TNBC Chicago Chapter

09/03/2026

🎓🛡️ TNBC EDUCATION SUNDAY: STEWARD 102 — THE MEMBER HAS A PROBLEM… NOW WHAT?

Then open with:

What’s going on, Facebook! 👋🏾

It’s time for another lesson from TNBC University — The Educated Teamster.

08/30/2026

🎓 TNBC EDUCATION SUNDAY

🛡️ STEWARD 101 — WHAT IS THE JOB OF A UNION STEWARD?

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION. PAY ATTENTION. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT I’M SAYING TODAY.

I’m going to say it again:

WE HAVE TO DO A BETTER JOB OF DEVELOPING AND TRAINING OUR UNION STEWARDS.

And there can be several reasons for that.

Maybe they were never properly trained.

Maybe they don’t have a Business Agent or Representative who is properly working with them and teaching them.

Maybe nobody ever sat them down and explained what the responsibility of being a steward really means.

And yes, sometimes people want the NAME AND THE TITLE.

“I’m the union steward.”

Okay.

But can you actually DO THE JOB?

Because being a union steward is much bigger than having a title.

⸻

🚨 YOU ARE THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE.

When you are elected, appointed or selected as a steward according to your union’s rules, you become one of the first lines of union representation inside that workplace.

Think about that.

A member may have never met the Local President.

They may not know their Business Agent yet.

They may have never attended a membership meeting.

They may have never walked inside the union hall.

But guess who they know?

THEIR STEWARD.

YOU are often the first face of the union that member sees.

And that means how you carry yourself matters.

How you communicate matters.

How you educate matters.

How you represent people matters.

How you handle yourself with management matters.

And whether your members TRUST YOU matters.

⸻

📖 NUMBER ONE: READ YOUR CONTRACT.

I’m going to keep saying this throughout Steward 101:

READ THE CONTRACT.

Not just carry it.

Not just have one sitting in your locker.

Not just open it when somebody gets suspended.

READ IT.

Understand it.

Comprehend it.

Study it.

You should know where to find:

💰 Wages and raises

⏰ Overtime

📅 Scheduling

🏖️ Vacation

🤒 Sick time

🎄 Holidays

👥 Seniority

📋 Job classifications

⚖️ Grievance procedures

🛡️ Discipline language

📖 Probationary language

🏥 Benefits and other negotiated provisions

You don’t have to memorize every word in the book.

But when your member asks:

“What does our contract say?”

You should know how to FIND IT.

And if you don’t know the answer?

Don’t lie.

Don’t make something up.

Tell that member:

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

Then GO FIND OUT.

THAT’S A STEWARD.

⸻

🤝🏾 YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MANAGEMENT

As a steward, you should have a professional working relationship with management.

Let’s make something clear:

YOU ARE NOT MANAGEMENT.

You represent the bargaining-unit members.

But being union doesn’t mean you have to walk around arguing with management every day.

You need to be able to walk into that office, sit across from management, disagree with them, challenge them, enforce the contract, represent your member and still conduct yourself professionally.

Management should understand:

“When this steward walks in here, they know their contract and they’re here to represent their member.”

That’s respect.

⸻

👥 A STEWARD IS ALSO AN INTERNAL ORGANIZER.

Stewards, this is where some of us are falling short.

Your job isn’t only:

“Call me when you get written up.”

NO!

You should constantly be internally organizing your membership.

When new employees come into your bargaining unit, you should know about them as soon as the contract, law and workplace procedures allow.

Where possible, there should be a process for the steward or union to know:

Who was hired?

What department?

What classification?

What shift?

And those workers should know who their steward is.

⸻

👋🏾 DON’T WAIT UNTIL THEY GET IN TROUBLE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF.

If somebody has worked beside you for six months and then gets called into management’s office and THAT’S when they find out you’re their union steward…

WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

😂

When that new employee comes in, introduce yourself.

Tell them what union represents them.

Explain what a union is.

Explain the contract.

Tell them about membership meetings.

Tell them about union activities.

Tell them about education and training.

If your union has caucuses or organizations such as a:

🖤 Black Caucus

👩🏾 Women’s Caucus

🌎 Hispanic/Latino Caucus

or other recognized caucuses and programs…

TELL YOUR MEMBERS.

Encourage participation.

A steward shouldn’t be a GATEKEEPER.

A STEWARD SHOULD BE DEVELOPING OTHER LEADERS.

Encourage your people to attend union meetings.

Not just when there’s a problem.

Not just during contract negotiations.

Tell them:

“Come to your union meeting. Learn how your union operates. Ask questions. Get involved.”

If the Local has an event?

Tell them.

Training?

Tell them.

Political action?

Tell them.

Community event?

Tell them.

Educational program?

