International Brotherhood of Teamsters AFL-CIO

Annual Message From Our President

Howard W. Wells

    Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I hope everyone had a safe and healthy Holiday season. It has been a great year for our Local. We won numerous arbitrations and awards for our membership. We were able to increase and maintain Health & Welfare in our contracts. Even our Public Sector contracts did well, all though a few are still outstanding because of the pressure that the State Government puts on Town and Municipalities with caps on wages, health care, and pensions.

We were able to grow our Local by approximately 400 members through organizing. New towns and a few construction companies came on board, as well as the bus drivers at the Lawnside and Willingboro locations of First Student. We would also like to welcome Camden Water aboard.

Our next First Student organizing target is their location in Berlin. The coming year should also see the UPS Freight drivers in our area join us here at Local 676.

It has been a good year politically with almost a hundred public officials in our corner. As a result we were able to get the Local’s first bill passed. The bill concerns PATCO contract mediation and we are now working on getting similar legislation passed in PA.

Our third Annual Picnic was a great success along with the visit from Santa at our Christmas Party (see photos on pages 3 & 4). A very special project of the Local was the awarding of eight Scholarships this past May to children of our members. This was the second year that saw us give eight young men and women a helping hand in the pursuit of their goals and dreams.

In October we hosted our Shop Stewards Seminar for the second year in a row. Attendance was very high at almost 80% and there was something for everyone both new and experienced. Thanks to all of those who gave up a Saturday to improve their ability to help the members they represent.

A special Thank You to those guests who set up information tables prior to our October and November meetings. We will continue to expand this program if the members indicate it is a benefit for them. You can check it out at our January meeting on the 20^th.

Doors open at 9 AM and breakfast will be served. The Business Agents will also be available at this time for information and assistance to the members.

And the last shall be first … and so lastly I want to thank the members and shop stewards, without whose help we would not be successful. We will need your support and effort again to meet the challenges of the coming new year. All of you play a big part in the state of our country and our union.

This year will see us elect a new President. Let’s rally our support for the candidate who best represents the interests of working families. Make sure you vote and give whatever assistance you can to the candidate of your choice.

Remember to say a special prayer for those members who have passed on and left us to keep the dream alive. They helped to make this union great and have passed that legacy on to us. Now it is our turn to protect our children’s future.

Please keep those who died in the service of our country in your prayers as well. It is up to all of us to honor their sacrifice and their memory.

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things he has not …. But rejoices for those which he has.” Epictetus

    Fraternally,

Howard W. Wells

President & Principal Officer Local 676

Local #676