Caleen Carter-Patton, Business Manager
Caleen Carter-Patton earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. After college, the Bethany, Missouri native completed an internship with Chicago Jobs with Justice, and then went on to do political work for the Chicago Teachers’ Union. Before joining Teamsters Local 727 in March 2014, she was a lead organizer for the Fight for 15 campaign, which was largely the reason the minimum wage increased in Chicago. For many years, Caleen was a business agent representing mostly the soda and parking industry. She has served as the Recording Secretary of Teamsters Local 727 and is now the first female President in the history of the Local’s executive board. Caleen is also the Union’s Business Manager and negotiates many of the Local’s largest contracts, including Reyes Coca Cola, Pepsi and Keurig Dr Pepper.
Mike DeGard
Mike DeGard has been Teamster for 20 years and has more than 10 years of experience as a business representative, contract administrator and union officer. He previously worked for Teamsters Local 705 and joined Local 727 in December 2013. A DePaul University graduate, he joined the Teamsters in 1997 as a driver for USF Holland. Mike has a strong background in collective bargaining and organizing, and as a business representative for Local 727, he represents members from the trade show, soft drink and parking industries. He has served as a Trustee for the Teamsters Local 727 Benefit Funds since 2016.
David Glass
David Glass was born and raised on Chicago’s South Side. He attended Northern Illinois University and spent several years working in retail sales and customer service before joining Local 727’s organizing team in April 2012. David went on to work as an organizer for Teamsters Joint Council 25 and returned to Local 727 to serve as a business representative in July 2014. He represents members in the paratransit industry.
Nicholas Micaletti
Nicholas Micaletti, a 2004 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been with Local 727 since 2007. Before coming to the local, he worked for System Parking for eight years, working in every bargaining unit position under the parking industry contract. He currently represents members in the parking, funeral and soft drink industries as well as members at Brookfield Zoo and Chicago-area racetracks. Nick also has served as a Trustee for the Teamsters Local 727 Benefit Funds since 2016.
Melissa Senatore
Melissa Senatore is a graduate of Colorado State University and Chicago-Kent College of Law. The Libertyville, Ill., native joined the local union in November 2013. Before attending law school, she worked as a casting director in Los Angeles and was a part of the original bargaining unit that was organized by Teamsters Local 399. Her experience helped her earn a labor law scholarship to Chicago-Kent, and she is now putting that knowledge and experience to further use as a business representative for Local 727 motion picture, parking, media and pharmacy members.
Erin Delaney
Erin Evans Delaney is a life-long Chicagoan. She comes to Teamsters 727 with a background in external organizing, community organizing, and the Arts. In 2018 Erin graduated with a Bachelors in the Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After 17 years in food service, she came to work for Fight for $15 Chicago, organizing with fast food workers to improve workplace conditions and advocate for a higher minimum wage. Following that, Erin joined National Nurses United as a field organizer. During her time with NNU she supported multiple electoral victories for Nurses and their patients.
Sean McGough, Business Agent
Sean McGough, a native of Hammond, Indiana, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Indiana University. Before coming on board with Teamsters Local 727 in August of 2019, he was an organizer with SEIU Local 73 for over 10 years, eventually working his way up to Organizing Director where he spearheaded organizing campaigns and managed the Local’s growth strategy. Prior to joining the labor movement, Sean was a community organizer in Gary, Indiana’s Midtown neighborhood.
Patrick Malone, Business Agent
Patrick Malone joined Teamsters Local 727 as a Business Agent in April 2024. Before joining 727, the University of Illinois graduate worked in multiple capacities organizing with and directing labor and political campaigns across the country, including SEIU and its Fight for $15 and a Union campaign and CMRJB Workers United, as well as AFL-CIO’s Working America canvasses. His representative work also includes having served as Unit Chairperson and Executive Board Member of United Media Guild TNG-CWA Local 36047.
Teamsters Local 727 Legal Department
Jayna Brown, General Counsel
Jayna Brown joined Local 727 as a staff attorney in February 2013. The Bay City, Mich., native graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degrees in psychology and political law theory from DePaul University before going on to earn her Juris Doctor from DePaul. Jayna previously worked as a law clerk for Hogan Marren — a union-side law firm — and as an associate attorney for Children’s Law Group. Her father, a former General Motors employee, is a lifelong member of the UAW and her grandfather and two uncles were Teamster drivers. As general counsel, Jayna is the in-house legal advisor to the union, working on contract negotiations, arbitration hearings, hearings before the National Labor Relations Board, the Illinois Department of Labor and other governmental agencies, while also handling union compliance matters.
Elizabeth Lerum, Staff Attorney
Elizabeth Lerum joined Teamsters Local 727 in December 2024. Elizabeth earned her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law in May 2024 with certificates in Labor and Employment Law and Public Interest Law. Elizabeth has a master’s degree in social science research from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology from Knox College. Prior to Local 727, Elizabeth worked as a legal intern in the Immigrants and Workers’ Rights Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago, as a Coles Fellow with the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and as a Criminal Records Relief Intern with Cabrini Green Legal Aid. Prior to law school, Elizabeth worked in nonprofit fundraising and served as a City Year AmeriCorps member.
Teamsters Local 727 Organizing Department
Donaldo Leiva, Internal Organizer
Donaldo Leiva began working as an organizer with Local 727 in April 2012. The Chicago native honed his interpersonal and communication skills while working for many years as a retail store manager. Since joining the union, Donaldo has spearheaded many of Local 727’s largest organizing campaigns in the paratransit, hotel and parking industries. Interested in joining Teamsters Local 727? Contact Don.