Tell them.

Your members shouldn’t have to find out everything about THEIR union on Facebook.

😂

⸻

🎓 A STEWARD SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO A NEW-HIRE ORIENTATION.

Let’s do a mock.

Management comes to me and says:

“Denise, we have six new employees starting today. You have 15 minutes to give them their union orientation.”

Three young men.

Three young women.

All under 30.

None of them has ever worked a union job.

These are young Gen Z workers.

So guess what?

I’m not walking in there talking to them like I’m teaching a college labor-law class.

I HAVE TO MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.

⸻

🎭 MOCK ORIENTATION — HERE WE GO

DENISE:

“Hey y’all! How y’all doing?”

“My name is Denise Stiger, and I’m your union steward.”

One young lady looks at me.

YOUNG WORKER:

“Your what?”

😂

DENISE:

“Your union steward.”

She’s still looking at me.

YOUNG WORKER:

“Okay…what is that?”

Perfect.

Now I’m going to break it down.

DENISE:

“My job is to help represent the employees here who are covered by our union contract.”

She stops me again.

YOUNG WORKER:

“Union contract?”

“Yes.”

“This is a union workplace. The union and this company have what’s called a Collective Bargaining Agreement.”

And I already know what’s coming.

😂😂😂

YOUNG WORKER:

“COLLECTIVE WHAT?”

STOP RIGHT THERE.

This is where I have to remember:

She’s young.

She’s never worked union.

Nobody in her household may have ever explained this to her.

So repeating:

“COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT!”

louder isn’t going to make her understand it.

😂😂😂

🚘 I’M GOING TO TALK TO HER IN TERMS SHE UNDERSTANDS.

DENISE:

“Okay, baby. Forget those big words for a minute.”

“I saw you when you pulled into the parking lot this morning.”

😂

“Was that you driving that Mercedes-Benz?”

She smiles.

“Yeah, that’s mine.”

“Okay! Nice car too!”

😂😂😂

“Now when you went to that Mercedes dealership, did they just give you the keys and say:

‘Girl, go ahead. We’ll figure the money out later.’?”

😂

YOUNG WORKER:

“No!”

DENISE:

“What happened?”

YOUNG WORKER:

“They ran my credit and I went through financing.”

“BOOM!”

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

“And when you got to financing, somebody sat down with you, right?”

“They showed you what the car cost.”

“They showed you your interest rate.”

“They showed you your monthly payment.”

“They told you when your payment was due.”

“They told you how long you had to pay.”

“And before you signed it, you looked over those terms.”

“And when YOU agreed to those terms, what did you do?”

YOUNG WORKER:

“I signed the contract.”

“THERE YOU GO!”

😂👏🏾👏🏾

“You already understand what a contract is.”

“Your car contract and this union contract aren’t the same kind of agreement, but I’m using something you already understand to explain it.”

BUT HERE IS THE BIG DIFFERENCE.

“When you bought that Mercedes, that contract was about YOU.”

“YOU looked at it.”

“YOU decided whether those terms worked for YOU.”

“YOU signed it.”

“But a union contract is about:

ALL OF US.

That’s why I said COLLECTIVE.

When it’s time to negotiate our union contract, workers identify what they want addressed.

Maybe workers want:

💰 More money

📈 Better raises

🏖️ More vacation

🤒 Better sick time

⏰ Better overtime language

🏥 Better benefits

📅 Better scheduling

🛡️ Stronger job protections

The union and the worker bargaining committee sit across from the company and NEGOTIATE.

And guess what?

The company doesn’t necessarily give us everything we ask for.

We go back and forth.

That’s BARGAINING.

Eventually, there may be a proposed agreement—a tentative agreement.

And depending on the union’s rules and bargaining process, the members may get to VOTE on whether to accept or reject it.

So let’s say you look at what’s being offered and say:

“UH-UH. I DON’T LIKE THAT.”

😂

Your coworker says:

“I don’t like it either.”

Another worker says:

“That’s not enough money.”

Another says:

“I don’t like what they’re doing with our insurance.”

Now the membership votes.

Everybody doesn’t have to vote the same way.

You might vote NO.

Your coworker might vote YES.

But the applicable voting rules determine whether the agreement is accepted.

And if the agreement is rejected according to those rules?

Then there may be more work to do at the bargaining table.

The message to the company is:

“THE MEMBERS DIDN’T ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT.”

“We have more bargaining to do.”

THAT is the difference.

With your Mercedes:

YOU MADE THE DECISION FOR YOU.

With collective bargaining:

WE MAKE DECISIONS TOGETHER AS A MEMBERSHIP.

Now I’m looking at her:

“Remember that big word you asked me about?”

😂

COLLECTIVE = ALL OF US.

BARGAINING = NEGOTIATING.

