obituaries

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council 32 is in good hands today, members say, and it's because of the groundwork laid by its former president, Harold Yates.

Yates, one of the state's most recognizable union leaders for more than 30 years, started his union career in 1960 as a truck driver for the St. Paul freight firm Admiral Merchant. Seven years later he was elected recording secretary for Teamsters Local 120, and from there rose through the ranks to serve as a steward, vice president and president, a position he assumed in 1972. Over the years he was reelected as head of the Teamsters Local 120 several times and was named president of the Teamsters Joint Council 32, an umbrella organization for affiliated Teamster locals, which at the time covered 50,000 members statewide. The Council now represents about 75,000 members and includes locals throughout the Upper Midwest. Yates retired in 1998.

"He was proud of those he trained and mentored," said Sue Mauren, current president of Teamsters Joint Council 32. "He created a great organization, was proud of the Teamster organization and felt that when he left, it was in good hands."

Yates died of pulmonary fibrosis Monday at his home in Oakdale. He was 75.

Even as a powerful figure in the Minnesota labor movement, Yates never forgot the rank-and-file members he represented, those who knew him said. He was not afraid to stand up to management and seek fair contracts for his members, and he often used his influence to get work disputes resolved and to support workers, as he did in the contentious Twin Cities bus drivers' strike in 1995.

"He was a great Teamster who could get anything done in the state of Minnesota," Mauren said. "He believed in working people and organized labor. Wherever help was needed, he was there."

In the 1980s, Yates established the Teamster Service Bureau, an assistance program to help members who lost their jobs or were experiencing personal problems. He also expanded a scholarship fund for members' children. By the end of his career, he became a Teamsters International representative and came to know Teamster giants Jimmy Hoffa Sr. and Jimmy Hoffa Jr.

"It is men of the character of Harold Yates who assured working people in labor were able to be a part of the middle class. He was a champion of so many families like mine, a true champion," Jim Russell wrote on Yates' online guest book at www.startribune.com.

Born in Cumberland, Wis., Yates farmed with his father until age 16, when he took a construction job in Alaska. He moved to Texas a year later to work on oil rigs until he joined the Army at 19. After his military service in the 1950s, he moved to Minnesota.

Yates is survived by his wife, Shirley; a son, Jim; two brothers, Michael and Robert; two sisters, Lena Yates and Mary Ann Yates, and three grandsons.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. today at Transfiguration Catholic Church, 6133 N. 15th St., Oakdale. Visitation will be held one hour before services at the church.