Tampa, FL – On Thursday, August 15, Tampa Teamsters spoke to the media and handed out flyers exposing UPS’s ongoing failure to provide heat safety. The workers handed out thermometers to other workers and asked them to fill out heat safety surveys as a way of raising awareness of the intense heat that workers are facing every day during the Florida summer. 

UPS has made no efforts to follow the heat safety regulations stated in the recently agreed upon contract. Despite this, workerswere ready to make their voices heard to get better heat safety. One worker submitted the heat safety survey with the comment “Let’s make change now!”

“It’s infuriating to be in the middle of August and hear that UPS has had new fans for months and not taken the effort to install them. I have heard it has reached 88 degrees Fahrenheit in our building. That number is dangerous for the kind of work that we do,” stated Simon Rowe, a UPS pre-loader. Under the 2023-2028 UPS contract, UPS is required to install tens of thousands of fans across the country. Additionally new trucks are supposed to be outfitted with air conditioning after January 1, 2024. None have been purchased yet near the end of the first summer of the contract. 

Heat safety became a major issue of contract negotiations after UPS driver Esteban Chavez Jr. died due to heat exhaustion in 2022. Despite the promise of eventual air conditioning in UPS trucks, they still have made no effort to add AC in buildings. 

Heat safety is a key issues that has united workers across the board. From drivers to pre-loaders everyone agrees it’s too hot. Workers vow to continue their struggle to demand better from UPS. UPS made almost $10 billion last year, while workers continue to struggle in intense temperatures.

#TampaFL #UPS #HeatSafety #WorkersRights

As other airlines recovered quickly from the shutdown, the problems at Delta extended for a week. Crew scheduling and operational support at Delta is extremely low-staffed. Delta employs as little as 53 crew schedulers, in comparison to United and Spirit Airlines, which have over 100 crew schedulers and American Airlines, with over 200. In times of crisis the incredible workload put on Delta workers becomes impossible to manage.

The airline, without any capacity to even locate their own flight attendants, asked crews to fill out surveys to figure out their locations. Many flight attendants have shared horror stories of Delta’s mishandlings of the situation.

Flight attendants stated that they were evicted from their hotels after Delta couldn’t be reached to extend their reservations. By the time the company told flight attendants book their own hotel rooms, hotel prices had skyrocketed to over $1500 per night in some cities. Many flight attendants, especially younger or newer workers, have spoken out about not having the funds to front the cost of a hotel room and being forced to sleep in airport lounges. Flight attendants have been forced to wait online for over 12 hours in attempts to reach scheduling or hotel support to no avail. Many flight attendants were stranded away from home for days.

In these times of crises, with the company totally unable to function, Delta management continued to insult workers at every opportunity.

Delta management, rather than doing whatever was necessary to get flight attendants home, handed out baggies of laundry detergent to workers in the Atlanta airport lounge. The CEO of Delta, Ed Bastian, has been under fire because midst all the chaos he and several members of the board of directors flew first class to Paris to attend the Olympics. Even as many people spoke out about the clear inequality between a CEO relaxing in first class and Delta flight attendants stranded without a place to sleep, Bastian has still refused to apologize or offer any aid to workers.

Unfortunately, this response to the meltdown from Delta is not a surprise. It’s only one example of the ways in which the company disrespects its workers every day. It is treatment like this that has motivated flight attendants to push to organize a union at Delta, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.

The Delta flight attendants have been up against union-busting tactics. In a statement in response to the meltdown, the Delta AFA steering committee said, “Even though operational metrics have improved, Delta Flight Attendants are still trying to recover and get home from the operational meltdown.

The statement also noted, ”While Ed was flying to Paris Tuesday night, crew were sleeping in airports across the country. Flight attendants expect an apology and accountability. We provided a roadmap to recovery and care for the affected crew members. Instead of taking ownership, Ed took a first class seat. It’s not acceptable.”

It is clear that flight attendants want and deserve more from Delta - they want real support when things go wrong, and they want bargaining power. Despite the company’s last ditch efforts, it seems like they will be unable to stop the power of their workers as they fight for representation and unionization.

#MinneapolisMN #Delta #Microsoft #LaborRights #UnionPower #WorkersRights #AFACWA

Washington, DC – Unemployment rates ticked upwards in 30 states, according to an Aug. 18 report from the federal government’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ohio, Maryland and South Carolina had the largest job losses. Mississippi has the country’s highest unemployment rate, at 8%. Meanwhile, Congress is in recess until September.

