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Teamsters Union Essay

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The purpose of this paper is to explain how the administration and membership of the Teamsters Union are organized. The Teamsters was started in 1903 as a merger of the two driving associations. Teamsters are organized with Local Unions, Joint Councils, Trade Divisions and Conferences and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBOT). Local Unions promote strong unions and local leaders. They negotiate contracts and provide services to the members. They elect their own officers, coordinate their own structure and vote on their own bylaws. Joint Councils are set up with three local unions to help coordinate Teamster activities, solve problems and decide jurisdictional and judicial matters. Trade Divisions and Conferences provide information …show more content…

The General Executive Board has 22 Vice Presidents.. The departments under the Office of the General President are Communications, Economics & Contracts, Political and Legislative Action, Human Rights & Diversity Commission, Legal, Organizing, Safety and Health, Strategic Research and Campaigns, and Training & Development. The departments under the Office of the General Secretary-Treasurer are Accounting and Budget Department, Affiliate Bookkeeping Systems Department, Affiliates and Automated Records Department, Capital Strategies Department, Drive Accounting Department, Information Systems Department, and International Auditors. All of these departments play a vital role in helping the local unions serve their members. An advantage of being a union member is that the union helps in setting the standard for higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions for workers through a collective bargaining agreement contract. Workers work together with their union steward who negotiates workplace matters with their employer. When a tentative agreement is met, the bargaining unit, that was nominated by a few of the coworkers, vote for or against the contract. Some of the things negotiated on in the contract are salary, benefits, grievance procedures, dues collection and time

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