Los Angeles Teamsters conduct practice pickets at UPS
Los Angeles, CA – On Thursday, June 29, the Teamsters at UPS Olympic hub in downtown LA held coordinated pickets including both UPS drivers and part-time workers. The pickets occurred between 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., allowing both the drivers and the part-time workers to participate before and after their shifts.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents UPS workers across the U.S. and is is negotiating a new contract with UPS right now to replace the current contract, which expires on August 1. UPS workers across the country are conducting pickets to show that they are united and ready to strike.
At 8 a.m., the drivers gathered outside the hub, and began to march around the building chanting “UPS pay up.” The drivers marched until they reached the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Blaine Street. The chants and the cheers from the workers got the attention of commuters, who were honking and beeping in support of the picketing workers. As this was going on, Jared Hamil, a UPS driver and a shop steward from Local 396 was leading the crowd, chanting “Shut down Big Brown” and “UPS you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!” to rally the drivers. Soon the drivers returned to the hub to start their shift, and the part-time workers came out to take their place on the picket.
At 9 a.m., part-time workers, including workers from the preload shift and package clerks, joined the picket. The workers marched down the same path as the drivers, ending up at the same intersection the drivers were picketing at. The part-time workers were united as the drivers were before them. The march was led by four shop stewards from Local 396: Olympic hub preloaders Hannah Keith, Jennifer Bekenstein, and Victor Rodriguez and Jeremy Arias, a night sort steward in Compton, California. The stewards were rallying up the workers, shouting chants like “Carol Tome you’re no good, treat your workers like you should!”, blowing whistles, and waving signs just like the drivers.
When asked about why they were preparing to strike, Hannah Keith said,” We’re out here today getting ready for what could be one of the largest labor strikes in American history. This company pays us poverty wages and has pushed us around for long enough. We’re sick of it.” At the end of the picket, Richard Pacheco, the head of Local 396’s package division addressed the crowd, saying “We’re fighting for the best contract we can get. This company made billions of dollars off your backs, and we want our fair share.”
As the Teamsters are preparing their members to strike, contract negotiations over economic conditions are taking place between the union and UPS. Recently, UPS shared their economics proposal which the Teamsters Union described as “insulting” and rejected outright. The significance of this shows that the Teamsters are unwilling to accept the concessions the company is pushing and are sending a message to their members that the union has their backs.
The Teamsters have given a deadline of June 30 to come up with a “Last, best and final” offer that the rank and file can agree upon. If an agreement isn't reached, the union has made it clear that they will not extend negotiations and, on August 1, the Teamsters and their members will be on strike for real. This action shows both drivers and part-time workers are united and ready to fight for the contract they deserve.