Arlington, TX – On April 23, around ten rank-and-file Teamsters at the Arlington UPS hub marched on the boss. They presented a petition with 70 signatures gathered from workers across the building, demanding start times be posted earlier and made more consistent.

For years, workers have been dealing with day-by-day start times, often not knowing when to report until the night before, or even the day of. This has caused difficulties planning sleep, family time, appointments and other responsibilities.

After hearing the workers' demands, the division manager agreed to start providing tentative weekly start times, rather than only notifying workers one day at a time. He also said this could be implemented across all four shifts, not just day sort.

One of the workers who took part in the march said, “I really liked that management not only actually listened to us, but we got a concrete win out of this.”

After the meeting, workers gathered to celebrate the win, chanting “When we fight, we win!” and “Who are we? Teamsters!” The action showed that when workers organize together, they can push management to make changes on the shop floor.

#ArlingtonTX #TX #Labor #Teamsters #UPS

UPS workers are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and many rank-and-file Teamsters have been sounding the alarm, saying that automation will reduce staffing, degrade workplace safety and eliminate union jobs. As Teamsters leave UPS, in many cases the company is not expected to replace staff as they depart the company.

Glen Reed works inside the Lonestar and said, “Work that was once done by people has been directly replaced with automation. Inside workers are being forced to return to trailers, which routinely run [around] 20°F hotter than the outside temperature. This in turn has pushed some workers to quit, especially those of an older age group.”

Older workers, in particular, have been pushed to quit rather than endure the increased heat and strain. The company’s actions amount to a quiet long-term staffing reduction designed to hide job cuts behind attrition.

Workers at the Lonestar hub have reported that construction workers have been arc welding in or near active work areas without safety screens and that this has resulted in hub workers being directly exposed to bright flashes, flying sparks and noxious fumes. It has also been reported that at least one driver of an “irreg” (irregular package) cart had sparks fly into his eyes while passing by one of the areas where automation work was being performed, causing the worker to quit his job over the incident. Other workers have reported headaches that they say are from fumes due to welding in the enclosed warehouse. There have also been reports of congestion in walkways creating dangerous work conditions. Against the backdrop of this automation work, the Hub has continued to run with workers working their shifts loading, unloading and sorting packages in the same space with the construction work.

Despite the major impact on working conditions, UPS rolled out its automation plan with little to no consultation with the Teamsters union. UPS plans to automate through AI-driven refurbishment of buildings particularly ones designated as “automated hubs.”

UPS Lonestar is an automated hub. At UPS, administrators and specialists do a range of tasks to keep things running smoothly. Dispatchers and operations specialists, who help move shipments through the belts and yards, are among the most common positions. In automated hubs where UPS is shifting more of its volume, specialists are particularly crucial to maintaining advanced sorting and AI technologies. One thing is clear: without the workers, UPS's AI rollout falls apart.

James Dylan, another inside worker, said, “The rollout has been abrupt, with a clear priority of speed and production over worker safety.” This demonstrates a clear lack of respect on the part of UPS for the people who do the work to make UPS run.

Despite UPS moving fast to reshape its workforce around automation, workers will need to be just as organized and determined to defend jobs, ensure safety and protect the gains won through struggle.

The fight against automation-driven job cuts is not just about new machines—it’s about power. And workers at the Lone Star hub are making one thing clear, when the company attacks jobs and safety, Teamsters should fight back.

#ArlingtonTX #TX #Labor #Teamsters #Automation #UPS

Arlington, TX – On February 26 students gathered to demand an end to deportations and for the protection of immigrants. The event brought attention to ICE presence around the UTA campus. The protest was hosted by UTA Progressive Student Union with support from National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression – Dallas and Austin SDS, each of whom brought out a speaker. The rally also received wide support from the student body.

The message of the organizers was clear as chants of “No ICE in our state” and “Immigrants are welcome here” rang out across the library plaza. The students proved that power was in their hands, and they were going to use it to fight. Despite attempts by several cowardly administrators to shut down the rally, the students stood strong and admin slithered away.

Luca Reyes, the president of Austin SDS, drove over four hours to speak at this event. Reyes stated, “Not just as activists but as human beings we have the duty to say that no human being is illegal on stolen land.”

Speeches were also made by a member from the UT Arlington PSU and Justin Bent from NAARPR Dallas who each shared Luca’s message and energy.

Student organizers vow to fight until UTA administration recognizes the rights of its students on campus and provides sanctuary for all.

