News
A Mom-umental Win for Workers
Jenny Agee, a retiree and former member of Local 955, has been a fixture at the union hall in Kansas City for the better part of four decades. Over the years, she served her union in a number of roles: political advocate, shop steward and member of the Executive Board.
“I’ve always been the unofficial gopher out here—go for this, go for that—as long as I could remember,” Agee said. “If it needed to get done and I was around, it got done.”
Agee became a Teamster after she landed a job at Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG). Her son, Local 955 President Jerry Wood, said that things changed when the Teamsters became a part of his life.
“We struggled a bit before my mother got a good union job, but once she joined the union things were a lot better,” Wood said. “I realized that’s why we need unions and that’s what made me want to fight for the Teamsters.”
‘New Light’
Before long, he followed in his mother’s footsteps and got a job working alongside her at AWG.
During the last 10 years of her career, Agee and Wood worked side by side. As Wood grew from a boy into a man, he continued to follow in her footsteps, first becoming a steward, and eventually climbing the ranks all the way to President.
“I never consciously tried, but he was raised in a union household and he came to the hall with me all the time when I went to volunteer,” Agee said. “If it’s one of our kids, it’s all of our kids.
“Everyone should get the chance to work with their children. It makes you see them in a whole new light because they’re not kids anymore, they’re grown-ups. I didn’t have to instill anything in Jerry, he just saw it from being around the union as a child,” Agee said.
Organizing Campaign
Last May, Local 955 embarked upon a new organizing campaign at Apple Bus in St. Joseph, Mo. Wood knew he needed all hands on deck for the ambitious campaign to succeed, so in addition to reaching out to the Teamsters Organizing Department, he enlisted the help of his mother.
Although she had served in a number of roles at Local 955, working on an organizing campaign was a first for Agee. She said that Wood helped her with the learning curve.
“It was fun working on a campaign with my son,” Agee said. “He’s really good with people. I’m pretty good, but he’s amazing.”