Salt Lake City, UT – UPS Teamsters are working extremely long hours in hazardous conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting themselves and their families at risk with no hazard pay. UPS was late to provide sufficient personal protective equipment for workers and only did so after workers demanded it. Still, many areas lack the appropriate PPE to stay safe at work. The Teamsters union has not put hazard pay on the negotiating table for UPS Teamsters; workers are organizing on the shop floor to win their demand. UPS recently announced their quarterly profits at almost $1 billion.

“UPS is making hundreds of millions in profit during the pandemic and refuses to take our safety seriously. Along with our demands for safety, we demand Hazard Pay for working in hazardous conditions,” said Nick Godfrey, a part-time UPS worker in Salt Lake City

The call-in days are planned for May 19 through May 21. Workers demanding hazard pay on the shop floor and are now pushing the director of the Teamster Package Division, Denis Taylor, to take up the demands of the union workers he represents rather than making continued concessions to the company.

#SaltLakeCityUT #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UnitedParcelService #HazardPay

Lansing, MI – UPS announced first quarter profits of $965 million. The profits are down only slightly from last year’s $1.1 billion, despite the closure of many commercial businesses. UPS has filled this commercial business shortfall with an increase in residential delivery, causing long hours of work for package car drivers.

The concessionary Teamster mis-leadership has declared that they will not seek hazard pay from UPS. They are instead operating on the logic that the union must cooperate with and concede to the company to maintain operations.

In early March, before the U.S. government had taken much action against the coronavirus, UPS’ CFO Brian Newmann was quoted in Reuters, saying “Our planes are flying in and out of China right now...I think we’re trying to position ourselves to take advantage of some pent-up demand.” Even outside of UPS, the investment class is openly positioning to profit off of UPS during the pandemic. Writing for InvestorPlace Media, Chartered Financial Analyst Mark Hake characterizes coronavirus as delivering a “discount” on UPS stock and advises “UPS stock looks attractive. Its present price already discounts a lot of bad news.”

Rank-and-file members are not backing down from a fight. Breaking with the Hoffa administration, members have been circulating several petitions for hazard pay from the company. In addition, as reported in Fight Back! Teamsters in Tampa, Florida have started a campaign to demand hazard pay.

Outside of UPS, hazard pay has been offered by many retail and grocery companies, including Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Costco, Sprouts, and Kroger, according to the Los Angeles Times. Even within the logistics industry, Amazon has increased overtime pay for warehouse workers. UPS is taking advantage of the pandemic and profit massively at the expense of the workers’ safety.

Teamsters can sign the petition for UPS hazard pay here: Hazard Pay Petition

#LansingMI #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UnitedParcelService #COVID19 #HazardPay

It is the immediate task of every Teamster to ensure that we are working safely right now. We must force every employer to provide us with all of the safety equipment we need to do our jobs as safely as possible. Every worker needs disposable gloves, hand sanitizer and disinfectant for their work area.

We can only achieve our needs through collective action. We cannot forget in these terrifying days that we have the full weight of our union contracts and federal law (OSHA) to force our bosses to meet our safety needs. We have only to look at our working sisters and brothers across the country who, even without a union, are walking off the job or taking other concerted action to demand proper safety equipment. We cannot accept any excuse from the bosses when our lives depend on it. Fight and fight and fight some more for as long as this crisis goes on, to ensure we are as safe as possible at work.

Beyond workplace safety, we need to demand hazard pay from our employers. None of us volunteered to be an essential service worker during the worst virus pandemic in a century. All of us have loved ones we cannot see, because our jobs have put us at such risk that we have no idea if we have been exposed to COVID-19 or not. We are living day-to-day with immense uncertainty and fear. Due to this incredible burden that we are carrying – a burden that guarantees enormous profits for our bosses during a time of terrible economic crisis – we have every right to demand higher pay for the duration of this crisis.

Here in Chicago, Teamsters Local 705 has been in negotiations with UPS for a week demanding hazard pay for all of its members. Their leadership should serve as an inspiration to Teamsters across the country. UPS is under expectations from the federal government to operate at full capacity for the duration of the crisis – that means that we, the workers who make UPS run, have all the leverage we need to make demands from the company. This leverage is what won us paid sick leave just two weeks ago. It is what will win us hazard pay.

Teamsters should organize around the country, talk with their stewards and union leaders, and take every action possible to ensure workplace safety and hazard pay for the duration of this crisis. This is not a time to hesitate, but a time to charge forward and take everything we can. The bosses have made it clear they will pick profit over keeping us alive any day. They don't give a damn about us, so let us fight them like hell.

#ChicagoIL #Healthcare #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #COVID19 #HazardPay