Planning for and preparing a convention—for any group—is a lot of hard work. There are behind-the-scenes items to take care of, presenters to line up, registration to get through, and then the event itself. That’s where the sergeant-at-arms come in.

Two members of the Teamsters National Black Caucus (TNBC) took this year’s conference theme—building relationships and establishing resources—to heart.

When director Michael Bay brought his brand of big-budget action flicks to Chicago this summer, Teamsters Local 727 members were in the middle of the “Transformers 3” mania.

Bob Kirkpatrick, a business agent and International Union Organizer based out of Local 952 in Orange, Calif., was raised in a Teamster household and said giving back is in his blood.

When John Bulgaro, President of Local 294 in Albany, N.Y., read that the Boys and Girls Club of Albany was in need of financial assistance, he knew he needed to do something.

Funeral services for Bryan Cirigliano, 51, President of Local 1035, were held on Saturday.

Elizabeth Rhodes, a member of Local 838 in Kansas City, eloquently put into a dramatic reading some of the struggle that CUE-Teamsters Local 2010 members have been wrestling with during their bargaining for a contract. 

When Patricia Stryker, Recording Secretary of Local 237, learned that an executive called retirement benefits for workers in New York “too generous,” she did not hesitate to call the firm to account.

Teamsters Local 117 member, Andy Johnson, learned the value of his union from his family, but not in the way you might expect.

A 32-year UPS Teamster who recently retired, Lewis Smith, a member of Local 164 in Jackson, Mich., has found that there truly is life after retirement. The life that Smith lives, though, is really just a continuation of his former self—a self that finds pleasure in capturing vibrant colors, happy smiles and breathtaking landscapes. At 56, Smith is an artist. His medium: a camera. His canvas: the world.