AGREEMENT = WHAT WE FINALLY AGREE TO PUT IN WRITING.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.

She looks at me:

“OOOOOH! Okay! Now I get it!”

😂😂😂👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

EXACTLY.

Now we’re educating.

Don’t try to impress a 22-year-old with how many union words you know.

MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND YOU.

⸻

📖 NOW I SHOW THEM THE CONTRACT.

I hold it up.

“THIS little book right here is important.”

😂

“Remember when management interviewed you and told you:

‘This is your starting pay.’

‘These are your holidays.’

‘This is your vacation.’

‘This is how overtime works.’?”

“Some of those terms may already be in this contract because workers and their union negotiated them with this company.”

“This isn’t just a book that sits on a shelf.”

THIS IS SOMETHING YOU NEED TO LEARN.

⸻

💰 “SO HOW MUCH IS THIS UNION GOING TO COST ME?”

You KNOW somebody is going to ask.

😂😂😂

And that’s okay!

A good steward shouldn’t get mad because a 22-year-old asks:

“How much are y’all taking out of my check?”

That’s THEIR MONEY.

They have every right to ask.

So explain the actual dues structure that applies to your Local and workplace.

Explain any applicable initiation fee.

Explain the membership paperwork.

Explain any dues-authorization paperwork.

And don’t just slide paperwork across the table:

“Sign here. Sign here. Sign here.”

NO.

EDUCATE THEM.

Explain what they’re signing.

Let them ask questions.

If that young worker says:

“$70 A MONTH?!?”

😂😂😂

Don’t get offended.

Say:

“Okay. Let’s break down what you’re looking at.”

Let’s look at your wages.

Let’s look at the raises negotiated in your contract.

Let’s look at overtime.

Let’s look at vacation.

Let’s look at holidays.

Let’s look at benefits.

Let’s look at the grievance procedure.

Let’s look at the protections contained in your agreement.

Let that member understand the WHOLE PICTURE.

AN EDUCATED MEMBER IS A STRONGER MEMBER.

⸻

⏰ NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR PROBATION.

I tell all six:

“Now listen to me because this part is IMPORTANT.”

“You’re new.”

“Our contract has language regarding probation, and I’m going to explain exactly what OUR contract says because every contract isn’t the same.”

“But I’m going to give you some common-sense advice.”

COME TO WORK.

😂😂😂

“Be on time.”

“Learn your job.”

“Follow the rules.”

“If you don’t understand something, ASK.”

“Don’t think because you’re working in a union facility that you can do whatever you want.”

YOU CAN STILL GET DISCIPLINED.

I’m going to help you as much as I’m permitted to under our agreement.

But YOU have responsibilities too.

⸻

🛡️ NOW I TEACH THEM ABOUT REPRESENTATION.

I tell them:

“If management calls you into an investigatory meeting and you reasonably believe that meeting could lead to discipline, you may have the right to REQUEST union representation.”

Those are called:

WEINGARTEN RIGHTS.

But I’m not stopping at the name.

I’m teaching them what they may need to SAY:

“Could this meeting lead to discipline?”

And when appropriate:

“I AM REQUESTING MY UNION REPRESENTATIVE.”

Don’t wait until that young worker is sitting in management’s office scared to death to teach them this.

TEACH THEM BEFORE THE PROBLEM HAPPENS.

⸻

📱 NOW MY 15 MINUTES ARE ALMOST OVER.

Before those six young workers leave, I tell them:

“Here’s my information.”

“Save my number.”

“If you have a question, ASK ME.”

“If I don’t know the answer, I’m going to find out.”

“Learn your job.”

“Learn your contract.”

“Come to the union meetings.”

“Get involved.”

“And understand something:

I’M NOT JUST YOUR STEWARD WHEN YOU GET IN TROUBLE.

I’m here to educate.

I’m here to communicate.

I’m here to represent.

I’m here to internally organize.

And I’m here to help develop the next generation of union leaders.

Those six workers leave saying:

“Okay…I never knew anything about a union before.”

“Now this makes sense.”

🎓 THAT’S THE JOB OF A STEWARD.

Not:

“I’m the steward.”

The question is:

CAN YOU EDUCATE?

CAN YOU COMMUNICATE?

CAN YOU REPRESENT?

CAN YOU ORGANIZE?

CAN YOUR MEMBERS TRUST YOU?

And most importantly:

DO YOU KNOW YOUR CONTRACT?

If your Business Agent walked into your workplace tomorrow and said:

“You have six brand-new Gen Z employees. You’ve got 15 minutes. Give them their union orientation.”

COULD YOU DO IT?

Could you explain their union without reading them a textbook?

Could you explain their contract in language they understand?

Could you answer their questions?

