Teamster Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,

At Teamsters 117, we come together with a common purpose. This vision for the future is reflected in our mission statement:

We build unity and power for all working people to improve lives and lift up our communities. This is our Union!

Our unity must be centered on true principles and beliefs of fundamental importance to the working class and our communities. We are a collective of everyday people with everyday people needs. As a Union we have a shared desire to ensure that all families have the economic and social securities to live with dignity and respect while providing safe and secure environments for our children to thrive and succeed.

Standing in Unity does not mean that we must all share the same opinions and beliefs, but rather that we are ultimately united in our fundamental goals. In fact, the embracement of our different experiences, backgrounds, and beliefs define and clarify our fundamental goals built to improve lives and lift communities that should unify us all.

Taking our collective strength in unity seriously is essential. Engaging and participating in union and community campaigns help each of us realize the power that unity provides, the greater strength we have, and the better outcomes we can strive for and achieve.

As we build unity, we must also protect this superpower. Internal threats take form in negative comments, actions, and behaviors that if unchecked can grow into an anti-union culture in our workplaces and reduce our power.

External threats are typically founded and backed by corporate-sponsored groups that have identified and targeted the unions that are most effective at building worker power. Teamsters 117 is a top target of these anti-worker foundations due to our effectiveness at blocking legislative attacks against workers and our winning record of achieving improvements.

These attacks come in the form of predatorial communications like postcards and emails urging you to opt-out of your union and drop your commitment to keeping your union strong. These communications are timed around political unrest, holiday budget crunches, social justice stress with one goal in mind: to convince our members that unity and commitment to each other isn’t important.  

We don’t have to look far to realize the power and importance of unity and to reject these nonsensical attempts to fool us. The strongest and most successful relationships we share are united relationships with shared goals…as a couple…as a family…and as a union.

Unity is our superpower; divisiveness is our kryptonite.  

To continue moving ourselves, our families and our communities economic and social justice priorities forward, unified behavior and purpose simply needs to be realized. We all share the need for basic human rights, and when we don’t allow our differences to override our common interests…WE are at our best and have the most power.

In Solidarity,

John Scearcy
Secretary-Treasurer