Bio
Leonard Smith is currently the Director of Organizing and Strategic Campaigns for Teamsters Local 117 in Seattle, Washington. He has led work on campaigns for $15 in Seatac and Seattle, as well as pioneering work in organizing independent contractors.
He became a Teamster member in 1978 when he went to work in a coal mine in Alaska. Leonard started with the staff of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 1986 as a staff organizer assisting local unions throughout the Country with their organizing campaigns for new members across all industries and sectors.
He has served as Director of Organizing for the Western Conference of Teamsters and as the Western Region Organizing Coordinator for the International Union.
He has also served as a teaching fellow with the Organizing Institute of the AFL-CIO and an adjunct visiting instructor at the George Meany Labor College. Leonard has also worked with the Free Trade Union Institute, conducting seminars in Russia, Serbia and Croatia.