About 3 million workers have lost long-term jobless benefits since emergency unemployment insurance was allowed to lapse in late December 2013. At the time, Democratic leadership failed to insist on including extended unemployment compensation (EUC) in the budget compromise. That gave Republicans veto power over attempts in Congress to restore the program.

Early this year the Senate voted to bring back benefits for the long-term jobless, but the House leadership refused to allow the measure to come to the floor. Many conservative politicians blame jobless workers and unemployment insurance for the persistently high unemployment rates.

Commenting on the impasse in Congress, Steff Yorek of Freedom Road Socialist Organization states, “The fact members of Congress are at home campaigning – instead of addressing the real crisis that unemployed workers are facing – is a searing indictment of the politicians who serve the 1%.”

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Capitalism #SteffYorek #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights

Minneapolis, MN – About 40 members and supporters of the Twin Cities-based Welfare Rights Committee (WRC) came together here, Aug. 9, to celebrate the two-year battle to raise welfare grants. Speaking to the crowd, members of the WRC talked about some of the key protests and actions from the past year and expressed determination to continue the struggle.

Linden Gawboy of the Welfare Rights Committee told the crowd, “Because we were there to demand money for poor families, we won victories that will help thousands of kids and families in 2015. We exposed the state’s theft of federal money meant for the poor and won a law for a task force to investigate this theft. When we fight back together, we can win.”

Minnesota had not increased monthly grants in its welfare program, known as MFIP, since 1986.

Deb Howze, also of the WRC, urged event participants to join a Sept. 4, 11:00 a.m. protest at the Governor’s mansion to demand “Aid for all in need” and an increase in the MFIP grants.

#MinneapolisMN #PoorPeoplesMovements #WelfareRightsCommittee #Capitalism #workersRights

Washington, DC – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stated in a June 6 press statement, “It is my hope that Congress can still act on extending unemployment. This vital lifeline is so critical to struggling families in Nevada and throughout the country.”

Addressing the House impasse that is holding up legislation to bring back unemployment insurance for the long-term jobless, Reid condemned the Republican leadership stating, “Speaker Boehner has refused to consider an extension of unemployment insurance to over 2.9 million Americans out of work.”

The crisis began in December 2013 when Congress failed to pass legislation to continue Extended Unemployment Compensation. Democratic leaders in Congress did not insist on including benefits for the long-term jobless in the budget compromise, which gave House Republicans the say-so over any attempt to bring back the emergency benefits.

Many observers say that President Obama is unwilling to expend political capital to see a restoration of the benefits.

Steff Yorek, a spokesperson for Freedom Road Socialist Organization, condemned congressional inaction on June 7 stating, “Unemployed workers who have lost their jobs due to no fault of their own are facing a crisis. They are losing their homes, their cars are being repossessed, utilities are cut off and families are being destroyed. The so called ‘job creators’ are failures and so is their capitalist system. Congress needs to act now and restore emergency unemployment benefits for the long term jobless.”

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Capitalism #SteffYorek #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights #HarryReid

Washington, DC – House speaker John Boehner (R-OH) still refuses to allow a vote on legislation to restore unemployment compensation to the long-term jobless. In a May 21 statement on job training, Boehner failed to address the predicament of the nearly 3 million workers who have been hit by the failure of Congress to restore Extended Unemployment Benefits.

After a protracted fight, legislation to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless passed the Senate, April 7, with a handful of Republican votes. The Senate bill would extend the benefits until June 1 and provide for retroactive unemployment compensation payments. The House is unlikely to hold a vote on the proposed measure before June 1, which means the legislation will be back to square one.

Given the outrage that exists around this issue – many unemployed workers are losing their homes, cars and the ability to help their families – most expect that legislative efforts to bring back long term jobless benefits will continue after June 1.

Republicans gained effective veto power over extended unemployment benefits when the Congressional Democratic leadership did not insist on the inclusion of Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) in the December 2013 budget compromise.

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #Capitalism #RepublicanAgenda #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights

The 14 Republican House members who participated in the May 9 Weekly Republican Address, titled “Many Bills, One Focus: Jobs,” made no mention of the bill on extended benefits for the unemployed.

Republicans gained effective veto power over extended unemployment benefits when the Congressional Democratic leadership did not insist on the inclusion of Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) in the December 2013 budget compromise.

Since extended benefits expired on Dec. 28, 2013, about 3 million workers have been cut off unemployment insurance.

In the aftermath of the 2007 economic meltdown, the worst crisis of capitalism since the 1930s, large-scale unemployment has been a huge problem in the U.S. and Europe.

In the U.S., California has an unemployment rate of 8.1%, Illinois 8.4%, Nevada is at 8.5% and Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate, 8.7%.

