2022 TEAMSTERS CANADA SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Five Teamster members won a scholarship in 2022. The application process includes submitting an essay on a given theme. This year we’ve chosen to publish the essay by Sister Valentine Wu from Local Union 31 in Vancouver.

What are the benefits of being a Teamster member?

by Sister Valentine Wu, Local Union 31

My name is Valentine Wu, and I am a member and a new steward for Local Union 31 in Delta, BC. I have belonged to the strongest labour union in the world for the past 14 years. I have greatly appreciated knowing that an organization will fight for my rights and have my back in the workplace.

I have learned more about what it means to be a Teamster, and the benefits of being a member within these past few months than ever before. I was fortunate to attend the 2022 IBT Women's Conference, where I learned about the leadership, comradery, and fierceness of the members, both in the brothers, and the sisters. I learned that there is strength in numbers and solidarity. Seeing the support the members gave each other made me proud to be part of an organization that not only defends its members, but others as well, as I saw when over one thousand people turned out for the organized rally at the Amazon Headquarters in Seattle in support of workers on September 19, 2022.

One of the biggest benefits of being a Teamster is supporting our brothers and sisters, and knowing there is a steward who will always be there to support you in the workplace. Someone for those who need a shoulder, someone to talk about the job’s daily stressors, especially in my field, policing. I feel that the program that I am enrolled in, the First Responders Trauma and Recovery program, will greatly aid me in my role as a steward. The benefits of being a Teamster also include opportunities like this scholarship, and for those in my family.