For Johnson, unions were not instinctual, part of his lineage or in his blood. Instead, Johnson saw how his father was mistreated at work, with no pension and no job security, and his sister with a university degree couldn’t afford health insurance. 

“My Dad worked for years in a nonunion warehouse,” Johnson said. “He worked hard but didn’t have any of the protections or benefits that I have. He and his co-workers tried to organize a couple of times, but the company always threatened them, said they would close down and move to Mexico.”

Still, Johnson didn’t grow up around unions, so he didn’t go out looking for a union job. His first job was at the old Safeway on east hill in Kent where his parents had shopped for twenty years. He was a member of UFCW, but he didn’t pay much attention to his union. 

“My salary wasn’t great. I had health insurance, so that was good, but I wasn’t involved,” he said.

That all changed when Johnson stumbled into a Teamster job at the new Safeway warehouse in Auburn. His life-long friend, Jeremy Walker, had tipped him off. 

“You’ve got to come down here and apply,” his friend had said. “It’s hard work, but the pay and benefits are incredible.”

Johnson got hired on at Safeway as an order selector and has been there ever since. “The work is non-stop, there is a lot of heavy lifting and the standards are tough, but I always remember what I am taking home.”

His five-year career as a Teamster has already begun to pay dividends: Johnson recently purchased his first home, on an acre in Spanaway for himself, his wife, Heidi, and their 16-month-old son, Landon. He calculates that he will be able to retire at age 52 with a full pension.

From all accounts, Johnson has been a tireless union advocate. Last year, he helped raise toys for laid-off Teamsters as a part of the Teamsters for Tomorrow (TFT) Toy Drive. He also played an important role in organizing last October’s TFT Leadership Summit and is a delegate on the Pierce County Labor Council. This summer, Johnson will be joining the Teamsters Paint Tacoma-Pierce Beautiful work crew as they paint the home of a low-income, elderly resident of Pierce County. 

Johnson saw what happened to his dad and his sister, how they struggled to make ends meet. Now he says he’s a convert. He’s grateful to his union and wants to give back.

 “Getting this job was the best move I ever made. I want to see younger folks get more involved. We are the future of this union.”