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #Capitalism #RepublicanAgenda #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights #JohnBoehner

Jacksonville, FL – Dozens of union workers rallied outside of the Staples store on Beach Boulevard here to oppose the proposed privatization of key United States Postal Service (USPS) jobs.

The protest was part of a nationwide day of action on April 24, called by the American Postal Workers Union (APWU). The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), the Mail Handlers Union, and National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) supported it. Rallies, pickets and protests took place across the country at 50 locations in 27 states and drew out hundreds of workers, according to the APWU.

The Jacksonville protest drew a sizable crowd from all four of the major unions that represent workers at the USPS. Several members of Teamsters Local 512 who work at UPS also came out to show their solidarity as fellow package handlers.

“It's important because the Postal Service employs a lot of workers,” said Doris Orr-Richardson, President of the APWU 7041 in Jacksonville. She said of the Staples move: “It's a back door way to privatization by hiring minimum wage workers to do skilled labor. Each and every postal worker has to sign a ‘sanctity of the mail’ affidavit. Staples workers are told, ‘Here is the product, sell it.’”

Waving signs that read, “Stop Staples,” and “U.S. mail, not for sale,” the protesters received honks and cheers of support from passing cars.

Early in the rally, a Staples manager came outside to watch the protesters and photograph the event.

The privatized outsourcing of major USPS functions to Staples is the latest in a long series of attacks by major corporations and monopoly banks on the publicly-owned postal service. Congressmembers and Senators from both the Republicans and the Democrats have pushed harmful legislation that puts undue financial burdens on the post office in order to make it fail. In 2006, a bipartisan Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which forced the USPS into a 75-year liability for retirement benefits. Although the Post Office is an incredibly efficient operation, this requirement has USPS overfunding retirement by paying for postal workers who have not even been born. No other federal agency is expected to fund their retirement plans 75 years in advance.

The USPS administration handled this artificial crisis predictably by cutting over 200,000 postal jobs, closing down mail distribution centers and local post offices, and now contracting work out to non-union employers like Staples. The American Postal Workers Union is demanding that these new Staples mail centers be staffed with union postal workers and not minimum-wage retail workers.

Earlier in 2014, International APWU President Mark Dimondstein announced a nationwide alliance between the APWU, the NALC, the Mail Handlers Union, and NRLCA. The focus of this historic unity between the four postal unions is to reverse cuts made to the USPS service, resist privatization attempts like Staples and work with the people to better the post office for workers and customers.

#JacksonvilleFL #privatization #Capitalism #USPS #workersRights #AmericanPostalWorkersUnion

Gainesville, FL – About 40 people gathered at the Civic Media Center, May 1, to support fired members of the Citizens Co-Op Workers Union and celebrate International Workers’ Day with BBQ and live music.

Several different groups helped organize the event, including the North Florida Central Labor Council, the Alachua County Labor Party, UF Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

The event started with a picket outside the Citizens Co-Op, which barely a month earlier fired seven workers for attempting to start a union. The protesters held signs stating, “We support the union,” and “My money and I support the workers.” The fired Co-Op workers and supporters had been picketing for the past couple of weeks, and it was important to show solidarity for their cause on International Workers Day.

After the picket the protesters and community allies headed inside the Civic Media Center for food and music. There were different tables set up by the organizations that helped put together the May Day protest and festivities. In between music and performances there was a round of speeches.

Chrisley Carpio of the FRSO said, “We stand for legalization for all undocumented immigrants and support their fight for equality, whether it's in obtaining drivers licenses, tuition equity, or an end to deportations. May Day celebrates the unity of the people.”

Colleen Baublitz of UF SDS, speaking about the passage of SB 1400, which allows some undocumented students to pay instate tuition, said, “Students for a Democratic Society is proud to struggle alongside other groups for immigrants' rights in Florida. We are proud of our contributions in the fight for tuition equity, including the recent passage of HB851. SDS will continue to fight until every undocumented student has the same space and financial aid available to them as their peers.”

The event was a success as the Gainesville community celebrated the historic holiday.

#GainesvilleFL #MayDay #immigrantRights #workersRights #legalizationForAll #CitizensCoOpWorkersUnion

Salt Lake City, UT – Six speakers, along with about 40 workers, activists and community members, gathered for a panel discussion to recognize International Workers' Day, May 1. Hosted by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, the panel covered a range of issues including working class and union struggles, the immigration struggle, immigration reform, the current state of imperialism and government corruption. Alyssa Faith moderated the event.

