We picked the name “Rebuild” because we want to stop the decline of our union and we think the only way to do that is to empower our membership for a fighting, democratic union.

Don’t believe we’re in decline? Let’s take a look at some numbers filed by Local 695 with the Department of Labor.

Starting from year 2000, we had a peak membership of 7,014 which has fallen to 4,256 in 2018. Is this all Act 10? Right to Work? No. The biggest dip in membership was all before 2011, and we’ve only continued the downward trend.

Last year, Wis Pak in Watertown, WI voted overwhelmingly to decertify Teamsters Local 695 as their union: 76 to 25. This is an embarrassment for our union and only demonstrates how low confidence has gotten in Teamsters 695 by the membership.

In the meantime, officer salaries have shot up from an average of $89,000 in 2000 to $130,000 in 2018. Let that sink in for a second: our membership cut nearly in half while the salaries for leadership keep getting higher. What does it matter to the current leadership if our contracts are getting worse or our membership falls off? They’ve never had it better.

This is why we need a change in leadership and to REBUILD Teamsters Local 695. Vote!

Source: United States Department of Labor, LM-2 forms filed by Teamsters Local 695. https://olms.dol-esa.gov/query/getOrgQry.do . Available September 24th, 2019.