Could you make those six young workers walk out saying:

“NOW I UNDERSTAND WHAT MY UNION IS.”

If the answer is no, I’m not telling you that you can’t become a great steward.

I’m telling you:

YOU NEED TRAINING.

And that’s exactly why we’re doing:

🎓 STEWARD 101.

Because the title doesn’t make you a steward.

THE WORK DOES.

💬 QUESTION OF THE DAY:

STEWARDS: If six new employees started at your workplace tomorrow, what are the FIRST THREE things you would teach them about their union?

And MEMBERS:

Did your steward introduce themselves and explain your union when you were first hired?

👇🏾 LET’S TALK ABOUT IT.

🎓 TNBC University – Education of Members

The Educated Teamster

Educate • Empower • Organize • Lead.

08/30/2026

Please pay attention 😊 The TNBC membership meeting has been changed from September 12th to September 19th. Please RSVP for the workshop at 773-633-5333.

08/29/2026

08/26/2026

🐴 TNBC Family, let’s lend a helping hand! ❤️

Our Indiana Teamster brothers and sisters could use our support following the recent storms and power outages. Teamsters Local 142 is looking for volunteers this Saturday, August 29th.

If you’re available, please come out and volunteer. This is what Brotherhood & Sisterhood is all about — showing up for one another. ✊🏾🐴

See flyer for all details.

08/23/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/197eYdf5Z7/?mibextid=wwXIfr

08/23/2026

🎓 TNBC EDUCATION SUNDAY

✊🏾 ORGANIZING 101 — PART 1

Before the Authorization Card Comes the Conversation

I fell off a little with our TNBC educational series because there has been a lot going on. But we’re picking it back up because education is the key.

Today we’re talking about something very close to me personally and professionally:

ORGANIZING.

There are different kinds of organizing.

You can do internal organizing inside an existing union.

You can do political organizing.

You can do community organizing.

And you can do labor organizing—helping nonunion workers come together and organize a union.

Today, we’re talking about labor organizing.

And before we talk about authorization cards, elections, committees or campaigns, we have to understand something:

🕰️ THE GENERATIONS HAVE CHANGED—AND SO HAS ORGANIZING.

For many people from the Baby Boomer generation, Generation X, and generations before them, unions were much more visible in everyday working-class life.

Especially in a labor town like Chicago, union was a household word.

Your father might have been union.

Your mother might have been union.

Your uncle worked at a warehouse.

Your aunt worked at a department store.

Your grandfather worked on the railroad.

Your neighbor worked for the Post Office.

Somebody in the family knew what a steward was.

Somebody had a union card.

Somebody talked about seniority, overtime, pensions, grievances, strikes or contracts.

And Chicago had major employers and household names that generations of working families remember:

🏭 Campbell Soup

📦 UPS

🚂 The railroads

📬 The U.S. Postal Service

🥤 Pepsi

🥤 Coca-Cola

🥤 RC Cola

🛍️ Spiegel

🏬 Sears

🏬 Montgomery Ward

🏬 Marshall Field’s

🏭 International Harvester

🧰 Western Electric

🏭 U.S. Steel and the South Chicago steel mills

📦 Warehouses, factories, trucking companies, meatpacking plants and manufacturing operations throughout Chicago and the surrounding communities.

Some of those companies disappeared, merged, closed facilities, moved operations or changed dramatically.

And as the economy changed, something else changed:

THE UNION CONVERSATION DIDN’T GET PASSED DOWN THE SAME WAY.

Many parents told their children:

“Go to college.”

“I don’t want you working in a factory like I did.”

“I want you to get an education and have something better.”

There was nothing wrong with wanting that for our children.

But something happened along the way.

In many households, we stopped explaining the value of skilled trades, transportation, manufacturing, public service and other union careers that had helped generations of working families build stable lives.

And some of those so-called “simple jobs” weren’t simple at all.

They bought houses.

They raised families.

They sent children to college.

They provided health insurance.

They provided pensions.

And they helped create a Black working and middle class.

👶🏾 NOW WE’RE ORGANIZING A DIFFERENT GENERATION.

Many younger workers did not grow up hearing those union conversations.

Some have never seen a union contract.

They may not know what collective bargaining means.

They may not know what a grievance is.

They may not know what a pension is.

They may not know what a union steward does.

And that’s not something to criticize them for.

THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO EDUCATE.

You cannot always walk up to today’s worker and start with:

“Let me tell you about collective bargaining.”

Their first thought may be:

“What are you talking about?”

😂

So how do we organize today?

👂🏾 FIRST—WE LISTEN.

Let’s make it real.

Imagine you worked 35 years at a union job.

You retired.

You have a good pension.

You’re comfortable.

But you’re sitting around the house bored.

