Hope on wheels: Tennessee Teamsters band together for Katrina victim

UPS Teamster Alex "Kalo" Kalogeropoulos

In our ongoing look back at Hurricane Katrina on the 10th anniversary of the storm, today's story is about Teamsters in Tennessee who pulled together to help out a fellow member -- relocated from New Orleans -- whose life was turned upside down by the Katrina disaster.

In late 2005, a group of UPS workers in Tennessee began meeting privately to discuss what to do about their newest coworker Alex “Kalo” Kalogeropoulos. Following Hurricane Katrina, the displaced UPS driver and Local 270 member was putting on a brave front, but his fellow Teamsters could sense the stress and hopelessness on Kalo’s face. They also began to notice he was the first to arrive and last to leave every day – the result of having to share one car between the entire family for a more than two-hour commute to and from the UPS Center in Masman, TN.

As shop steward for the unit, Tracy Wallace learned of the situation and led the effort to get Kalo back on his feet by getting him a ride of his own:

He reminded me of a lost puppy – he didn’t have a home and had been through so much. Once I got to know him, I learned how difficult a time it was for the family. He never complained, but I knew it was taking a toll. He was dealing with so much. After he told me his truck was lost in the storm and the family was sharing one car, I realized why he was always in the parking lot by himself before and after work. So, we came together and raised enough money to buy a used van that I was able to fix up. We were happy to help.

The parking lot was crowded with Teamsters the morning the van was presented to Kalo, who says he was moved to tears by the generosity of his union brothers and sisters at Local 480. It made “a world of difference” for the family during a very difficult time, he adds:

Crazy thing is, I was just so happy to be working again that I refused to let the commute get me down – as long and frustrating as it was at the time. Being able to work again brought me sanity, then having such welcoming co-workers lifted me up. But when they surprised me with the car, it was beyond anything imaginable … It was overwhelming for a lot of reasons. First, because it was the greatest surprise I’d ever had. Second, because I knew right away the difference it was going to make for the family. And boy, what a world of difference it made for all of us.

Tracy Wallace

Tracy continued to look out for Kalo, taking him under his wing and inviting his family to join him and his wife at their home for dinners. When time came to meet with management to discuss union issues, Tracy asked Kalo to join him: 

We became close and I started taking him to some meetings with management. He was so interested in my role as steward and had so many questions. There was no doubt he was going to become more active when he got back to New Orleans.

Honored to play a role in union discussions with management, Kalo returned to New Orleans in 2006, inspired and determined to put Tracy’s teachings to practice by becoming a steward for Local 270 members at UPS. Today, he credits Tracy and members at Local 480 for making him “more Teamsters than ever”:

If you lived through Katrina, then you have a story to tell. My story wouldn’t be possible without the help of my union brothers and sisters at Local 480, especially Tracy. He looked out for me and picked me up when I was at my lowest. He was more than just my friend, he was also my mentor. He taught me the power of the union comes from being an active union member. There’s a lot of pride that comes from being a steward. I feel it every day.

Following the Katrina story in the latest issue of Teamster magazine, the two stewards spoke for the first time in years, Wallace said during a recent phone interview:

We talked for nearly two hours catching up with each other. We even made plans to visit one another in the next year…He’s just a good ole boy. I’m glad we could help him.

A union's unsung heroes: New Orleans Teamsters who stayed behind to help

Matthew Shropshire, a Teamster hero at ABF

Observing the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we continue our look back at the disaster and the heroism of Teamsters who helped those in need. Today's post tells the story of two Teamsters in New Orleans who risked their lives to help those less fortunate in the community. 

Matthew Shropshire, an ABF driver and 30-year member of Local 270 in New Orleans, was ready to leave town when he received a call from one of his church members asking to help evacuate elderly congregants. Without hesitation, Shropshire stayed to assist, boarding up windows and transporting members from their homes to seek refuge elsewhere. He returned home that evening with the intention of leaving the next morning. Little did he know the levees would break:

The next morning I got a call from my daughter telling me the levees broke. I couldn’t believe how much water there was when I looked out the window. My SUV was sitting in the drive way and all I could see was the windshield up. It was that much water. By the time I went downstairs and opened the door, the water had made it to the top step. It was moving that fast.

Stranded in his upstairs bedroom, Shropshire spent days waiting to be saved. After four days with no sign of rescue, he and his neighbors began communicating from their top floor windows to discuss escape plans. Shropshire got to work on a makeshift raft using a door from his closet:

We could see the interstate through our windows and knew if we could make it to the overpass that we’d get picked up by someone. Finally I said, ‘If nobody has come by Wednesday I’m going to swim out. Wednesday came and me and my neighbors made our way through the water using my closet door as a raft. On the way to the overpass, I saw at least three bodies float by…We were picked up and relocated to the airport. When I saw all the body bags on the tarmac, I knew the death toll was going to be high. All we could do was pray that the others still stuck inside the city would be as lucky as us.

Richard Pierre, a Teamster hero at UPS

Like Shropshire, Local 270 member and UPS feeder driver Richard Pierre was helping members of his church the day before the storm, too. A part-time pastor of a church in East New Orleans, he also stayed behind to help those in need: 

I remember there was one woman with six children who needed her windows boarded and a blind elderly lady who needed to be transported to the church. The names of people needing assistance were piling up. I did everything I could to help anyone who needed help.

As a child of Hurricane Betsy, Pierre had an idea of what was to come when he heard the levees had failed. He also knew East New Orleans would be hit the hardest. A wall of water rushed toward Pierre while he was searching the streets for people in need of refuge:

I didn’t see it at first, but I could hear it intensifying. It sounded like a machine gun. Then I saw a huge wave of water coming my way. We started running back to the church. I’ll never forget seeing the lady in her car, flipping over and being washed away by the wave of water coming down the street. I watched out the window for hours as a man clung to a pole. Everything from shrimp to bricks to cars and tree branches were flying past him and hitting him. To this day, I still don’t know how he withstood the force of it all. He was flapping on that pole for seven hours straight. There was just no way for us to get to him.

Tired of watching helplessly, Pierre and another man decided to take action, risking their lives to swim out and rescue the man. Despite sustaining multiple injuries bringing the man to safety, he continued to brave the dangerous waters in the pursuit of helping others in the days before the helicopters arrived to transport him and the others to the Superdome, where he received immediate medical attention.

The resilience, courage and compassion of brave members like Richard and Matthew serve as two examples of how the Teamster spirit triumphs in the face of tragedy. A grateful union thanks them for their service and leadership.