Dean Modecker, raised in a strong union family, began his Teamster career in 1990 as a driver at Wonder Bread. Modecker has held every Local Union position: Steward, Trustee, Recording Secretary, Vice President and President, before assuming the principal officer role at Teamsters Local 455 on May 1, 2023. In addition to his Local Union background, Modecker served the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as Vice Chair of the Bakery-Laundry Conference, International Organizer, and Assistant to the Director of the Food Processing Conference.

An Air Force veteran who served from 1982-88, Alan Frisbee became a UPS driver in 1988. By 1994, Frisbee was a steward in the Commerce City, CO, hub. During the 1997 UPS strike, Frisbee served as a strike captain, quickly moving on to become an agent in 1999. In 2002, Frisbee was appointed to the UPS National Safety and Health Committee and became a UPS International Representative for the 13-state Central Region in 2011. In 2012, he was appointed Joint Area Committee Chair of the UPS Central Region. In 2016, Frisbee became Co-Chair of the National Safety and Health Committee. Frisbee served as Teamsters Local 455 Vice President and Business Agent from 2021 to May 2023, when he assumed the President’s role.

Herb Whitaker started his Teamster career in 1991 as a warehouseman at Sysco, working as a selector and loader on night shift, before progressing to day shift work in 2001. In 2003, Whitaker became a Sysco driver and took a Local 455 steward’s role. In 2017, Whitaker became an Organizer working on the IBT’s national campaign to organize Sysco workers across the country. Whitaker was hired as a Business Agent in 2018. He moved into the position as Local 455 Vice President in May 2023.

Doug Brees, a Teamster since 1976, started his career as a seasonal UPS package handler at the Commerce City hub in 1976, swiftly advancing to full time in 1977 and to a Regular Package Car Driver in 1978. By 1982, he became a Steward. In 1985, Brees became a Feeder Driver. In the late 1990s, he began his lengthy service as a union Trustee, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other Teamsters on the 1997 UPS picket line. Brees has served as Local 455’s Recording Secretary since 2015.

Marc Dennis, an Air Force veteran, became a Teamster in 2006 as a Route Sales Representative for Bimbo Bakeries, a position he holds to this day. A New York native, Dennis assumed a Steward’s position at Local 455 in 2009. Dennis is the senior Trustee on the Local 455 Executive Board, taking on that role in 2017.

Tamika Austin kicked off her Teamster career as a UPS part-time package handler in 2002, becoming a Regular Package Car Driver in 2010 working from the Commerce City hub. Austin, a single mom of two, became a steward in 2015 to speak up on behalf of her fellow members. She joined the Local 455 Executive Board as Trustee in 2021. Austin is a member of the Teamster Horsemen’s Denver Chapter and is trained in Teamster organizing.

Chris Suazo’s Teamster story began in 2010, when he became an Americold Logistics Order Selector. Suazo became a Steward in 2012, enforcing the terms of the members’ contract. A union activist, Suazo is a member of the Teamsters Hispanic Caucus. He became a Local 455 Political Field Coordinator in 2018 and assumed his role as a Trustee in 2022. Suazo remains an Order Selector at Windigo Logistics, which purchased Americold Logistics in 2022.