (right) shows strikerJohn Danner a documentrequiring Tyson to rehire nearly100 drivers.

The ruling compelled Tyson torehire nearly 100 drivers whowere fired or quit when thecompany slashed pay andbenefits.

The dispute stemmed from aunion organizing campaign thatbegan in 1988 when theTeamster supporters worked forHolly Farms. Tyson bought thatcompany, but refused tonegotiate with the union.

The court upheld the NationalLabor Relations Board rulingthat Tyson must return all 250drivers and yardmen to their1989 conditions of employment.

The workers received back-payawards for the wages andbenefits that they lost becauseof Tyson’s moves.

Tyson also had to rehire andgive back-pay to 47 other long-haul drivers who refused to


Cipriani Helps FBI UncoCipriani Helps FBI UncoCipriani Helps FBI UncoCipriani Helps FBI UncoCipriani Helps FBI Uncovvvvver Dues er Dues er Dues er Dues er Dues TTTTTheft;heft;heft;heft;heft;EvEvEvEvEvents Spur Neents Spur Neents Spur Neents Spur Neents Spur New w w w w VVVVVote Leading to Hofote Leading to Hofote Leading to Hofote Leading to Hofote Leading to Hoffffffa a a a a WWWWWinininininRon Carey’s slim election win over Jim Hoffa forTeamster president was set aside in 1997 whenLocal 391 President Jack Cipriani helped the FBIuncover a scheme to steal dues and to funnel themoney into the Carey campaign.

Carey was indicted by a federal grand jury andwas barred from running for reelection becauseof his role in the complex money launderingschemes.

In all, federal investigators found six techniquesused by the Carey campaign to raise funds forhis reelection. Through these scams, “the Careycampaign improperly raised a total ofapproximately $538,100,” a report said.

Cipriani provided the FBI with a set of memosthat triggered a major probe of a major swapscheme between Carey campaign and theDemocratic National Committee.

Three key aides in Carey’s campaign—includinghis campaign manager—plead guilty to fraud fortheir roles in the schemes.

A newspaper hailed thememos that Ciprianiprovided as “key” to FBI,grand jury and U.S.Senate investigations.

The U.S. Attorney’soffice in Manhattanasked Cipriani to help inits prosecution of thecase. He traveled to NewYork City to help buildthe Bureau’s case.

William Hamilton, aformer official in the

Carey administration, was convicted on six felonycounts and was sentenced to prison time for hisrole in laundering the dues money. Ciprianitestified at Hamilton’s trial.

Cipriani’s actions were also critical to helping theunion recoup some of the stolen dues. OnceHoffa won the rerun election, running withCipriani as one of his vice presidents, theTeamster leaders advanced a claim thatrecovered $425,000 from an insurance company.The firm had sold the International union a bondpolicy protecting Teamsters from lossesstemming from employee fraud.

The Hoffa administration then adopted a toughnew set of election rules that have succeeded inprohibiting any further dues thefts.

Teamsters Local 391 President Jack Cipriani (left) is shown outside of the U.S.Attorney’s Office in Manhattan in 1997, where he helped prosecutors convictcampaign officials for their roles in funneling dues money into Ron Carey’sreelection campaign.

Cipriani gave the documents above to theFBI. They proved to be “key” evidence inuncovering schemes to steal union dues.


Teamsters President-elect Jim Hoffa (left) and newvice president Jack Cipriani celebrate their electionvictories in Washington, D.C.

Cipriani Elected InterCipriani Elected InterCipriani Elected InterCipriani Elected InterCipriani Elected Internananananational tional tional tional tional VVVVVice Price Price Price Price PresidentesidentesidentesidentesidentOn Jim HofOn Jim HofOn Jim HofOn Jim HofOn Jim Hoffffffa’a’a’a’a’s Slas Slas Slas Slas Slatetetetete

HOFFA Pct. LEEDHAM Pct.East 67,531 69% 30,855 31% Local 391 1,882 75% 618 25%South 16,884 65% 9,176 35%West 38,799 64% 22,181 36%Central 66,892 62% 41,242 38%Canada 10,062 67% 4,935 33%TOTAL 200,168 65% 108,389 35%

2001 Vote Results

Jim Hoffa and his entire slate—including Local391 President Jack Cipriani—rolled to bigvictories as Teamster members voted for newunion leaders in 1998.

Cipriani served as a vice president from theunion’s Eastern Region. He received 60,625votes, while the closest candidate from anopposing slate received 40,923.

“I am honored to win because I am deeplycommitted to the members of the Teamstersunion,” Cipriani said at the time. Ciprianiremained as president of Local 391 while heserved as a an International vice president.

The rerun election was held to fill the remainingthree years of Ron Carey’s unfulfilled term ofoffice. Carey was removed as president andbarred from the rerun election when federaloverseers ruled that he took part in a scheme tofunnel dues money into his 1996 campaign.

