TLN- The Labor Network

Our full chat with Kim.

Learn more at labor.gay

Learn more at labor.gay

Today we chat with Kim Vargas, a 15 year member of the Teamsters Intl and member of their LGBTQ+ caucus. Kim talks about how the Union helped her move from $20/hr to $30/hr to $60/hr plus benefits.

She shares her experiences about how the Union protected her during layoffs and continues to fight for her today. My favorite part of our chat was hearing Kim talk about Rocco, a Teamster leader who has helped her out a ton of times. I thought he was just a dude at her local union in CT, but NO, Rocco is also an executive leader at the Teamsters, and he literally fights for a day to day worker like Kim.

That’s what being in a union is all about! I hope you enjoy our chat with Kim.

Our full chat with Chris Fuentes.

Learn more at labor.gay

Recently, I had the chance to chat w Chris Fuentes. Chris is the President of the LGBTQ+ Caucus within the Teamsters International, representing over 1.2 million members. Chris is based in Hollywood, WOW, so that was pretty damn cool to hear him talk about being involved in making some amazing TV shows.

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Aside from the fun of talking about TV, I hope a few ideas from Chris landed with you. For one, Chris really understands how greedy and selfish most folks are at the ownership level. He said it best when he said “WE DO ALL THE WORK”. How true is that? Chris knows that without a Union, he and his fellow Teamsters would not have the strong wages, working conditions, and benefits that they do have, the Union made all of the difference.