Disney Teamsters make trip extra special for Local 891 Katrina survivor

The Mauffrays share a moment with a princess at Walt Disney World.

It’s been a week of surprises for Teamsters at Walt Disney World.

On Sunday, Local 385 members were busy putting together a special welcome for Local 891 member Bobby Mauffray and his family after learning in Teamster Magazine that they were “Disney fanatics” and "counting down the weeks" to surprise their three kids with a trip to Disney World. The Mauffray family lost their home 10 years ago during Hurricane Katrina, and during the interview for the anniversary story Bobby’s wife Marla – who claims to be the most Disney-obsessed Mauffray – revealed plans of a surprise trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Business Agent Donna-Lynne Dalton worked behind the scenes, informing members of the more than 1,000-person unit at Local 385 to be on the lookout and give the family a warm Teamster welcome. Our union’s most animated unit, the Teamster character performers did not disappoint, says Bobby, thanking Local 385 members for taking the time to make his family’s surprise trip all the more magical:

They were incredible. It truly made our surprise all the more special, especially for the kids to spend time with their favorite characters. I want to thank Local 385 from the bottom of my heart. Marla and I are beyond grateful.

Meanwhile, 250 nonunion workers at Disney would be on the receiving end of a far more disturbing surprise when they learned they were being laid off, replaced by foreign labor.

The data workers who keep operating systems humming smoothly for Disney resorts and theme parks said they did not suspect trouble when they were recently summoned by management for an unexpected meeting to learn their jobs were being replaced with foreign labor. Even more troubling, they were told they would be spending the next three months training their replacements from India, who will be working under temporary visas and making significantly less each year:

I just couldn’t believe they could fly people in to sit at our desks and take over our jobs. It was so humiliating to train somebody else to take over your job. I still can’t grasp it.

As Teamster character performers brightened the day of a fellow Teamster, the Orlando Sentinel ran the story of Disney’s decision to lay off the 250 data workers. The cruel irony is not lost on Bobby Mauffray:

It’s crazy to think that while we were being greeted by Teamster character performers, hundreds of workers were being laid off. Like I said in the magazine — I can’t imagine where I’d be without a good-paying, union-backed job. I feel for them. I really do.

After Katrina: the power of 1.4 million helping hands

In the final installment of our week-long coverage of Hurricane Katrina on the 10th anniversary of the disaster, today's post looks at Teamsters around the country who donated their time, resources and even their holidays to help those affected by the storm. From New England to the New Mexico, Teamsters from numerous locals donated and drove supplies by the truckload to Gulf Coast communities.

It didn’t take Teamsters long to respond to Hurricane Katrina. Within ten days after the worst natural disaster in United States’ history, Teamsters from across the country had come from all over with semi tractor-trailers -- filled to the brim with bottled water, emergency medical supplies, canned goods and school supplies to distribute to thousands of members living in hurricane- and flood-stricken areas.

A trio of UPS drivers from Local 597 in South Barre, Vermont ferried supplies more than 1,500 miles to sites in Jackson and Purvis, Mississippi. The drivers, Douglas Cleveland, Gary Dustin and Mark Gagnon, volunteered to go as part of “Operation Special Delivery,” an effort launched by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas.

According to Cleveland:

We hung signs on our trucks that read, "From Vermont to Mississippi." People cheered us on by honking and waving at us all the way down.

The trucks contained more than 145,000 pounds of supplies amassed through donations, including essential goods such as water and even dog food. Once in Jackson, the supplies were quickly unloaded, repackaged on pallets and sent out to distribution sites in the worst-hit areas of the region.

Cleveland explains:

There were a lot of trucks coming in, but the organization of the unloading process was something to see. We were joined by volunteers from all walks of life -- church members, school children and businessmen. It was wonderful to be able to help. We would all gladly do it again.

UPS driver Walter Mott from Local 492 in Albuquerque, New Mexico also helped in the relief efforts, driving a load of supplies to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to distribute to displaced hurricane victims from the New Orleans area:

I had concerns about what was going on in the Gulf, and I really wanted to help. I was born in Louisiana, and my family has a house in Galveston, Texas. I knew what they are going through.

