Teamsters union

Teamsters Union – Organizational structure Teamsters Union – Organizational structure Teamsters Union – Administration and Membership Overview Teamsters Union was established in 1903; since then, the Union has developed strong conflicts for supporting the rights of its members, i. e. of employees in all industries across USA (Organizational website, History). Today, the Union represents employees worldwide. The success of the Union has been highly related to its structure, meaning especially the administration and membership policies.
Administration in Teamsters Union
Teamsters Union has been divided into several departments so that effectiveness in supporting the various needs of the organization is secured. The departments of Teamsters are several; reference can be made, as examples, to the following: a) Accounting and Budget; it covers the need of the organization in regard to the gathering, process and supply of financial data; b) Political Action; it deals with the arrangement of collective action against strategies and decisions that violate employees’ rights; c); Human Rights; it focuses on the development of plans for the limitation of discrimination in the workplace and d) Campaigns; it focuses on the planning and development of the organization’s campaigns around the world. The structure of the organization, as reflecting its administration, is presented in Graph 1 (Appendix).
At top level, the administration of the organization is developed by its, two, ‘ executive officers, i. e. the General President and the General Secretary’ (Teamsters, Structure); at the next level, the General Executive Board has the power to control all critical strategic decisions. At the community level, Teamsters is represented by Local Unions the activities of which are monitored by the organization’s Joint Councils. Further, officers are appointed in the Union’s various units for responding to the needs of members and affiliates (Teamsters, Structure). Also, the representatives of the organization ensure that the needs of members are covered at local level; in this way, time is saved in responding to emergent inquiries of members and affiliates (Teamsters, Structure).
Membership
In order to become a member of the Union an individual has to sign a contract, which can cover the individual either locally, only in regard to one employer, or internationally, in all locations where the business operates. The amount that needs to be paid, for the membership to be completed, is estimated as a percentage of ‘ 2. 5 times the hour – wage of the individual’ (Teamsters, Frequently Asked Questions). Existing members have the chance to enhance their powers within the Union by becoming a steward, with responsibilities similar to the Union’s representatives, or an organizer (Teamsters, Frequently Asked Questions).
Effectiveness in serving members
When referring to the structure of a particular organization, effectiveness is decided using specific criteria: a) primarily, the effectiveness is evaluated after reviewing performance not only ‘ at organizational level but also at individual level’ (Aquinas 2009, p. 71); b) then, the geography related to business operations need to be checked: for example, in organizations that operate globally the establishment of many departments, for sharing tasks, is expected to increase organizational effectiveness (Williams 2011); c) it has been also proved that effective organizations are ‘ in continuous communication with their customers’ (Spong & Collard 2008, p. 26). According to the above criteria the effectiveness of Teamsters could be considered as quite satisfactory, because of the following facts: a) the organization has developed an extended network of local unions for ensuring the its members are fully covered, as of all their employee rights; also, the employees of Teamsters focus on the continuous communication with members and affiliates; b) the organization has established several departments, categorizing its activities, so that tasks are not delayed and c) in Teamsters the daily communication with members and affiliates is a key part of the organizational strategy. Applying the strategies presented above the organization is able to secure the effectiveness of its operations and to respond fully to the needs of its members.
References
Aquinas, P. (2009) Organization Structure & Design: Applications And Challenges. New Delhi: Excel Books India
Spong, D. & Collard, D. (2008) The Making of a World-class Organization. Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press
Teamsters Union (2014) Organizational website. Retrieved from http://teamster. org/fasttrack
Williams, C. (2011) Effective Management, 5th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning
Appendix
Graph 1 – Structure of Teamsters (source: Organizational website, Structure)