So you say:

“Let me get myself a little part-time job and make some extra money.”

Nothing wrong with extra money! 😂

You start working at a nonunion facility.

Immediately you notice the difference.

Paychecks are wrong.

Hours are missing.

Workers complain about scheduling.

Management talks to people any kind of way.

Policies seem to change.

And you’re thinking:

“WAIT A MINUTE. At my union job, we didn’t operate like this.”

But you don’t walk through the workplace yelling:

“Y’ALL NEED A UNION!”

You watch.

You listen.

And you build relationships.

Maybe there’s a younger woman working with you.

You start taking her under your wing.

You’re telling her:

“Baby, come to work. Be on time. Handle your business. Don’t let this job mess up what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Eventually, she trusts you.

And when people trust you, they start telling you what’s really happening in their lives.

She tells you she’s raising her younger brothers and sisters.

She has to get them to school.

She needs this particular schedule.

She’s trying to keep food in the house.

She wants to make more money.

And payroll keeps messing up her check.

For somebody living paycheck to paycheck:

THAT MISSING MONEY MATTERS.

Now you’re organizing.

But notice something:

YOU STILL HAVEN’T ASKED HER TO SIGN ANYTHING.

You ask:

“What’s the biggest problem you’re having working here?”

Then you do something every good organizer has to learn how to do:

👂🏾 SHUT UP AND LISTEN.

Let the worker talk.

Listen more than you speak.

Eventually you say:

“What if I told you workers coming together could try to change some of these things?”

Now she’s curious.

“What do you mean?”

That’s when you tell your story.

🗣️ “I WORKED UNION FOR 35 YEARS.”

You explain:

“We had a contract.”

“We had negotiated wages and benefits.”

“We had a grievance procedure.”

“We had representation.”

“When something wasn’t right, we had a process to challenge it.”

And she looks at you and asks the obvious question:

“IF THAT JOB WAS SO GOOD, WHY ARE YOU WORKING HERE?”

😂😂😂

And you say:

“BABY, I RETIRED!”

“I put my 35 years in.”

“I have my pension.”

“I’m okay.”

“I’m bored, and I wanted to make a little extra money.”

Then you tell her:

“I HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE. BUT I WANT YOU TO GAIN.”

“I want YOU to be sitting where I’m sitting one day.”

“I want you to raise those brothers and sisters.”

“I want you to help them get through school.”

“I want you to make decent money.”

“I want you to have benefits.”

“And one day I want you to retire and be able to say, ‘I made it.’”

But then comes the most important part:

“Nobody is going to hand it to you.”

It takes heart.

It takes determination.

It takes strength.

And it takes workers standing together.

Now we’re not talking about some mysterious thing called “the union.”

We’re talking about:

HER FAMILY.

HER PAYCHECK.

HER FUTURE.

HER DIGNITY.

HER LIFE.

And then she asks:

“OKAY…SO WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO?”

🔥🔥🔥

NOW THE ORGANIZING CAMPAIGN CAN BEGIN.

You ask:

“Who else is having these problems?”

She gives you a name.

That worker gives you another name.

Someone says:

“They messed up my check too.”

Another says:

“I’m tired of the schedule.”

Another says:

“I’m tired of being disrespected.”

And suddenly everybody realizes:

“THIS ISN’T JUST MY PROBLEM.”

An individual problem has become a collective issue.

And that’s where we’re going to stop Part 1.

Because before the authorization card…

Before the organizing committee…

Before the NLRB…

Before an election…

Before bargaining…

There has to be something much more basic:

A CONVERSATION.

🎓 ORGANIZING 101 LESSON:

Don’t start with the card. Start with the worker.

👂🏾 Listen.
🤝🏾 Build trust.
❓ Ask questions.
❤️ Learn what matters to them.
🔗 Connect workers around common issues.
✊🏾 Help workers understand the power of standing together.

We don’t organize jobs.

We organize PEOPLE—and people organize their workplace.

💬 QUESTION OF THE DAY

If you were sitting across from a young worker who had never heard anything about unions, what would your first conversation sound like?

Not your union speech.

Your human conversation.

👇🏾 Tell us below.

📚 NEXT — ORGANIZING 101: PART 2

She just asked:

“Okay…what do we have to do?”

Next we’re going from CONVERSATION TO CAMPAIGN:

➡️ Contacting the union
➡️ Mapping the workplace
➡️ Identifying natural leaders
➡️ Building the organizing committee
➡️ Assessing support
➡️ Inoculation—what does that mean?
➡️ Authorization cards
➡️ Knowing your numbers
➡️ Preparing to file
➡️ The election
➡️ Winning
➡️ Bargaining the first contract
➡️ Building stewards and workplace leaders

The conversation opened the door.

Part 2 is about how workers walk through it together.

