Saginaw's Robinson leads Michigan's 40,000 Teamsters

Published: Monday, February 07, 2011, 9:47 AM     Updated: Monday, February 07, 2011, 7:52 PM

ZILWAUKEE — Though David Robinson has been a Teamster for nearly 40 years, the newly elected president of the Teamsters Joint Council 43 in Michigan says he isn’t afraid of change.

And Robinson, secretary-treasurer for Local 486 in Saginaw and also vice president of the Central Region International Brotherhood of Teamsters, hopes to leave things better than he found them when his term is up in three years, even if that means shaking things up a bit.

Robinson represents about 40,000 Michigan workers, including those in the package industry, the public sector, nurses and contractors. He said he and the rest of the elected executive council are developing plans and setting priorities that will help enhance the union’s representation statewide.

Robinson said he knows the council has to reach younger generations if it is going to grow and thrive. One way is to include younger people on the executive board, as many members would stay on the board well after retirement.

“I felt there was a stigma of older guys holding on, like a dynasty,” Robinson said
 Membership has slipped by about 20,000 since the late ’90s, when there were more than 60,000 Teamsters in Michigan.

Another major priority, Robinson said, is doing away with divisive union politics of the past.

A group called Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education is spearheaded by the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council and supports the best candidate for the job, not a particular party.

“I’m not a party person. I support who I think is going to do the best for the working person,” Robinson said. “You can’t pick one party to make everyone’s life better.”

William H. Black, executive director for Teamsters Joint Council 43, said Robinson will be a part of bringing the Teamsters into the 21st century through the use of social media to interact and engage with people who want to organize.

“At the end of the day, we want to grow our membership,” Black said. “We have got to better communicate with the people who want to organize, and this is the progressive administration to do so.”

Black said Michigan Teamsters Joint Council 43 already has a presence on Facebook, and there are plans to get Robinson, 62, doing regular updates on Twitter in the future.

“You’ve already got me using a BlackBerry,” Robinson said to Black on a recent conference call.

The two Teamsters officials plan to talk and work with Gov. Rick Snyder, who didn’t push a Right-to-Work or anti-union agenda during his campaign.

“We have to make unions part of the solution, not part of the problem, and Robinson is looking to help move the state and the economy forward,” Black said.