Teamsters Local 70 Member Recognized by Alameda County Board of Supervisors
August 14, 2026
Teamsters Local 70 Member Recognized by Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Kamarlo “Marlo Da Motivator” Spooner Honored for Decades of Leadership in Labor
(OAKLAND, Calif.) — In June, Kamarlo Spooner, better known as “Marlo Da Motivator,” was recognized by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors for his decades of work and leadership in Labor including his fight for Alameda County to recognize Juneteenth as a paid county holiday for workers.
Kamarlo a Sanitation Truck Driver and Teamsters Local 70 member, grew up right in Oakland. From a young age, he faced unimaginable challenges. Despite all his lived experiences and challenges, he persevered, and Spooner decided to give back to the community he was raised in serving as an active member of his local union, Teamsters Local 70 and the Alameda County Labor Council.
June 19, 2021, was the first year that Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end of slavery in 1865 in the United States, was recognized as a federal holiday. In the years that followed Kamarlo built a coalition of workers, labor unions and community organizations calling on Alameda County to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday to remember and honor Black Americans who have made immense contributions to our communities.
In a letter to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in 2021 authored by Kamarlo and over a dozen Labor and community organizations they shared, “By making Juneteenth a paid holiday, it will not only acknowledge this important historical date for African Americans but can also provide time for reflection, education, and self-improvement for our employees, residents, and visitors. Our county can be united in celebrating Juneteenth, continue to be trail blazers, and set an example for other cities, counties, and businesses across the state.”
In 2023, after Kamarlo’s years long advocacy, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution marking June 19, 2023, the first paid Juneteenth holiday for County workers.
Teamsters Local 70, Secretary Treasurer Felix Martinez shared, “We are extremely proud to have brother Kamarlo recognized for his leadership and fight for working people in our communities. He is one of the most selfless, hard-working individuals I have ever met. He put his all into building the coalition and support to have Juneteenth recognized as a paid holiday for workers in Alameda County and this honor shows the dedication he put into carrying this across the finish line years later. This recognition could not have gone to a better person, Congratulations Kamarlo from the entire Local 70.”
