Manuel Valenzuela

Manny Valenzuela is Western States Director of Organizing, M.O.R.E. Work Investment Fund. Before joining staff at the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, he worked 21 years for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, first as Western Organizing Director and then as Deputy Director. He started as a truck driver volunteer for about 10 years, and became a shop steward organizer, continuing the work of organizing for over 40 years. Valenzuela successfully organized workers in the beverage, hotel, ready-mix, intermodal train yard, bus, airlines and other industries. During his time with the Teamsters, over 400,000 new members were brought into the union. Valenzuela worked with others in the Organizing Department to develop strong “buy in” from local leadership and members for a more strategic organizing model. Over time, he was able to change the direction of the Teamsters and helped to turn it into an organizing powerhouse. He also helped pioneer the use of digital organizing in union campaigns, utilizing tools including texting programs, social media, geofencing, Zoom, QR codes, YouTube and more.