Teamster members swept the Hoffa slate tovictory in the union’s Eastern, Southern andWestern regions. The new vice presidents joinedHoffa slate candidates from the Central regionwho won in a 1996 vote.

Local 391’s members voted overwhelmingly forJim Hoffa and his slate. Cipriani won 2,308 votesfrom Local 391 members, while his closestopponent got only 881.

Hoffa quickly appointed Cipriani to serve as

director of the International union’s Brewery andSoft Drink Workers Conference.

Cipriani led this 47,000-member unit until 2009,overseeing contract negotiations and grievancepanels across the U.S. and Canada.

Hoffa and his entire team, including Cipriani,were reelected to a full five-year term in 2001.

Rolling to the biggest election victory in Teamsterhistory at that time, the Hoffa Unity Slate won theunion’s 2001 vote by a 2-to-1 margin.

The members of Local 391 voted for Hoffa 1,882to 618, giving him 75% of the local’s vote, upfrom 69% in 1998.

Cipriani won reelection at the union’s 2001convention when the Leedham Slate did notoppose Hoffa’s candidates in the East.

Prior to becoming a business agent for Local391, Cipriani drove a forklift at the Miller Breweryin Eden. Active in the organizing campaign thatbrought the Teamsters union into the brewery,Cipriani was one of the first elected shopstewards at the facility.


When Hurricane Fran hit North Carolina hardin 1996, Local 391 helped out in a big way.

The Red Cross ran its disaster relief programout of the local's Greensboro union hall. A top-flight army of highly-trained Red Cross volunteersdescended on the union hall, taking over thelarge meeting room.

From this "command center," the Red Crossmanaged its entire statewide emergency re-sponse to the storm. Hundreds of disaster spe-cialists, from across the U.S., were deployedthroughout North Carolina from the union hall.Red Cross also used the union hall as a clearing-house of information and support for its disasterfacilities across the state.

It was only a temporary inconvenience forthe local union, but, in the end, Local 391 contin-ued to serve its members without a single com-plaint about the Red Cross. Moreover, manyLocal 391 members volunteered their time andskills to help the relief effort.

RRRRRed Cred Cred Cred Cred Cross Uses Gross Uses Gross Uses Gross Uses Gross Uses Greensboreensboreensboreensboreensboro Union Hallo Union Hallo Union Hallo Union Hallo Union HallAs HurAs HurAs HurAs HurAs Hurricane Fricane Fricane Fricane Fricane Frrrrran Command Centeran Command Centeran Command Centeran Command Centeran Command Center

Local 391President JackCipriani (right)talks withCarlos Perez,a steward atRoadway atthe time, whovolunteered todrive a load ofRed Crossrelief suppliesto Raleigh.


One of the most important sayings around Local391 is – “When you think something is moreimportant than the members, think again.” Thatadage was put to the test in 2008 when a tornadodestroyed the local union hall in Greensboro.

Fortunately, no one was in the building whenthe tornado hit. But it served as an importantreminder that bricks and mortar are only tools tohelp the union serve its members. The union isnot a building, it is each and every member.

The tornado hit on a Thursday evening and bythe next afternoon, plans were in place to obtain

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temporary office space while cleaning up fromthe disaster. Local 391 was open for business intemporary offices the following Monday morning.

Everyone realized that the business of theunion was going to go on, whether it had a build-ing or not, so it was all hands on deck for theweekend after the storm hit. Thanks to the hardwork of Local 391 members, business agentsand staff, the union was able to get up and run-ning again quickly.

Local 391’s entire team pulled together tohelp the union function through the crisis.


Teamsters Local 391 launched a big idea in 2004.

Teamster leaders saw that public school bus drivers, custodians, maintenance personnel andcafeteria workers had no voice on the job. And, they had gone three years without getting a pay raisefrom the state of North Carolina. Thus, they were underpaid, their jobs were threatened bysubcontracting and, too often, they were not treated with respect.

While the public sector was new turf for Local 391, the local union’s leaders believed that there wasreal opportunity to help these workers gain a voice on the job and have better working conditions.

Local 391 built real resources into launching the organizing effort and put a solid plan in motion. Local391’s entire staff got involved in creating an effective strategy. Funding, staffing, target development,community outreach and political influence were all key components of the local union’s arsenal as itlaunched this ambitious new effort.

The local union sought the backing of the union’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. And, when theInternational union’s Organizing Department embraced the program, Teamsters President Jim Hoffacommitted a $118,000 grant to help Local 391 launch the project.

It worked very well. Local 391 reversed years of membership decline due to trucking deregulation andadded more than 1,000 new members. Public employees are now one-quarter of Local 391’s membership.

