John Has been a lifelong resident of Dayton and the surrounding area. He is a 1962 graduate of Chaminade High School. He went on to attend college at the University of Dayton, the University of California at Berkley, Sinclair Community College (where he took many labor studies courses, and received an A.A. degree from Edison State College in 1983. John became a Teamster in May of 1969 when he went to work for U.P.S. in Dayton. He was a union steward for 20 of the 22 years he spent at U.P.S. In 1991 John became a full-time Business Agent with Local 957. In January of 1994 he was elected as Recording-Secretary of the local. In January of 1999 he moved to the position of Vice-President and assumed the office of President/Principal Officer in April 2005. John chose not to run for the principal officers position in the 2005 elections and instead was elected as trustee to serve on the Executive Board of the local. In January 2006 John was appointed to the position of Director of Field Services and Organizing. John took this position because he feels that he can make the greatest possible contribution to the membership by organizing new members to strengthen our bargaining power. John says his personal goal is to organize 1000 new members during his tenure as organizer. This is a lofty goal considering that he has been asked by President Richmond to put to use the considerable experience he has gained from negotiating 100's of contracts and representing countless members in disciplinary and grievance hearings, by training and consulting with the local's business Agents. Despite that as of this writing he is in the middle of several active organizing efforts already involving over 350 new members. Stay tuned for updates of the progress of these campaigns.
John D. Burns
Trustee
Director Of Field Services And Organizing
Local 957
