Executive Board
President, Teamsters Local 89
Avral first became a member in 1984, when he started at the Bardstown plant for American Greetings. After being hired on as a Business Agent in 1996, Avral was elected as Local 89’s Recording Secretary in 2010, as Vice President in 2016, Secretary-Treasurer in 2020, and President in 2022. In 2016, Avral became the first Local 89 member ever to be elected to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Executive Board as a Central Region Vice President.
During his time as an Officer for Local 89 and an Officer for the International, Avral has consistently fought for the rights and betterment of the rank-and-file members he serves. Avral’s leadership has helped to shape Teamsters Local 89 into the powerful and nationally recognized Local Union it is today. His ability to quickly see every angle of a situation has helped to fine tune grievance and arbitration arguments countless times and has sharpened the overall skill of every Business Agent he has worked with. No matter the situation our Local Union has been in, Avral has made us stronger at every turn.
Avral also serves as a Central Region Vice President on the International Brotherhood of Teamsters General Executive Board, as the Director of the IBT Carhaul Division, and as a Business Agent for Teamsters Local 89.
Secretary-Treasurer, Teamsters Local 89
Jeff, known as "Coupe" to his friends, has a long history with Teamsters Local 89. A third generation Teamster, after his grandfather’s career in freight and his father’s career in both freight and Carhaul, Jeff was raised from birth knowing what it meant to be a union member. In June of 1990, Jeff joined Teamsters Local 89 when he took a job at Jeffboat and in January of 2000 he was hired as a Business Agent.
In his role as an Agent, Jeff quickly became renowned as one of the most aggressive and successful negotiators in the area. Never afraid of a fight, he has supported members in their battle for stronger contracts by leading numerous powerful and successful strike efforts. Coupe has previously served as a Trustee, Recording Secretary and Vice President for Local 89. Today, he serves Local 89’s membership as the Secretary-Treasurer. In addition to his leadership roles at Teamsters Local 89, Jeff has also been recognized by his peers in the Kentucky State Building and Constructions Trades where he serves as that organization’s Secretary-Treasurer. He also sits as a member of the Central Region Policy Committee for IBT Construction Division.
Jeff also serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Joint Council 94, the IBT Construction Division Deputy Director, as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Kentucky State Building and Constructions Trades, and as a Business Agent for Teamsters Local 89.
Vice President, Teamsters Local 89
Brian, a third-generation Teamster after his father and grandfather, became a member of Local 89 in 1986 when he began working at the newly created UPS Louisville Air Hub. In 2003, Brian was hired as a Business Agent for the UPS Air District, and he has represented Local 89 members at UPS Worldport since then.
During his time as a Business Agent, he has been able to utilize his knowledge of the UPS agreements to win hundreds of significant grievance and panel cases for Local 89 members. These wins have resulted in pay, new and superior work standards, and even the creation of full-time jobs beyond what was guaranteed in the contract.
Brian also serves as a Business Agent for Teamsters Local 89.
Recording Secretary, Teamsters Local 89
Craig Burns first joined the Teamsters union when he started work at the newly formed Louisville UPS Air Hub in 1986. In 2005 Craig was hired on as a full-time Business Agent and was assigned to the UPS Air District.
He has represented hundreds of members in hundreds of grievance hearings and panel cases, giving him a wealth of experience at using the contract to fight for and win cases for the membership. Craig is well known in the Air District as the Local 89 representative for the UPS Worldport Safety Committees. In this role Craig has worked with building and area CHSP union co-chairs to consistently and successfully fight for a safer workplace for UPS Teamsters.
Craig also serves as a Business Agent for Teamsters Local 89
Trustee, Teamsters Local 89
James DeWeese has spent his entire life in and around the American Labor Movement. Both of his parents and his grandmother were all union stewards – his father in the IBEW, his mother in SEIU, and his grandmother in CWA. When he was just nineteen years old, James continued his family’s tradition by becoming an alternate steward at UPS in 1994, just a year after he started at the Company and first became a member of Local 89.
James was hired in 2012 to be a Business Agent for Local 89’s UPS Ground Division. In his time as an Agent, James has put a great amount of effort into mobilizing his members in contract campaigns and beyond. Always working, James is constantly going toe to toe with management at UPS. He lives by a simple creed when it comes to unionism; that in order to have a strong union, we must each do our part.
James also serves as a Business Agent for Teamsters Local 89.
Office Staff
General Counsel, Teamsters Local 89
Communications Director
Business Agent
Business Agents
Recording Secretary
Secretary-Treasurer
Trustee
Vice President
IBT Staff
General Secretary-Treasurer, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Fred has been a member of the Teamsters since 1979. In 1993, he was hired as a Business Agent for Teamsters Local 89 where he primarily represented members in Carhaul. In 1999, Fred was elected President of Local 89 and remained in that position until March 11, 2022 when he resigned to focus on his new duties as General Secretary-Treasurer.
Under Fred’s leadership, Teamsters Local 89 has garnered a national reputation as one of the most militant and powerful Local Unions in the United States. In his time as President, Fred has implemented policies that have improved the wages, benefits, and working conditions of thousands of hard-working Teamster members. Never one to back down from a fight, Fred has directly taken on Employers in battles others would have fled from. His leadership has prevailed against countless attacks on his fellow Teamsters.
Robert M. Colone is well known as one of the most accomplished and skilled labor attorneys in Local 89’s jurisdiction and beyond. In November of 2011 Robert was hired as Local 89’s General Counsel. In his capacity as Local 89’s General Counsel, Robert has represented Local 89 in over 100 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), State, and Federal Court matters. He has been involved in over 150 arbitrations, including official hearings and settlements, and he has argued cases on behalf of Local 89 in front of the Kentucky Supreme Court.
In August of 2015 Robert’s years of hard-work and dedication to the membership led to him becoming a Trustee on the Local 89 Executive Board. During his time at Local 89, Robert also served as a Business Agent directly representing members at Atlantic Aviation and Brown Forman.
On March 11, 2022 Robert resigned his positions at Teamsters Local 89 to focus on his new role as Executive Assistant to the General Secretary-Treasurer.