🎓 TNBC University – Education of Members

The Educated Teamster

Educate • Empower • Organize • Lead.

08/16/2026

🖤✊🏾 FROM MY HEART: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH — IT’S TIME FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, EDUCATION & RECONSTRUCTION ✊🏾🖤

It took me a lot of thought before I decided to write this.

Going into this weekend’s TNBC Conference, I honestly did not want to go. I already had a feeling about what was going to happen.

But leadership teaches you something: sometimes you have to show up when you don’t want to. Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions. Sometimes you have to stand on principle even when it makes people uncomfortable.

So I went.

📚 FIRST — THE EDUCATION

I want to give credit where credit is due.

The educational classes were EXCELLENT, and I want to thank the IBT and Dr. Cooper for making that education available.

That is what TNBC should be doing — EDUCATING, DEVELOPING AND PREPARING TEAMSTERS.

Unfortunately, what happened with some of the other business of this conference showed me exactly how much more education we need.

📖 READ THE ENTIRE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

One of my biggest concerns this weekend was watching people interpret the TNBC Constitution and Bylaws by grabbing one sentence or one section and saying, “See, this is what it says.”

NO.

That’s not how governing documents work.

Even with a collective bargaining agreement, any good union representative knows you don’t just grab one sentence and stop reading.

You read the ENTIRE ARTICLE.

You read what comes before it.

You read what comes after it.

You check whether another section connects to it.

You look at definitions, authority, responsibilities, procedures and exceptions.

And a Constitution and Bylaws is not the same thing as a collective bargaining agreement. It establishes the structure and governance of an organization. Different articles work together.

You cannot take the piece you like and throw away the rest.

READ THE WHOLE DOCUMENT.

That lack of understanding created confusion throughout this conference.

💰 ACCOUNTABILITY IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK

There are serious questions that have been raised about TNBC’s finances and governance.

There are questions about the management of funds.

There are questions about insurance.

There are questions about bonding.

There are questions about litigation exposure.

There are questions about what officers knew, when they knew it, and what actions were taken.

And there are questions about whether the Constitution and Bylaws were followed.

Those questions deserve answers.

If someone was unaware of a problem, let’s establish that.

If someone was aware, then we need to know what they did about it.

If mistakes were made, then say:

“We made a mistake. We apologize. Here’s how we’re going to correct it.”

Why is accountability so difficult?

This isn’t about embarrassing anybody.

It’s about protecting TNBC.

When you accept a leadership position, you accept RESPONSIBILITY WITH THE TITLE.

You cannot only want the chair when everything is good.

✊🏾 MOTIONS AND PROCEDURE MATTER

What also disturbed me was what happened with parliamentary procedure.

When a motion is properly made, seconded, put before the body, and adopted, the organization has to respect the action of the body unless that action is properly reconsidered, rescinded, ruled out of order, or otherwise addressed under the applicable rules.

You cannot simply pretend it didn’t happen because you don’t like the outcome.

There were serious questions about what authority remained with certain officers after actions were taken concerning the Executive Board and investigative process.

Instead of stopping and reading the governing documents carefully, people allowed emotions, friendships and personalities to take over.

Then we reached the point where the acting chair called for the meeting to be suspended.

A motion was made.

It was seconded.

And instead of restoring order and following the proper parliamentary process, everything continued to spiral.

That should never have happened.

🐴 AND NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT TEAMSTER HISTORY

This is the part that really gets me.

Anybody who has been around the Teamsters and attended some of our old Teamster Delegate Conventions knows those conventions could get ROUGH. 😰🥶🤯

I’m talking about ARGUMENTS.

PUSHING.

FIGHTING.

People stepping on people’s feet.

People getting in each other’s faces.

And YES — there have even been CHAIRS THROWN.

Some of those old delegate conventions were far more heated than anything I witnessed this weekend.

But somehow…

WE WORKED IT OUT.

Who handled it?

THE SERGEANTS-AT-ARMS.

Leadership restored order.

Teamsters handled Teamster business.

So somebody please explain to me how we reached the point where POLICE needed to be brought into a TNBC business meeting.

😰🤯🤯🤯

I THOUGHT WE WERE TEAMSTERS.

And I’m not putting all of that responsibility on the Sergeants-at-Arms.

From what I observed, they did not appear to have received enough education and preparation about their authority and responsibilities.

And THAT falls back on leadership.

If you appoint Sergeants-at-Arms, TRAIN THEM.

Teach them how to restore order.

Teach them what authority they have.

Teach them how to deal with disruption.

Teach them when someone should be removed.

Teach them how to protect the chair and the membership.

You cannot fail to prepare people and then wonder why they don’t know what to do.

