Gary Clemons

Where do you work and what do you do?

I work at a petrochemical plant, and we make the synthetic rubber for Michelin tires.

Do you serve any roles in your local union?

Local president and president of my unit; we’re an amalgamated local so we have 13 plants/units.

What are you looking forward to this week?

I love being here to see any changes in our constitution and bring back anything I can to help our local keep running smoothly.

What does “All In” mean to you?

Well, in Vegas, it means a lot! But honestly, we can’t run our local if we aren’t all in. It means we’re working together for the future and making sure we leave things better than we got them.

What do you love about being in a union?

I love helping people. I love the brotherhood and sisterhood. My whole family was union, and my mother is still a Teamster. My nephew’s first union meeting was last week, and he’s 19 years old. Even if you’re not in a union, what we do in the movement is to fight even for you.

Speaking of your nephew and younger folks – it seems like there’s a wave of young workers organizing. What are your thoughts on that?

It seems like young folks in their 20s are getting more involved. They’re seeing what’s going on and it’s up to us as older folks to help them get involved and educate them.