Cincinnati Socialists’ Statement on Ongoing UPS Teamsters Negotiations

Image Credit: Teamsters

With the recent overwhelming vote to strike from the UPS Teamsters should their bosses refuse to accept a strong new deal, Cincinnati Socialists congratulate the workers in this historic vote and seek to encourage all working people to strike in solidarity with the overworked and underpaid men and women of UPS if negotiations fail. The new deal they wish to secure will guarantee higher wages, more full-time positions, an end to forced overtime and harassment by management, elimination of the current two-tier wage system, and the, frankly overdue, protection from heat and other workplace hazards. Many of you will remember there was a surge of heat strokes and deaths last summer due to the lack of protection in their large box-trucks, but these issues have not gone away and are likely to get even worse this summer if management fails to comply.

“This vote shows that hundreds of thousands of Teamsters are united and determined to get the best contract in our history at UPS. If this multibillion-dollar corporation fails to deliver on the contract that our hardworking members deserve, UPS will be striking itself,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “The strongest leverage our members have is their labor and they are prepared to withhold it to ensure UPS acts accordingly.”

These negotiations have been raging since mid-April and management seems steadfast in avoiding to pay their fair share, and it is up to us to show them that we stand with these workers who are being underpaid, overworked, and left in hazardous conditions on a daily basis. The UPS Teamsters have given management until July 31 to accept the new contract or face a strike that could cripple the company and it is our duty to ensure that not only will it cripple the company but the passive income of their Board and shareholders. How do we do that? We strike in solidarity! These pigs go from the trough of one company to another, and it is our duty to starve them of their means and force them to the table with the Teamsters! Solidarity forever! Workers of the world Unite!