28th National Convention: DAY THREE

"Only Organized Labor Can Build A Middle Class"

Coli Speaks to Teamster Power in Parking Industry

Teamsters Joint Council 25 President John T. Coli (right) discusses
the parking industry beside Ernie Yates of Teamsters Local 665 .

Building a stronger middle class was at the heart of a testimonial on the Teamster parking industry delivered by John T. Coli, President of Teamsters Joint Council 25, on the third day of the union’s 28th National Convention.

“You can’t build a middle class here at home with cheap labor,” said Coli, to a packed convention hall of nearly 1,600 delegates and guests. “Only organized labor can build a middle class. Only you and I can build a middle class.”

As the Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 727, Coli delivers representation to virtually 100 percent of parking industry employees in Chicago. More than half of Local 727’s total membership comes from parking and valet workers, including car washers, greasers, attendants, hikers, polishers, wash rack attendants and other miscellaneous garage positions.

Coli shared his experiences as a one-time parking industry employee and now longtime representative of this specialized industry.

“The Teamsters have lifted tens of thousands of parking employees into the middle class. We’ve organized them, we’ve negotiated good strong contracts and we’ve defended these contracts,” Coli said. “We know there are more opportunities to organize parking employees and bring them into the Teamsters and the middle class.

“By working together, we can do just that.”

Teamsters Local 727 represents more than 6,000 members in the Chicago metropolitan area. Local 727 is an affiliate of Teamsters Joint Council 25, which represents more than 100,000 hardworking men and women throughout Illinois and Indiana.

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