Caucus President, Chris Fuentes, nominated and the board unanimously approved Corey Hallman as our Western Regional Director, covering the states of California, Hawaii and Nevada!

 

Corey’s Bio

 

I have been a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for 24 years, getting my first union job after graduating from Oklahoma State University with a Zoology degree and hired as an Animal Keeper at the San Diego Zoo. Teamsters Local 481 supported me and my coworkers that were living on San Clemente Island working on an endangered bird captive breeding and research program by filing a grievance for us for wage theft. The Zoo was requiring us to perform work off the clock and the Union pushed back and took the grievance to an arbitration. This was my first experience with how important and powerful a Union could be in protecting workers rights after growing up in a right to work state where I knew very little about how organized labor or collective bargaining worked.

After working at the San Diego Zoo for three years I moved to San Francisco and was hired as a Zookeeper for the San Francisco Zoo which is represented by Teamsters Local 856. After only a few years of working there, I was elected Shop Steward and filled that role up to my last day of employment in 2015. Teamsters Local 856 supported the workers at the Zoo on issues like improving animal husbandry and worker’s safety. We attempted to make changes internally but after getting nowhere I became a whistle blower and went to the local media. My local backed me and my coworkers and were integral in creating real changes at the Zoo. Once in San Francisco, I also became very active in local politics and was elected to the Harvey Milk Democratic Club Executive Board for three years where I worked hard to create partnerships with local labor organizations and especially with Teamsters Joint Council 7. The Milk Club worked to bring attention to the harassment and discrimination that LGBTQIA+ employees at Taylor Farms in Tracey, California was enduring from their employer during their organizing campaign to join the Teamsters union. I also worked closely with some of the founding members of the Teamsters LGBTQ Caucus to get the caucus off the ground. However, in 2015 I was hired by the IBT as a Project Organizer and was traveling across the west coast working on organizing projects and shortly after stepped away from the Teamsters LGBTQ caucus.

Teamsters Local 856 hired me on as a Representative in 2016 after successfully working to organize 2,000 new public sector employees in Contra Costa County California. I worked as the public sector Representative in Contra Costa County until 2022 when I was reassigned to be the private sector Representative in San Francisco, California and now represent hotel and nonprofit workers. I have been a delegate for the San Francisco Labor Council representing Local 856 for the last five years and was elected to the San Francisco Labor Council Executive Board two years ago. I also assisted in creating the San Francisco Labor Council LGBTQIA+ Committee and have been chairing this committee since its creation. State Representative Matt Haney appointed me as a delegate for the California Democratic party last year where I have been representing Assembly District 17 as a delegate for the party. During the COVID-19 pandemic and with the support of my local, I organized two different LGBTQIA+ nonprofit organizations into our union. The Rainbow Community Center and Our Family Coalition are now Teamsters Local 856 members and they have bargained significant improvements to their working conditions.

I would be honored to be a part of the Teamsters LGBTQ Caucus again and serve as an Executive Board Member.

Thank you for considering me for this role.

In solidarity,
Corey Hallman
Western Regional Director