Denver practice pickets draw 300 people
Commerce City, CO – After the contract negotiation fallout between UPS and the Teamsters a week before, 300 workers marched outside the UPS Commerce City Hub just outside Denver, Colorado, July 9. Teamsters Local 455 is holding practice pickets which have been exploding across the country as the Teamsters keep up their fight for a strong UPS contract August 1.
Teamsters union members marched across the street from the building they work, roaring chants such as “Who are we? Teamsters!” and “No justice, no peace!” as they circled the sidewalk.
Union members were in high spirits and had a lot to say about how the contract negotiations were going. Shop floor steward Kat Draken explained the practice pickets, “To show that UPS can’t walk all over us, to show that we are ready to strike when we need to, and to show that we aren’t going to accept their insulting proposal for poverty wages, two tiers, and forced MRAs.”
MRAs, or market rate adjustments, allow the boss to control the wage of workers at a whim by increasing or decreasing pay as they see fit. “Their offer was absolute garbage, and we deserve more than that,” said Draken.
“UPS came to the table and essentially spit in our faces,” said union member Keegan Estrella, adding, “We are the ones who make UPS all of their money, and if we show we have the power to stop our work then we show that we have the power to make their wallets hurt.” One of the signs at the picket said “Workers create all wealth.”
The incredible turnout by Teamsters Local 455 during the practice pickets was in no small part because of the high level of support from the community. Groups like the Freedom Road Socialist Organization mobilized their members. Also, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) stood on the other side of the road with a banner declaring, “From classroom to picket line, students and Teamsters are aligned.”
The Teamsters deadline on the contract is July 31. International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien is putting pressure on UPS to have an acceptable contract on the table by then, or else the Teamsters will strike.