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The
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, with 1.4
million members, is one of the largest labor unions in
the world. Teamsters Joint Council 43 which represents
teamsters in Michigan has about 60,000 members under it's
umbrella, and Teamsters Local Union 337 represents about 10%
of that contingency with about 6,600 members. The
Teamsters is also the most diverse union in the U.S. today,
it would be hard to identify a Teamster on the streets
because we are everywhere. The Teamsters represent
industries from A to Z - airline pilots to zookeepers. One
out of every ten union members is a Teamster.
LOCAL UNIONS
There are
hundreds of Teamsters local unions
across North America. The local unions
and their members are the heart and
backbone of the union.
Unlike other
labor unions, the Teamsters Union is
structured as a grassroots
organization, run from the bottom up
as opposed to top down, which
promotes strong local unions and
strong local leaders. The local unions
negotiate most Teamsters contracts and
provide most of the services to their
members, including full-time business
agents, organizers, expert labor
lawyers, certified public accountants,
and clerical staff.
The members
of each local union elect their own
officers, create their own structure,
and vote on their own bylaws, while
remaining within the framework of the
International Constitution and Bylaws.
Enjoying their independence, the local
unions still benefit from the
expertise and assistance of the
International Union, and of the
various Conferences and Councils in
the union’s structure.
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JOINT COUNCILS
Teamsters
Joint Councils are set up in
geographical areas and include
three or more local unions. Joint
Councils help coordinate Teamster
activities and services within those
areas. They also support each other
which strengthens and unifies the
local unions within their Joint
Council. They help solve
problems and decide some
jurisdictional and judicial matters
relative to their Joint Council's
geographical area of authority.
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