Heidi Belka, an IATSE Local 99 union member and organizer, discussed the importance of workers’ rights and of unions in the U.S. and Utah itself. She began her presentation by asking the audience to “create a buzz phrase that it’s legal to organize a union in Utah.” Belka emphasized that when workers vote against unions, “they vote against themselves.” She explained how to organize a union and gave her own personal experiences organizing for women’s and workers’ rights. “Unions raise the bar for everybody,” stated Belka.

John McCormick, a Salt Lake Community College professor and author of A History of Utah Radicalism, gave a brief history of the radical political movements in Utah. Utah has a long standing history of radical political movements. McCormick explained that he looks at the radical workers’ movements of the past in order to act on present and the future. McCormick explained that “the path out is a radical one.”

Agustin Diaz (Tino) brought great energy to the room by having the whole room join in a couple of chants. The group began chanting “No human is illegal!” and the United Farm Workers motto, “Sí, se puede!” Diaz is a Utah County activist with a history being involved with the immigration fight. He came to speak on the behalf of the Salt Lake City Dream team. Diaz brought to light the issues of exploited undocumented workers and the separations of families. He asked how we can build bridges and come together as workers, activists and immigrants. He said that the immigration struggle affects all of us, and is “a movement of many movements.”

Mark Alvarez, an immigration specialist and lawyer, spoke next. Alvarez worked for three years as the administrator of minority affairs for Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. He spoke on immigration reform and the difficulties that undocumented peoples face to getting citizenship in the U.S.

The next speaker was Gregory Lucero, member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and founder of the Revolutionary Student’s Union. He opened by giving everyone the common slogan of “serve the people.” He spoke of the many victories of workers’ movements, from the fight for a $15 per hour minimum wage in Seattle to the victories in Florida, stating ,“Today marks a victory in winning in state tuition for undocumented students in Florida.” Lucero also said, “We must struggle against imperialism. No corner of the globe is unaffected by monopoly capitalism, the U.S. doesn’t have the best interest of the world in mind. We must say no to U.S. intervention!”

Finally, the panel was closed with some words from Rocky Anderson. Anderson served two terms as the 33rd mayor of Salt Lake City from 2000 to 2008. He discussed numerous examples of government corruption and the desperate need for change. He talked about the domination of corporate interests, the lack of accountability of politicians and the high rate of incarcerations in this state and country. “The corporate state is monopoly capitalism made safe,” said Anderson, reminding attendees to “follow the money.”

#SaltLakeCityUT #MayDay #immigrantRights #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #workersRights #RevolutionaryStudentsUnion #RockyAnderson

Jacksonville, FL – After joining a successful statewide event for young workers at the Florida capitol, the Young Workers of Jacksonville (YWJ) are preparing for International Workers Day on May 1. The newly formed group will host a labor-themed cookout for young workers in the city to talk about the major issues affecting them as a class.

“We're excited for young workers, both union and non-union, to get together on May Day and talk about the difficulties we're facing,” said Dave Schneider, an organizer for the YWJ and a Teamsters member. “Young people have a dismal future ahead of us full of part-time poverty jobs, low wages, crippling debt and most of us won't be able to retire until our 70s. We need to get organized and fight for our future and a good place to start is over a few burgers and beers on a day dedicated to honoring workers.”

The YWJ recently participated in the first Young Workers Day at the Florida capitol to coincide with the legislative session. On April 1, young workers groups from around the state sent members to the capitol for a press conference and a planning assembly.

The Young Workers Day drew out fast food workers, warehouse workers, teachers, migrant workers, longshoremen and other young workers from Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami and Tallahassee.

With more than 40 workers standing behind a banner that read, “The future is ours. Young Workers of Florida fight back,” speakers outlined the group's demands to the Florida legislature. These demands included raising the minimum wage, full-time jobs for young workers, expanding Medicaid in Florida, an end to wage theft by employers, fully funding public education and providing child care for working mothers. Senator Dwight Bullard from South Florida attended the press conference and expressed support for the group's demands.

Shortly after the press conference, the assembly met at the nearby Florida AFL-CIO building to discuss plans for future actions and strategies for finding new young leaders in the labor movement. Among the suggestions was holding May Day events.

The YWJ May Day cook-out will take place on May 1 at 6:00pm. The location is announced on the group's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JaxYoungWorkers

#JacksonvilleFL #MayDay #PeoplesStruggles #workersRights #15MinimumWage #YoungWorkersOfJacksonville

Jacksonville, FL – Despite ‘competing’ as the world's two largest parcel delivery and shipping companies, UPS and FedEx are owned by many of the same banks. According to NASDAQ's ownership summary of both companies, 12 of the top 20 owners of UPS and FedEx are the same banks, investment groups and financial institutions.