#ArlingtonTX #TX #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights

Arlington, TX— Teamsters of the shop floor committee at the UPS hub in Arlington conducted an anti-harassment workshop, February 2, to highlight the protections afforded to workers under article 37 of the UPS national contract with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The workshop was led and primarily attended by rank-and-file members, with participants including stewards and union staff.

Article 37 contains the rights won by UPS Teamsters that protect workers from harassment; but workers are often unaware of their rights protecting them from such harassment or often do not realize the mistreatment they are enduring from management constitutes harassment at all.

What constitutes harassment under article 37? Harassment is “over-supervision, coercion, intimidation, or retaliation taken against workers in performance of their duties or enforcement of their rights.”

It is important to remember that it is more effective to file a grievance on article 37 in conjunction with other articles, for example article 52 (suspension), article 36 (discrimination), 21 (attempting to prevent union protected activities), and article 18 (safety).

A group activity was conducted to help each participant hone their skills in writing grievances to enforce their rights in fighting harassment, with participants sharing strategies for how to make their grievances most effective.

The militant rank-and-file unionists that led the meeting plan to continue to conduct workshops informing workers of their rights and how to enforce them, with a workshop planned to cover the rights afforded workers to protect them from the heat in the coming months.

#ArlingtonTX #TX #Labor #Teamsters #UPS

Arlington, TX – On Friday, January 31, student organizers at Sam Houston High School staged an 11 a.m. walkout in response to demands from ICE for the school to release student documentation status. High school students Joselin Ibarra and Ximena Basilio had previously called a mass protest in Dallas which gathered over 2000 people.

Community members arriving at the event were met with a large police presence from both the high school and Arlington PD. Despite this, the walkout protest gained over 40 people at its height, featuring speakers from Sam Houston High, La Frontera Nos Cruzo (FNC), NAARPR Dallas, and Progressive Student Union at Arlington.

Just days before the walkout, though after the walkout was called, the Arlington Independent School District (AISD) School Board voted that they would not comply with ICE’s demands to release their students’ immigration records, demonstrating the strength of organization within the student and immigrant communities in Arlington.

#ArlingtonTX #ImmigrantRights #FNC #NAARPRDallas #ProgressiveStudentUnionatArlington

Arlington, TX – Student organizers carried out an anti-Trump banner drop and mass recruiting event at a club fair hosted on UTA campus, January 22.

Members of the Progressive Student Union at UT Arlington arrived early at a club fair to secure a table which we are often denied. Admin and university staff do everything in their power to block student outreach. Many organizers came out and dedicated a large part of their day to flyering and tabling around the event. This effort attracted a large number of students to the cause, which was shown in the meeting the organization had later that night.

The action which generated the most attention was the noon time anti-Republican banner drop. Over the main section of the fair, two organizers held a banner reading “Fight the racist reactionary Republican agenda.” As soon as the banner was up, administrators tried to shut it down, citing non-existence policies that they couldn't back up. Organizers held fast, demanding proof of the policies. Soon admin fled, unable to back up their claims.

The drop also generated attention from students, many of whom came up to talk with organizers about what they would do during the upcoming Trump administration. As said by a PSU member, “We're here to fight to maintain the piecemeal liberties our school gives us, and to push our cowardly administration to expand those rights in the face of Republican attacks, because if their behavior under previous legislation is anything to go by, they sure as hell won't stand up for us on their own.”

Students were overall receptive to this message and the organization received several signups from the banner drop alone.

It is more important now than ever that we have an organized front of students who can fight against the Trump administration's backward policies. The Progressive Student Union will continue to host actions which push back against administration, unite the student body, and show that no matter how much resistance they face, they will continue to fight.

#ArlingtonTX #TX #StudentMovement #PSU #Trump

At noon, the march began at the library with around 40 people, who then snaked their way through campus until they reached the administration building.

Inside the administration building eight students waited with bags of imitation blood for the main march to reach them. Once they did, the students poured the blood on themselves and laid on the floor in a representation of death and genocide. When the bottom floor was fully occupied, the students began chanting loud enough for everyone in the building to hear.

One student leader who went to the upper levels saw how many of those working had come out of their offices and were unable to ignore the volume of our demands. The students spent over an hour in the building, chanting their demands and making themselves heard. Afterward, the march continued, along with those who participated in the die-in, back to the library where the demands were reiterated one more time.

#ArlingtonTX #TX #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #PSU