Teamsters in Kansas City, MO have called the building at 4501 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd., Kansas City, MO home for decades. (The address was once 4501 Van Brunt) That may soon change following a decisive vote by the membership of Teamsters Local 41 to give the executive board of the local approval to expend funds to buy a new union hall.
The Teamsters current building, a massive 45,000 sq. ft. office building on a 4.4 acre lot in the urban core with multiple meeting rooms that can accomodate hundreds of people and a now-defunct cafeteria, was built in 1966 for the union. At no fault to current leadership, the building, which is owned by a shared association, simply has not received necessary maintenance over the years.
Estimates put together by an outside firm for the union membership made it clear that right-sizing into a more appropriate sized union hall would put the local into a better position than renovating the building.
“I am thankful for our membership for showing up and voting to start this next chapter in the history of Kansas City Teamsters,” said Local 41 President Joe Monslow. “We will continue to share updates with the memebership as more information becomes available.”
“I think that our membership made the correct decision and I look forward to what this means for the future of our local,” said Local 41 Secretary-Treasurer Jon Flinn.
Members of Local 41 took turns expressing concerns about the current building, had curiosities about the future location, and even mentioned wanting to keep the unique artwork that is on the walls throughout the building.
After the leadership of Local 41 heard out and addressed each concern, the membership of Local 41 voted in favor of the motion, with 109 voting yes to 4 voting no. The yes vote empowers Local 41’s executive board to approve funds at a set limit to relocate the union into a new building.
The Teamsters building is the source of significant history that is relevant to both the labor movement nationwide and Kansas City in general. Famous, and infamous, members of the Teamsters over the years had offices in this building.
Teamsters Local 41 is not the only union in the building, but it is by far the largest. Other tenants in the building include: Teamsters Local 955, Teamsters Local 541, Teamsters Local 838, and two or three other non-Teamster unions.
Editors Note: Because The Labor Beacon is read by tens of thousands of people in the general Kansas City-metro, we have not listed specific financial numbers in this story. Disclosing this information publicly could put the union at a disadvantage when purchasing a new building or selling the current one. This information is available from the union to members.
Tristin Amezcua-Hogan is the Editor of The Labor Beacon and a member of LIUNA Local 264. Tristin also serves as the Director of Communications for the Greater Kansas City AFL-CIO and the Chair of the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance.
Tristin grew up as the son of a UA Local 669 member in Tecumseh, KS and the great-nephew of George C. Amis, longtime leader of the United Rubberworkers (now USW Local 307) in Kansas. Growing up in rural Kansas as the child of teen parents, Tristin quickly came to appreciate the life-changing benefit of a union job.
Tristin and his partner, Rebeca Amezcua-Hogan, are residents of the Westside, Kansas City, MO's historic Mexican neighborhood. They are proud members of Kansas City's New Reform Temple.