Both multi-billion dollar corporations are under 'institutional ownership', which means that a majority of their shares are owned by financial institutions, banks and other large monopoly corporations. According to NASDAQ's ownership summary of UPS on April 11, nearly 71% of UPS shares are owned by institutions. FedEx, a smaller company than UPS, actually had greater institutional ownership, with 83.94% of the company's shares owned by institutions, according to NASDAQ.

However, most of the largest institutional owners of both UPS and FedEx have substantial interests in both companies. For instance, Vanguard Group Inc., a Pennsylvania-based investment bank that manages nearly $2 trillion in assets, is the single-largest owner of UPS and the third largest owner of FedEx. Vanguard Group is a massive financial institution that boasts the largest ownership in many other large, well-known corporations including Apple, Exxon Mobil and Microsoft.

Primecap Management Company, based in Pasadena, California, is the largest owner of FedEx, holding nearly 19 million shares of the shipping company, according to NASDAQ. However, Primecap is also the 16th largest owner of UPS stock, holding more than 6.3 million shares, also according to NASDAQ.

In all, 60% of the top 20 owners of both UPS and FedEx are the same banks, investment groups and financial institutions.

Institutional ownership is incredibly common among the largest 500 publicly traded companies.

Despite this fact, companies like UPS stress to workers the need to “compete” against rival workers in their industry, like those at FedEx. UPS's collective bargaining agreement includes an entire article on competition that states: “The Union recognizes that the Employer is in direct competition with…other firms engaging in the distribution of express letter, parcel express, parcel delivery, and freight, both air and surface.”

The company leverages this poison pill of competition to justify subcontracting union work and undermining union standards. It creates an adversarial relationship between workers of UPS and FedEx, when in reality the owners at the top are united in extracting the most profit possible from workers at both companies. When the owners of UPS and FedEx are one in the same, ‘competition’ means which management team can exploit their workers the most and extract the most profit for the banks that own the whole industry.

A prominent argument used by UPS claims that workers must accept concessionary contracts to remain ‘competitive.’ They argue that employing tried-and-true militant tactics, like striking as the Teamsters did successfully in 1997, will result in FedEx stealing UPS’s customers. Historically, the union movement addressed this by organizing entire industries, instead of single worksites or employers. This meant one industry, one union, and at times – one contract. At its best, this method of organizing and bargaining takes wages out of competition and sets industry-wide standards to prevent subcontracting and a race to the bottom through ‘competition.’ Tactically, if the 1% owners of both brands are united, then to combat them and win, workers across the entire industry must also unite.

The attempts of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to organize FedEx have been foiled by U.S. labor law, which misclassifies workers and stifles their ability to unionize. FedEx Ground drivers are misclassified as independent contractors and are legally barred from union representation, even though in practice, they are effectively workers directly employed by the company. FedEx Express drivers are also misclassified under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), as opposed to the National Labor Relations Act. The company claims their employees are ‘airline’ workers, and thus would need to unionize nationally all at once. The RLA also places many more restrictions on workers’ rights, including the ability to strike. It also forces the workers into binding arbitration, which often serve the interest of the boss instead of the workers.

The banks and financial institutions that own both UPS and FedEx are united in their push for lower wages, part-time poverty jobs, fewer benefits and weaker contracts. To effectively fight their race to the bottom, union workers at UPS must organize FedEx workers, regardless of the legal fictions created by politicians in Washington.

Dave Schneider and Dustin Ponder are both rank-and-file Teamsters and members of Part-Time Power at UPS, which is a national group for UPS part-timers.

#JacksonvilleFL #Teamsters #UPS #Capitalism #FedEx #antiunionBusting #workersRights #Banks

The Democratic leadership did not insist on including a benefit extension in last December’s budget compromise, giving Republicans the power to stop legislation to restore Extended Unemployment Compensation.

About 3 million workers have been denied jobless benefits since the program was allowed to expire late last December.

House Democrats are circulating a discharge petition, which if signed by a majority of House members, would force an immediate vote on the measure. To date, the discharge petition has been signed by 193 House members. The House of Representatives has 233 Republicans and 199 Democrats.

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #Capitalism #RepublicanAgenda #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights

The struggle that exploded over UPS’ abuse of their workforce and the unjust firing of union activists ended with the company giving in to the demands of Local 804 and the legion of supporters that they assembled nationwide. Today, April 9, UPS settled with the Executive Board of Local 804, and agreed to rehire all the fired workers, including Jairo Reyes, and committed to treating workers with dignity and respect.

