Teamsters Take On Lollapalooza

Local 727 Members Set Up, Tear Down Music Festival Site

Longtime Teamster Terry Braun loves Lollapalooza, but he wouldn’t call himself a music fan.

“I probably work about 150 concerts every year, but I don’t really listen to music,” said Braun, a member of Teamsters Local 727. “I get enough of that on the job.”

Braun is one of about 35 Teamsters who will work from start to finish on the setup, execution and tear down of Lollapalooza, the massive annual three-day music festival held Aug. 6-8 at Chicago’s Grant Park. Teamsters use forklifts, loaders and, often, their hands to move equipment, machinery and other goods around the huge concert site.

“I can’t say enough about what a great group of guys we have working here,” said Braun, a 31-year Teamster who also has been designated steward on dozens of projects. “It’s hard work with long hours, but we love it. Most of these guys come back every year to work Lollapalooza. We rearrange our vacations and plan our summers around it. It’s worth it.”

Local 727 members work on other Chicago-area concerts and productions throughout the year, but nothing else quite compares to Lollapalooza.

“It’s a top-notch operation all the way around, thanks to the tireless work of the Teamsters,” said John T. Coli, President of Teamsters Joint Council 25 and Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727. “Lollapalooza continues to out-do itself in Chicago, but no matter how demanding the job, our members rise to the occasion every year.”

It will take Teamsters, along with hundreds of other workers, two weeks to set up the 115-acre site in Grant Park—building stages, V.I.P. cabanas, jumbotrons, handicap ramps and much more—and only three days to take it all down.

During the festival, Teamsters strip the stages after each performance and load the next band’s equipment onto the stage. Four loaders and one forklift operator are assigned to each of the five main stages. Smaller crews work the three smaller stages. 

“With so many bands playing back-to-back, there’s constant movement,” Braun said. “Some of the bigger bands will play for an hour or more, so we might actually get a breather, but otherwise, it’s go, go, go.”

Lollapalooza has changed immensely since its original incarnation. What started as a farewell concert for Jane’s Addiction in 1991 has turned into one of the world’s largest music festivals. This year, about 270,000 people will see 130 bands perform on eight stages over three days to help pump an estimated $85 million into the local economy.

“Every year, this thing just gets bigger,” Braun said. “The way things are going, I’ll be working Lollapalooza until I retire, and that’s OK with me. I love it.”

Teamsters 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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