And with experienced Teamster Principal Officers, Joint Council leaders, Trustees and IBT representatives present, I found bringing police into our internal business especially disturbing.

We are supposed to know how to govern ourselves.

🚨 THE DISRESPECT STARTED BEFORE THE BUSINESS MEETING

My concerns didn’t begin when police arrived.

Members were trying to meet in a hotel hallway and were told we couldn’t gather there, even though we believed we were not interfering with anybody.

It felt like people simply did not want certain members meeting and discussing what was happening.

I also witnessed behavior from national and regional leadership that I considered disrespectful and unnecessarily confrontational.

I personally had concerns about the conduct of Western Region President George Ritchie, including things said in the hallway that I felt added agitation to an already difficult situation.

But somehow certain behavior was ignored while other people were immediately treated as the problem.

That’s not fair leadership.

🛑 STOP MAKING THIS ABOUT FRIENDSHIPS

This is where people are getting lost.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT FRIENDSHIPS.

If my friend is wrong, MY FRIEND IS WRONG.

If somebody I don’t like is right, THEY’RE STILL RIGHT.

If you are sitting on a board and there are legitimate concerns involving the organization, your responsibility is to the ORGANIZATION.

Not your friend.

Not your region.

Not your clique.

Not who you want elected next year.

THE ORGANIZATION.

🗳️ YES, THERE IS AN ELECTION NEXT YEAR

There will be an election.

And members will decide what direction they want TNBC to go.

I have also heard concerns from people trying to establish chapters who believe they have not received the support or approvals they need. Those concerns deserve transparent answers, particularly with an election approaching.

How many active chapters do we have?

How many members do we have?

How many new chapters have been chartered?

How much has our membership grown?

What education has National provided to the Chapters?

What education has each Region provided?

Those shouldn’t be controversial questions.

Those are organizational questions.

🏛️ “JUST WORRY ABOUT YOUR CHAPTER”

I keep hearing:

“Chicago needs to worry about Chicago.”

NO.

Let me explain something.

TNBC has a STRUCTURE.

NATIONAL
⬇️
REGION
⬇️
CHAPTER
⬇️
MEMBERS

You cannot tell me to only worry about Chicago when Chicago sends dues into this structure.

If the head of the structure isn’t functioning properly, eventually the entire body feels it.

National should be educating Regions.

Regions should be educating Chapters.

Chapters should be educating MEMBERS.

So YES — Chicago has a responsibility to handle Chicago.

But Chicago also has a responsibility to ask questions about where our members’ money goes and what our members receive from the structure we financially support.

💵 AND WE JUST INCREASED DUES

That makes accountability even MORE important.

If members are being asked to pay more money, then members have every right to ask:

What are we receiving?

Where is the education?

Where is the organizing?

Where is the chapter development?

Where is the membership growth?

Where is the leadership training?

But I want to go even further.

WHAT ARE WE DOING WITH THOSE DUES TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF TEAMSTER LEADERS?

National and the Regions should be asking Chapters to identify members who are coming up in TNBC and in the Teamsters — members who are doing the work, showing leadership potential, organizing, attending meetings, learning their contracts and trying to grow.

LET THE CHAPTERS SUBMIT THEIR NAMES.

There are members who want to attend TNBC conferences, Teamster conferences, trainings, conventions and special educational programs but simply CANNOT AFFORD TO GO.

Airfare costs money.

Hotels cost money.

Registration costs money.

Meals cost money.

Transportation costs money.

Just because somebody cannot afford those expenses does not mean they don’t deserve the opportunity to learn.

THAT IS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF MEMBER WE SHOULD BE INVESTING IN.

National and the Regions should have a real sponsorship and leadership-development program where Chapters can recommend deserving members to receive assistance attending conferences, trainings and special programs.

Maybe it’s a young Teamster who has never attended a conference.

Maybe it’s a steward who wants to become a Business Agent.

Maybe it’s a rank-and-file member showing real organizing ability.

Maybe it’s somebody who could become a Chapter officer, Local Union officer, organizer, Principal Officer or future leader in the International Union.

INVEST IN THEM.

Don’t let somebody’s financial situation determine whether they get exposed to the education and opportunities that could change the direction of their Teamster career.

That’s what dues should help us do.

EDUCATE PEOPLE.

DEVELOP PEOPLE.

CREATE OPPORTUNITIES.

BUILD LEADERS.

And when we sponsor somebody, it shouldn’t just be a free trip.

They should come back to their Chapter and SHARE WHAT THEY LEARNED.

Teach a class.

Give a report.

Help organize.

Mentor another member.

Put that education back into the organization.

THAT’S AN INVESTMENT — NOT AN EXPENSE.

And if a financial report cannot be clearly presented and explained to the membership at a business meeting, then we need better systems, better preparation and better financial education.