Richard Pawlikowski, a veteran driver who participated in the walkout, spoke about the conditions in Queens, “In our contract, UPS agreed to treat us with dignity and respect at all times. They don’t even do it for five minutes. They treat us like criminals. It finally reached a boiling point.”

Pawilkowski was one of the 36 out of the 250 Queens drivers who were walked off the job by supervisors, and told they were fired. When asked about how he felt after being fired by the company he gave so much for, he said, “I walked out with my pride. I didn’t do anything wrong. I had a clean conscience. I’ve grieved hundreds of abuses by the company, and I have no discipline in my file.”

After the walkout, UPS issued working terminations to the 250 participants. In response, Local 804 launched a national campaign of support that included gathering over 120,000 names on petitions, solidarity from hundreds of local unions and aggressive support from a wide range of politicians. The union held several rallies, and many of the fired drivers even went and discussed the situation with their customers, who demanded UPS rehire their delivery drivers. As support and solidarity continued to spread, UPS caved.

Driver Tom Oliver, who participated in the walkout, spoke about the union power that ultimately brought UPS to the table. “It’s a sweet victory that only happened because we stuck together and we got tremendous support. Even with all the stress that came with the walkout and the aftermath, it brought attention to a lot of problems with our facility that I hope can be corrected.”

Oliver, a committed union fighter, and family man with a wife and two children, joined the walkout and stood up for justice despite the threats of retaliation from UPS. “I think the excessive overtime, the unfair discipline, the micromanaging and the outright bully tactics took a toll on all of us. The unjust firings and, specifically, the firing of Jairo Reyes was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

After a battle that inspired thousands of union members across the country, Local 804 members look forward to resting easy for a night after several weeks of uncertainty. The message from the Local 804 website read: “Tonight is first and foremost about the 250 drivers and their families. We congratulate them on standing together through this ordeal and winning their return to work with respect and dignity.”

Dustin Ponder is a union activist and member of Teamsters 804.

#NewYorkNY #Teamsters #UPS #Capitalism #antiunionBusting #UPSContract #workersRights #TeamstersLocal804 #UPSStrike

The struggle that exploded over UPS’ abuse of their workforce and the unjust firing of union activists ended with the company giving in to the demands of Local 804 and the legion of supporters that they assembled nationwide. Today, April 9, UPS settled with the Executive Board of Local 804, and agreed to rehire all the fired workers, including Jairo Reyes, and committed to treating workers with dignity and respect.

Richard Pawlikowski, a veteran driver who participated in the walkout, spoke about the conditions in Queens, “In our contract, UPS agreed to treat us with dignity and respect at all times. They don’t even do it for five minutes. They treat us like criminals. It finally reached a boiling point.”

Pawilkowski was one of the 36 out of the 250 Queens drivers who actually walked off the job, and who UPS claimed would be replaced. When asked about how he felt after being fired by the company he gave so much for, he said, “I walked out with my pride. I didn’t do anything wrong. I had a clean conscience. I’ve grieved hundreds of abuses by the company, and I have no discipline in my file.”

After the walkout, UPS issued working terminations to the 250 participants. In response, Local 804 launched a national campaign of support that included gathering over 120,000 names on petitions, solidarity from hundreds of local unions and aggressive support from a wide range of politicians. The union held several rallies, and many of the fired drivers even went and discussed the situation with their customers, who demanded UPS rehire their delivery drivers. As support and solidarity continued to spread, UPS caved.

Driver Tom Oliver, who participated in the walkout, spoke about the union power that ultimately brought UPS to the table. “It’s a sweet victory that only happened because we stuck together and we got tremendous support. Even with all the stress that came with the walkout and the aftermath, it brought attention to a lot of problems with our facility that I hope can be corrected.”

Oliver, a committed union fighter, and family man with a wife and two children, joined the walkout and stood up for justice despite the threats of retaliation from UPS. “I think the excessive overtime, the unfair discipline, the micromanaging and the outright bully tactics took a toll on all of us. The unjust firings and, specifically, the firing of Jairo Reyes was the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

After a battle that inspired thousands of union members across the country, Local 804 members look forward to resting easy for a night after several weeks of uncertainty. The message from the Local 804 website read: “Tonight is first and foremost about the 250 drivers and their families. We congratulate them on standing together through this ordeal and winning their return to work with respect and dignity.”

Dustin Ponder is a union activist and member of Teamsters 804.

#NewYorkNY #Teamsters #UPS #Capitalism #antiunionBusting #UPSContract #workersRights #TeamstersLocal804 #UPSStrike

Washington, DC – A vote is expected on legislation to restore Extended Unemployment Compensation this Monday, April 7. The bill, which calls for Congress to bring back unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, has faced repeated delays from Senate Republicans, but is expected to pass.

