Atlanta, GA – On July 26 Amazon workers and community members picketed ATL 6, the Atlanta Amazon Sortation Center. The Amazon drivers in Palmdale, CA extended picket lines to Atlanta as part of their unfair labor practice (ULP) strike against Amazon. The Palmdale Amazon Drivers voted to join Teamsters Local 396 earlier this year and ratified a contract shortly thereafter. Amazon responded to the workers forming a union by retaliating and terminating the newly organized drivers. As a result, the Drivers began their ULP strike.
Seattle, WA – On July 25, about 45 people participated in a practice picket outside a UPS warehouse in South Seattle shortly before 8 a.m. A UPS driver with Local 174, Giselle Neumann, led the crowd in chants of “Hell naw, you did us raw!” and “Hell no, pay me mo’!”
On Tuesday, July 25, the Teamsters reached a tentative agreement for the UPS 2023-2028 contract which covers 340,000 workers across the country. The agreement follows a rank-and-file campaign for a strong contract that resulted in a 97% strike authorization vote in June, and practice pickets all around the country in July in the lead up to a potential national strike on August 1.
Dallas, TX – On July 19, Teamsters and their supporters gathered at the UPS hub in Dallas to practice picketing for a possible strike this upcoming August 1. The strike would come at the end of a contract that contained inadequate pay and safety provisions for drivers and other workers. Teamsters practiced picketing and chants, such as “No pay, no work,” “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!” and “UPS, show me the money!” After practicing to picket, participants gathered to take a group photo together.
Minneapolis, MN – Over the weekend of July 21and 22, members of Minnesota Workers United took to the streets in Minneapolis and Eagan, a Minneapolis suburb, with hundreds of UPS workers who are members of Teamsters Local 638 and their supporters. The workers and solidarity supporters conducted practice-pickets to show their readiness to strike if UPS doesn’t meet their demands for a new contract by August 1.
Atlanta GA – On July 21, waste workers at Republic Services, who are represented by Teamsters Local 728 in Atlanta, rallied in support of a potential strike. The rally was held less than two weeks after 95% of waste workers in Local 728 voted to authorize a strike if the company refuses to offer a decent contract before July 31.
Los Angeles, CA – Chants of “Who are we? Teamsters!” and “Union power!” filled the street on July 19 at the UPS Olympic hub during a strike solidarity rally.
Grand Rapids, MN – At 6 a.m., July 15, around 200 members of Teamsters Local 346 walked off their jobs at the UPM Blandin Paper Company and began a strike. Grand Rapids gets its name because it sits along the Mississippi River in northern Minnesota. The UPM Blandin paper plant was built in its location on the edge of the river to use the river to power its paper mill. The plant has been an established feature of the town’s economy since its founding in 1901. Now, for the first time in the history of the plant its workers have gone on strike.
Landover, MD – On July 7 approximately 100 Teamsters of the Local 639 organized a practice picket outside their workplace in preparation for a potential strike.