Technology — including ChatGPT — can help organize information, explain terminology and prepare reports.

But technology cannot replace financial records, independent professional review, proper accounting, audits, or the fiduciary responsibilities of elected officers.

✊🏾 NOW LET ME TALK TO CHICAGO

Enough is enough.

I have spent too much time trying to appease everybody.

Trying to make everybody happy.

Trying to answer every complaint.

Trying to carry committees.

Trying to plan everything.

Trying to make sure nobody gets upset.

I’M DONE DOING THAT.

I am the President of TNBC Chicago.

But understand something:

I AM NOT THE MEMBERSHIP.

The Executive Board is not the membership.

THE MEMBERS ARE THE UNION. ✊🏾

We have committees.

JOIN ONE.

We need members.

BRING ONE.

We need programs.

HELP BUILD ONE.

We need fundraising.

HELP RAISE THE MONEY.

We need education.

HELP TEACH.

We need organizing.

HELP ORGANIZE.

Don’t come out of town with 50 opinions when I don’t see you at a Chapter meeting.

Don’t tell me what “we” need to do when “we” keeps meaning the President needs to do it.

PUT THE WORK IN.

🖤 AND STOP CALLING THIS “743 TNBC”

This is the TNBC CHICAGO CHAPTER.

I am proud to come from Teamsters Local 743.

And YES, I am grateful to have a Principal Officer who believes in what we are trying to build and is willing to help.

I will NEVER apologize because my Local supports our efforts to educate and build Teamsters.

If other Locals want to help, COME ON.

If Principal Officers want to help, COME ON.

If retirees want to teach, COME ON.

If young Teamsters want to learn, COME ON.

WE ARE TRYING TO BUILD SOMETHING.

Stop criticizing the people helping and start asking yourself what YOU have contributed.

⚠️ AND THE DISRESPECT ENDS HERE

I’m tired of the “nice-nasty.”

I’m tired of people talking about me.

I’m tired of people lying on me.

I’m tired of being expected to smile while somebody disrespects me.

I’m tired of people who won’t attend a meeting, join a committee, bring in a member, raise a dollar or organize anybody suddenly becoming experts on everything I’m supposed to be doing.

ENOUGH.

I will listen to criticism.

I will answer legitimate questions.

I will admit when I’m wrong.

But I will NOT be bullied.

I will NOT be silenced.

And I will NOT stop asking questions because somebody’s friend might be affected.

🔥 CHICAGO — RECONSTRUCTION IS COMING

When we come back, things WILL be different.

There will be a PLAN.

There will be EDUCATION.

There will be ORGANIZING.

There will be WORKING COMMITTEES.

There will be MEMBERSHIP GROWTH.

There will be LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.

There will be ACCOUNTABILITY.

And there will be RESPECT.

If all you want from TNBC is gossip, arguments and a membership card, then honestly, keep your dues in your pocket.

Because there is another Teamster who is hungry for this knowledge.

There is another Teamster who wants to organize.

There is another Teamster who wants to become a steward.

There is another Teamster who wants to become an officer.

There is another Teamster who wants to build a Chapter.

THAT’S WHO I WANT TO INVEST MY TIME IN.

Our older leaders built organizations because they PUT SOMETHING INTO THEM.

They gave their time.

They gave their knowledge.

They opened their pocketbooks when necessary.

They organized.

They educated.

They fought.

And then they developed somebody to come behind them.

THAT’S MOVEMENT BUILDING.

🎤 SO I’M DROPPING THE MIC RIGHT HERE

You don’t have to agree with Denise Stiger.

If you think I’m wrong:

BRING THE CONSTITUTION.

BRING THE BYLAWS.

BRING THE RECORDS.

BRING THE FACTS.

BRING YOUR IDEAS.

But most importantly…

🔥 BRING THE WORK. 🔥

Stop gossiping.

Stop choosing friendships over accountability.

Stop collecting titles without doing the work that comes with them.

And stop expecting one person or one Executive Board to build an entire organization for you.

THE UNION IS THE MEMBERS.

THE CAUCUS IS THE MEMBERS.

TNBC BELONGS TO ITS MEMBERS.

I don’t want another office.

I don’t need another title.

What I want is a TNBC that EDUCATES, ORGANIZES, DEVELOPS LEADERS, BUILDS CHAPTERS, GROWS MEMBERSHIP and makes Black Teamsters stronger throughout this union.

This weekend did not make me want to quit.

It made me understand how much WORK there is left to do.

And Chicago…

WE’RE GOING TO WORK. 🔥✊🏾

🎤⬇️ MIC DROPPED. RECONSTRUCTION STARTS NOW.

🖤✊🏾🐴 TEAMSTERS — UNION STRONG 🐴✊🏾🖤