The impasse in the Senate was broken when a small group of Republican senators decided to back the effort to restore the benefits.

When the Democratic leadership in Congress failed to insist on the inclusion of Extended Unemployment Compensation in last December’s budget compromise, they in effect gave Republicans veto power over benefits for the unemployed.

After the passage of the jobless bill in the Senate, the legislation needs to pass in the House. Most House Republicans are hostile to measures that assist working people. Many of the Democrats have gone along with cuts to social programs.

More than 2 million workers have lost their benefits since extended unemployment insurance expired at the end of last year.

Steff Yorek, a leader of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO), states, “The capitalist system is a failed system that is unable to meet people’s needs. It serves the rich and so do many of the Washington, D.C. politicians. It’s time to turn up the heat on Congress.”

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Capitalism #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights

New York, NY – Hundreds of union members and community supporters rallied on the steps of city hall here, April 3, in support of the 250 UPS drivers who were issued terminations for walking out to defend their fellow co-worker.

Union members from Teamsters locals all across the city were joined by MTA workers from Transport Workers Union Local 100, SEIU 32BJ and members of Communication Workers of America and other union supporters.

President of Teamsters Local 804 Tim Sylvester told the crowd, “UPS is threatening to bankrupt 250 families,” and described the attacks as a heartless attack on drivers and their families. The crowd responded with shouts of “shut ‘em down!” and “Save the 250!”

New York Public Advocate Letitia James spoke and threatened UPS with ending their $43 million of tax breaks provided by New York City. She also pointed out that a sweetheart deal on parking tickets is in on the line, now that 250 drivers have been given termination notice and UPS already fired 20 workers on March 31. She went on to proclaim, “This ain’t Wisconsin!”

It was pointed out that different conditions prevail in New York City, which has the highest unionization rate in the country, than in Wisconsin, where right-wing Governor Scott Walker stripped public workers of their collective bargaining rights. “This is not going to end this way,” said City Controller Scott Stringer.

Workers walked out to defend a union activist and 24-year worker, Jairo Reyes, after UPS tried to fire him through an abuse of the grievance procedure. UPS’ abuse of the grievance procedure is a common practice to retaliate against workers who are trying to enforce their rights. UPS issued working terminations to the 250 brave drivers from Teamsters 804, claiming they could maintain the right to dismiss them at anytime.

One of the workers who was issued a termination, Domenick DeDomenico, age 40, spoke of the kind of harassment workers faced on a daily basis at UPS. A car struck DeDomenico while he was delivering packages, and he slipped into a coma for 10 days. He eventually returned to work after brain surgery and serious physical therapy. However, upon his return, UPS issued him a separate intent to discharge for slipping from his delivery rate of 13 packages per hour to 11 packages per hour after his injury. “I have a 13-year-old son and a wife,” said DeDomenico.

Shop steward and 804 driver Vincent Perrone told the crowd, “How do you do something like this to our families? We work 10, 11, 12 hours a day…we leave houses at 6 o’clock in the morning and get home at 10 o’clock at night. It takes a toll on us, on our families, but we want to work. All we want is the dignity and respect we deserve.”

A spokesperson for UPS later issued continuing threats, claiming that if UPS lost their tax breaks and sweetheart deals they may be forced to fire additional employees.

“This company thinks they can get away with whatever they want. If they refuse to listen to reason, if they refuse to back down, it’s time to walk all the buildings and show them what union power means,” said one 804 member who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation for advocating a work stoppage. “We’ve got the support of the city, now’s the time to take a stand.”

#NewYorkNY #Teamsters #UPS #Capitalism #antiunionBusting #UPSContract #workersRights #TeamstersLocal804 #UPSStrike

Workers walked out to defend a union activist and 24-year worker, Jairo Reyes, after UPS attempted to fire him through an abuse of the grievance procedure – a common practice to retaliate against workers enforcing their rights. UPS issued working terminations to the 250 brave drivers from Teamsters 804, claiming they could maintain the right to dismiss them at anytime. In response, the local union launched a national campaign of support with the aims of bringing UPS back to the table, and rescinding the terminations. The support included a national petition which garnered over 100,000 signatures in just two weeks.

Union leaders, stewards and rank-and-file activists from Local 804 hit the gates of every building in New York City educating members and gathering signatures from their 6000-person membership.

“We want to show UPS we’re united and won’t tolerate them retaliating against our brothers and sisters. UPS created this situation by violating the contract and refusing to respect the grievance procedure,” said 804 member Dustin Ponder. “The workers we talked to were eager to sign. They stand behind the drivers and our local.”