In Boston, members from Local 25 collected and delivered supplies to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, donating a cargo trailer and community service trailer from the union's fleet to transport supplies to an area that received up to 100-mile-per-hour winds during the hurricane and had yet to be reached by the American Red Cross. The Local 25 tractor trailer, driven by volunteers Paul Newman and Rick Anderson, was loaded with mattresses, bedding, sheets, towels, and toiletries.

By December, trucks from Local 63 had made four cross-country trips to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf of Mexico. With the holiday’s approaching, a special trip was planned for Gulfport, Mississippi. Long after most service organizations and humanitarian efforts had left the Gulf, Team­sters from Local 63 pulled into Gulfport, driving a truck packed with bicycles, wrapped Christmas presents, and the jolly "Ho, Ho, Ho!" of Local 63's own Santa Claus (business agent Dallas Wimer):

So many of them came up to me, sat on my knee and told me that all they really wanted for Christmas was for their families to be safe. They wanted their old houses back, or their lost dogs. Most of all they wished the hurricanes hadn't happened.

Wimer noted that Local 891 members' impromptu North Pole decorations helped him in his leading role as Old Saint Nick.

Members of Local 891 helped unload the Teamster truck filled with presents from Local 63 families and exchange gifts, including more than 140 bicycles for the children of Local 891 members who had been affected by the storm. In the end, the children and their parents celebrated the Christmas they thought they wouldn't get.

Ten years later, Local 891 President Willie Smith still recalls the smiles on the faces of Local 891's children -- kids who thought their Christmas had been washed away with the floods, rain, and wind: 

The looks of joy on those kids' faces were enough to lift the spirits of all our members. It meant so much to know that we can count on our fellow Teamsters in times of need. They could have celebrated the holidays with their own Christmas party, but instead they selflessly gave it up for the Teamster families of Local 891.

It should be noted that countless more Teamster locals and members also answered the call to help by donating to charities, collecting needed items and driving to the affected areas to assist their brothers and sisters in need.

As Teamsters, we are blessed and privileged to be part of a brotherhood that cares so deeply about its members.

Teamsters standing united: Mississippi rebuilds after storm

Bricks recovered from Teamster member Terry Bang's home,
destroyed in the hurricane, at IBT headquaters

With this week marking the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Teamster Nation continues its look back at the disaster and the aftermath, focusing on the unprecedented role played by Teamsters in the recovery. In today's story, we recount the experiences of two Teamsters who lost their homes to the storm. 

Often overshadowed by the flood in New Orleans, few remember that Hurricane Katrina veered east at the last minute and roared onshore at the Louisiana-Mississippi state line, making the Mississippi coastline ground zero.

When the waves and storm surge hit on August 29, the power of the water wiped out entire structures in the areas of Biloxi and Gulfport, demolishing buildings and homes for miles on end. Further inland, catastrophic flooding, spawn tornadoes and wind damage ravaged even more Mississippi residents.

For Local 891 member and former shop steward Terry Bang, the tenth anniversary of Katrina marks a decade since losing his home to one of those spawn tornados. As the majority of Bang’s home was blown away by a fierce funnel of wind accompanying Katrina, he, his wife, Michele, and their two college-age children huddled in the downstairs bathroom praying for their lives.

After the storm, Bang and his wife spent more than 18 months living in a 29 x 8-foot trailer parked in the driveway that FEMA provided.

Bang and his family

Bang is deeply grateful to all the help from Local 891 in the wake of the hurricane. He said members of the union found a way to contact him after the storm and bring supplies soon afterwards, which he claims made all the difference between moving forward and just surviving:

They were right there for us, making sure we had everything we needed. We have become an even tighter knit group since the storm. As a steward, it was also great to see new drivers being hired and trained to help with the workload. We all came together, as a union -- brother helping brother against the ills of life.

