It’s important to many workers around the globe to have their occupation defended and to have their voices heard. Unions, like Teamsters Local 600, help to represent these workers, defend labor rights, and even have their own executive boards to help make these big decisions. These unions have been popular since the 30s and 40s in America and have helped labor workers to defend and ensure their rights against large businesses and corporations.
“I got into several different altercations in work and I was represented well in that,” union member Chris Hughes said. “Sometimes people don’t appreciate your work in unions and they wanna take a swing at you and they represent you in that.”
Representing workers is an essential responsibility of Local 600’s. In and out of the workplace, the union is committed to advocating for their workers. For example, Local 600 has shop stewards, which are people elected in a union to represent and advocate for other workers. A few of the shop stewards for Local 600 are Scott Zahm and Arthur “Artie” Cates.
“If we didn’t have local 600 there to make sure that we abide by our seniority, we would have other members making deals and bargains to jump around seniority,” Hughes said. “Your seniority is all you really have, but your job security is there.”
Another more obvious responsibility that Local 600 has is defending labor laws. Labor unions were created in the late 18th century for this very reason, and more recently in the 20th and 21st centuries they have become much more common. A common belief that many unions share, which is more of a rule than a law, is seniority. Enforcing seniority in Local 600 is an effective method they’ve used to ensure fairness and equality in the workplace.
“Our direction is the growth of membership and to be the best that we can be for the members,” John Kelting, current secretary treasurer of Local 600 said.
As for the future of Local 600, they are looking to grow and expand the union. It’s a fact that labor unions have worked hard to ensure workers’ rights, weekends off, paid sick leave, minimum wage laws, and much more. Local 600 as a whole has always had a huge emphasis on representing and defending each and every member equally, and they wish to continue this work in the future.
“Stay in line,” Hughes said. “Its your job to learn your job. And, back seniority up with every fiber of your being.”