Local 391 Launches Public Sector OrganizingWith Classified School District Employees

Public school employees quickly got the attention of NorthCarolina’s top elected officials once they joined Teamsters Local391. Shown above, a group meets with Governor Mike Easley.

A group of Guilford Countyschool district employeesmet in Local 391’s Greens-boro union hall as the localunion launched its newpublic sector organizingprogram.

Forsyth County school busdriver Annie Campbell spoke to7,000 people at a 2006 Team-sters’ International Convention.


Teamsters Local 391 secured the appointment ofRaleigh Lieutenant Rick Armstrong to the NorthCarolina Training and Standards Commission,which sets qualification standards for lawenforcement certification. Thanks to Teamsterinfluence, Armstrong was the first rank-and-fileofficer ever appointed to the post.

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Teamster police officers quickly saw an increasein their influence once they joined Local 391.Shown above, Governor Mike Easley meets withpolice members of the local union. The Teamstermembers lobbied the governor to supportlegislation that would protect police officers asthey perform their duties for the public.

Continuing in its commitment to bringingreal resources to its policemembers, Local 391 recently wona major change in state law as itrelates to the safety of policeofficers as they perform theirduties.

The union successfully lobbiedthe legislature to make it afelony for a perpetrator any timea law enforcement official isinjured while in the performanceof his or her duties.

This legislative victory occurredwith a General Assembly thatshows little sympathy for thepositions of unions.

“We were successful because we took acommonsense approach to the legislature andwe made the jobs of police officers safer,” saidRick Armstrong, an elected Local 391 businessagent, who led the Raleigh Police Protective

Association into merging with the localunion on November 28, 2006.

“Now, suspects should know thatthe penalties are going to bemuch greater if they injure oneof the brave men and womenwho protect the public.”

The Raleigh police voted by98% to join Local 391. Soonthereafter, officers in other policedepartments across the statealso signed up with theTeamsters, including Durham,Wilmington, Chapel Hill andother communities.

The police are joining Local 391because of the union’s clout in Raleigh

and Washington.

Moreover, the Teamsters offer the best legalprotections for police officers, who are too oftensued by suspects even when the officers are justperforming their duties.


Local 391 members walk in front of aTeamster tractor-trailer at a parade heldduring a national celebration of MartinLuther King Day in Greensboro, whichwas sponsored by the AFL-CIO.

Donny Brown, who diedunexpectedly whileserving as a Local 391business agent, isinterviewed by a reporterabout the importance ofremembering MartinLuther King.

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Local 391 members joined in a recent rallyfor comprehensive immigration reform atRep. Howard Coble’s office in Greensboro.

Local 391 activists areshown at a recent MoralMonday rally in Raleigh.The protests, sponsored bythe North Carolina NAACP,have brought nationalattention to a legislaturethat has been hostile to theinterests of working fami-lies and minorities.

Local 391 President Jack Cipriani was chosen to serveas a Co-Marshall of a parade (left) in 2005 that wassponsored by the Beloved Community Center inGreensboro. The event called attention to the Truth andReconciliation Commission’s efforts to bring healing tothe city. The Commission studied the lasting impact ofthe 1979 murder of union organizers by the KKK.


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Teamster activists are shown with Kay Hagan (second from left) inGreensboro in 2008 as she campaigned for a seat in the U.S. Senate.As a state Senator, Hagan earned our support. For example, she workedhard to make sure that the state budget rewarded the hard work ofTeamster public school employees with pay raises.

Business Agent RickArmstrong testifies in 2007before a Senate commit-tee, arguing for collectivebargaining rights for publicemployees in NC.

When Burns Aerospace was bought by BEAerospace in 1996, 150 Local 391 membersstood to lose their jobs. The new owners liked thetechnical skills of the Winston-Salem plant, butplanned to save money by moving low-skilledwork to a nonunion plant. After talking with thelocal union however, a new plan was hatched.

The union got Governor Jim Hunt to fund atraining program for 100 Local 391 members toraise their skill levels. As a result, the jobs weresaved when the company moved more skilledwork into Winston-Salem. And, since the unioncontract called for higher pay for skilled work, thenewly-trained Teamsters got a nice raise.

Local 391 Secures Anti-Poverty Program for ClassifiedsGovernor Mike Easley got a bill passed in 2007 that made sure North Carolina stateemployees would not work for poverty wages.However, he did not include classified publicschool employees, who drive buses, and work

as janitors, cafeteria workers and groundskeepers. Local 391 went to work on their behalf,and the Governor agreed to the union’s idea. Asa result, 28,000 classified employees split $8.6million in increased pay to lift them out of poverty.