Mauffray with two crosses

For Bang’s coworker and fellow union member Bobby Mauffray -- along with his wife, Marla -- the storm took almost everything when their home was washed away by the 25-foot wall of storm surge. The only possessions the Mauffray’s have are the items they threw in the back of the truck on the way to Georgia -- that and 11 of the 12 pieces of their wedding china, plus two crystal crosses marking the birth of their children found in their lawn, sitting perfectly intact near where the door had been as if they were “waiting to be put away”:

All the way home I had a knot in my stomach. But once you see it the fear recedes. You start thinking about what you need to do first. You never know what to take when you rush out, what you might miss later. I’m not one to be attached to material things, but I was glad we thought to take some pictures with us. When I was going through the wreckage I found the tape of my four year-old daughter’s ultra sound. It was filled with muddy water. That really upset me.

Following the storm, Mauffray and Bang returned to work at UPS, driving routes that were unrecognizable due to the massive devastation. Both men say they were lucky to still have a job and grateful for the quick response from their fellow Teamster members.

As a show of his appreciation, Bang recovered bricks from his old home and signed “thank you” notes to those who helped, including Local 891 President W.C. Smith and Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, which Hoffa still keeps in his office at IBT headquarters in Washington D.C.

Teamsters fight for good jobs, then train members to do them right

Teamster pipeliners

The Teamsters Union is helping members get pipeline construction jobs because they are good American jobs. They pay a fair wage for a hard day's work, provide benefits and give workers a chance to build a better life for themselves and their children.

Teamsters have helped build more than 25,000 miles of pipeline with union contractors. On one job, a contractor may have more than 100 trucks to deliver pipe, sand and gravel. Suppliers need trucks to deliver propane, ready mix, fuel oil and steel. They need trucks to remove waste as well.

Pipeline contractors prefer union labor because (a) it's the best and (b) they known they'll have harmony on the job. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters identified pipeline projects and then advised locals on how to approach suppliers and how to unionize their work forces. The IBT also trained Teamster members to do specific jobs and get certified on them. In Minnesota, Teamster Local 346's principal officer Pat Radzak met with the Ready Mix company. He told them they could get two months of work if they had union workers on the job. The Teamsters organized and Ready Mix got what was promised.

Teamsters have worked on pipelines in the East, on pipelines in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey. They've worked on them throughout the Midwest and in the Rocky Mountains. They've worked on the Florida Gas and Tiger pipeline that goes through Texas, Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. They've also worked on the Ruby Project, a pipeline traversing Oregon, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

Teamsters have been fighting hard for approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which will create many more good-paying pipeline jobs.

Now, Teamsters Local 891 and Teamsters Local 991 will sponsor a pipeline training program in Lucedale, Miss., on Aug. 10. Teamster drivers who take the training will learn about the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new regulations to reduce accidents.

Drivers need to understand the new federal regulation. Violations under the new rule could follow drivers from workplace to workplace. The training will help Teamsters protect their driving records -- and potential future employment as a driver.

The training is free, but you have to sign up. If you're interested, call Rex Creel (601) 624-4296 (Local 891) or Jesse Braggs (251) 408-1393 (Local 991).

The training isn't just for Teamsters who work on pipelines, but for all commercial drivers. For more information, click here.

Teamster snags a Miss. monster!

A night-long battle in the Mississippi River yielded record results for one Teamster. Local 891 member Dustin Bockman captured the heaviest alligator in Mississippi history when he pulled in a 727-pound gator.


Bockman's record-setting gator.

After five hours of searching the inky black river during the first weekend of hunting season, Dustin Bockman, his brother Ryan Bockman (also a Local 891 Teamster), and friend Cole Landers finally caught sight of the behemoth. The story is even more amazing when you realize Dustin was on his first-ever gator hunt:

My friends were just like, ‘Oh my god, it’s so huge.’ You couldn’t fold him in half to put him in the truck.

The team gave chase for more than two hours. Finally around 3 a.m., they managed to tether it to a fishing pole and then a snare. The fishing line broke.  Bockman’s team managed to get another line around the alligator. It also broke. After two hours and more snapped lines, Dustin Bockman finally ended the chase with a shot from a crossbow.

At 13 feet, 4 inches, their catch was almost the size of the team’s boat. After three hours straining to haul the animal aboard, they gave up and called in reinforcements. State wildlife authorities confirmed Bockman’s new record four hours after another record-breaking hopeful had hauled back a 723.5-pound catch.

Bockman plans to hand out most of the alligator meat to friends and cook the rest himself. After all, the hunting season has just begun.