Teamsters Local 781 Hosts First Stewards Seminar for UAL Workers

Seminar Focuses on Effective Steward Skills

On June 2 and 3, Local 781 hosted a training program for United Airlines workers at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.  With the help of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Local 781 held two one-day seminars focused on the important skills needed by stewards.

Teamsters Local 781 UAL Stewards attended a training session on June 2 and 3 in Chicago, Illinois.

“The UAL workers have been Teamsters for about three months now, so it is very important they start out with knowledgeable stewards,” said Paul Stripling, Teamsters Local 781 Vice President.  “We want to do everything we can to support our members, which is why having well trained stewards is a top priority.”

Iliana Flores, IBT Training Coordinator, and Victoria Gray, International Representative for the IBT Airline Division, led the seminar, which included information on:

• The grievance process;
• Workplace law;
• Collective bargaining;
• Organizing;
• Teamster structure; and
• Communication and listening skills. 

There are approximately 900 UAL Teamsters Local 781 members working at O’Hare, with 50 members serving as stewards. 

“Since becoming Teamsters, we are really working hard to get things up and running, which includes the stewards training and hearing grievances,” said Kevin Giegoldt, a 23-year employee of UAL and a Teamster Steward and Committeeman.  “I love being a Teamster.  It is great to finally be in a labor union with real strength and power behind it.”

UAL mechanics voted to become Teamsters in March 2008 after a two-year campaign. 

Teamsters Local 781, located in Des Plaines, Illinois, represents approximately 6,000 members in the warehouse, airline, automotive parts, rental, chemical and petroleum, ice, paper and clerical industries in the Chicagoland area. 

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