TTTTTeamstereamstereamstereamstereamsters s s s s WWWWWin Orin Orin Orin Orin Orggggganizing Drianizing Drianizing Drianizing Drianizing Drivvvvve e e e e After 55 After 55 After 55 After 55 After 55 YYYYYearearearearearsssss,,,,,OvOvOvOvOvererererernite/UPS Fnite/UPS Fnite/UPS Fnite/UPS Fnite/UPS Frrrrreight Emploeight Emploeight Emploeight Emploeight Employyyyyees Jees Jees Jees Jees Join Local 391oin Local 391oin Local 391oin Local 391oin Local 391The first Teamster organizing drive to addOvernite workers to the union’s ranks wasinitiated by President Jimmy Hoffa in the 1950’s.

His son, and current Teamsters President,James P. Hoffa, got the job done in 2006, addingmore than 10,000 new members to the union.

Freight organizing had been stalled for years.But, when UPS bought Overnite, a new dooropened for the union. Hoffa announced at theTeamsters’ 2006 Convention that he had secureda “card check” agreement with UPS. This meantthe union could organize the workers simply by

having them sign Teamster membershipapplication cards.

Over a week-and-a-half in the Summer of 2006,more than 200 UPS Freight workers at fivelocations across North Carolina signed up to joinTeamsters Local 391. The organizing effortstarted with the Raleigh terminal and then movedto Fayetteville, Greensboro, Kinston andWilmington.

Teamster headquarters negotiated a MasterContract that brought big gains to the UPSFreight workers who joined the union.

Local 391's UPS Freight members voted overwhelmingly to support their first Teamster contract.


Fighting the Fighting the Fighting the Fighting the Fighting the TTTTTough Fights:ough Fights:ough Fights:ough Fights:ough Fights:Local 391 MemberLocal 391 MemberLocal 391 MemberLocal 391 MemberLocal 391 Members Help s Help s Help s Help s Help WWWWWin Historic UPS Strikin Historic UPS Strikin Historic UPS Strikin Historic UPS Strikin Historic UPS Strikeeeee

Local 391 Secretary-Treasurer Leonard Reederupdates picketers at UPS’ Winston-Salem facility.

The major national Teamster UPS strike prior to1997 was in 1976. The newspaper clip at left isfrom the now-defunct Winston-Salem Sentinel.

97% of Local 391's UPS membersvoted to strike in 2007.

Local 391 strikers in Raleigh (above).

The Teamsters 1997 UPS strike was the biggestwin for the labor movement in decades. UPSersacross the U.S. stood up to the company andwon a better future for themselves.

Local 391’s members joined the national chorusby demanding more full-time jobs. When UPScaved, the new contract created 10,000 of them.

America supported the union and the strikers aspolls showed that the part-time issue resonatedwell with the public.

A scene from the Greensboro picket line.


SeminarSeminarSeminarSeminarSeminars s s s s TTTTTrrrrrain Elected Steain Elected Steain Elected Steain Elected Steain Elected StewwwwwararararardsdsdsdsdsTTTTTo Sero Sero Sero Sero Servvvvve Local 391 Membere Local 391 Membere Local 391 Membere Local 391 Membere Local 391 MembersssssOne of the cornerstones of Local 391’s strengthis its commitment to training shop stewards torepresent the members well.

As the members’ first line of defense for theunion, this training is critical to policing the unioncontracts and the members’ interests on the job.

Local 391 holds the seminar every two years,which is attended by more than 200 stewards.

About thirty years ago, an elected steward’s dueswere paid by the local union. But, the stewardsproposed at the time that they would beginpaying their own dues if Local 391 would hold atraining seminar for them.

Now, new stewards receive basic training in the

core fundamentals of the job, including how tobest research and argue grievances. Moreexperienced stewards receive extensive trainingcovering a variety of union skill sets. Theseclasses can include arbitration preparation,negotiations strategy, the art of persuasion,leadership development and other importantprograms.

Local 391’s steward seminars are often attendedby the most powerful leaders of the Teamstersunion, and by the top governmental officials inNorth Carolina.

Teamsters President Jim Hoffa and Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall have attended recent seminars.So has the last three governors of the state.

Governor Beverly Perdueaddressed a seminar in herLocal 391 jacket.

Teamsters President Jim Hoffa (left)with United Plastics Steward LaceyBond at a Seminar.

Pictured above and below arescenes from various Local 391stewards’ seminars.


The Voice of Teamsters Local 391 has kept the members informed of important union activities andevents since 1963. This 1994 cover shows Local 391 members rallying in Washington, D.C. in sup-port of President R.V. Durham. The Teamster leader was pressuring the International union at thetime to take better care of the members’ dues money, and on other issues.


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Documents

Souvenier Book - Teamsters Local 391 Anniversary Souvenir... · President Jimmy Hoffa and his wife, Jo. More than 1,600 members attended the event. The local union added a branch