The groundswell of support spread nationwide as activists from groups like Teamsters for Democratic Union, the Vote No movement and Part Time Power at UPS circulated the petition outside gates across the country. Within days activists gathered petitions at hubs in Florida, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Chicago, Rhode Island, Ohio, New Jersey and Arizona.

The union held a rally outside the distribution facility in Maspeth, Queens on March 21, where union leaders and local politicians such as New York City Public Advocate Letitia James were joined by hundreds of workers and community supporters. They demanded the company rescind the terminations and begin respecting the contract.

UPS attempted to raise the stakes on March 31 by terminating 20 workers after they completed their shifts, and stating more terminations of hard working drivers would follow. Outrage spread in a matter of days and the story quickly spread to national headlines.

The union and their allies now want to shine the spotlight on up to $60 million in subsidies New York City gives the company. “We’ve given UPS breaks, particularly as it relates to this [parking] program,” Public Advocate Letitia James said in quote given to the Daily News. “They should not treat workers in this manner.”

Local 804 issued a call for workers and community supporters to rally on April 3 at 10:00 a.m. outside city hall to continue the fight-back against UPS’ abuses of their workforce. The rally will demand that UPS reinstate all workers who walked off their jobs and rescind all outstanding terminations.

#NewYorkNY #Teamsters #UPS #UPSContract #workersRights #TeamstersLocal804 #UPSStrike

While more Republican opposition to unemployment insurance is expected over the next few days, the bill bringing back jobless benefits will likely pass. Five Republican Senators have signed on to measure, giving it the margin it needs to move forward.

The decision to go ahead with Extended Unemployment Compensation came on the heels of the passage of a bipartisan deal to spend $1 billion on the fascists who recently took power in the Ukraine.

The bill extending jobless benefits faces a tough fight in the Republican-dominated House.

The decision by the Democratic leadership to not include Extended Unemployment Compensation in last December's budget agreement gave Republicans the power to block measures to aid the long-term unemployed.

#WashingtonDC #unemploymentInsurance #Capitalism #ExtendedUnemploymentCompensation #workersRights

The workers are represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73. The voting will take place from Monday, March 31 through Thursday, April 3.

Fight Back! interviewed Joe Iosbaker, a clerical worker at UIC who chairs the joint committee.

“In negotiations with management, their chief negotiator Steve Katz said, ‘None of your members are underpaid.’ In other words, management is saying, ‘just be glad you have a job and stop expecting raises.’

“Now management is threatening us that the politicians in Springfield want to cut 12.5% of the university’s budget for next year. They say it's because the state will lose that much revenue when the temporary income tax increase ends on Jan. 1, 2015. Management wants us to give up any hope of a fair contract.

“The three bargaining committees met and agreed to fight on both fronts. Our message to Springfield: No pension cuts! No budget cuts! Make the rich pay their share of taxes! We adopted a resolution to send a message to the politicians.

“And our message to management: We’re prepared to fight, and even strike if we have to. Salaries for top management have exploded while we have struggled to keep up with the cost of living, with no hope of getting ahead.

“We are asking all union members to come out to vote Yes! to authorize our committees to call a 3 day strike.”

Below is the resolution adopted unanimously by the joint meeting of bargaining committees (Clerical and Administrative, Service and Maintenance, and Technical units) of the Service Employees International Union Local 73 at the University of Illinois at Chicago:

Tax the Rich!

Resolution adopted unanimously by the joint meeting of bargaining committees (Clerical and Administrative, Service and Maintenance, and Technical units) of the Service Employees International Union Local 73 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, representing 3000 workers.

The State of Illinois has an unfair tax system. Wealthy people don’t pay their share. In Illinois, the rich pay less in taxes that 42 other states.

Many major corporations located in Illinois pay little or no taxes. Take for example the Boeing Company. They are the second largest arms manufacturer, and get most of their contracts from the federal government. From 2003 through 2012, Boeing had $35 billion in profits, but paid zero in state taxes.

Now the politicians in Illinois want to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the higher education budget, and billions from other programs that benefit working class people.

We shouldn’t pay for this crisis! The politicians have been raiding our pension funds for 30 years because they don’t tax the rich enough. Illinois state workers have met our obligation by paying into our pension fund from each paycheck. Our pensions are under attack already. Now we’re being threatened with this 12.5% budget cut.

No pension cuts! No budget cuts! Make the rich pay their share of taxes!

#ChicagoIL #TaxTheRich #UniversityOfChicago #SEIULocal73 #JoeIosbaker #Capitalism #workersRights #laborStrike