Local 695 is the end product of a series of mergers of southern Wisconsin International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) locals. These included Local 434 of Watertown, Local 442 of Madison, the original Local 695 of Waukesha, Local 868 of Reedsburg, and Local 870 of Richland Center. It is a “mixed” local with a membership of not only truck drivers and warehouse workers, but also workers in canneries, bakeries, laundries, and dairy plants. In geographical terms, local 695's jurisdiction includes Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Iowa, Jefferson, Richland, Sauk, and Washington counties. It also includes all of Waukesha County except the easternmost tier of townships, and Fond du Lac County north to, and including, the towns of Oakfield and Enden.
The original Local 695 was founded in Waukesha about 1937. Its membership consisted primarily of workers in manufactured milk plants until about 1952 when it undertook an organizing drive among canning factory workers. In November 1953, the Waukesha organization merged with Local 434 of Watertown. The Watertown local had been chartered in October 1936 and also had its strength in dairy plants. Alois E. (Al) Mueller, secretary-treasurer of the Waukesha local, retained a similar position with the merged body and other officers and trustees were drawn from both old locals. The new local had a membership of about 1800; it retained the number 695 and Watertown became its headquarters.
In 1956, Local 695 became involved in a serious jurisdictional dispute with IBT Local 200 of Milwaukee. The conflict centered around jurisdiction over Milwaukee suburbs in Waukesha County and Local 695 officers viewed it primarily as a political move designed to increase the power of the large Milwaukee local. The dispute was settled in 1957 when a ruling by IBT Vice Presidents James R. Hoffa and John T. O'Brien took Waukesha County's eastern tier of townships away from Local 695 and gave them to Local 200.
On March 1, 1962, Local 695 again merged, this time with Madison Local 442 and Richland Center Local 870. The number 695 was retained, Mueller remained secretary-treasurer, and the headquarters was moved to Madison. With this merger, Local 695 had approximately 5000 members and maintained contracts with approximately 225 employers. The Madison local (442) had been started in 1934 or 1935, but failed to take hold. It was re-chartered in 1937 and was headed from that time until 1960 by secretary-treasurer Fred J. Siewert. The Richland Center local (870) was also chartered about 1937 with jurisdiction over southwestern Wisconsin. In 1946, it took over the territory of Local 868 of Reedsburg. That local also dated from about 1937, but was placed in receivership by the International in March 1946.
Shortly after the 1962 merger the local engaged in a lengthy conflict with several Lannon, Wisconsin, stone quarries. The problems started when the local, which already represented some quarry employees, sought to organize independent truck owners who contracted to haul stone for the quarries. This led to a strike, and a company-backed effort by some Teamster represented workers to de-certify the local and replace it with an independent organization called the Wisconsin Workers Union. Settlement of this conflict involved extensive litigation including an anti-trust suit against the local, and an unfair labor practices suit against the employers.
The moving force behind the mergers which built Local 695 was Al Mueller. Mueller joined the original Local 695 as secretary-treasurer in 1950. Previously he had been a founder and officer of IBT Local 360 of Milwaukee. He served as Local 695's secretary-treasurer until ill health forced him to vacate the position in 1968, but remained on the local's staff until 1972. Mueller also held high office in state and area Teamster organizations. He served as recording secretary and later as president of Wisconsin Teamsters Joint Council 50 in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Later he served in the same positions for Wisconsin Teamsters Joint Council 60, the successor to Joint Council 50.
