Teamsters Strike at DHL’s Biggest Air Hub, UPS Reaches Deal After Walkout Threat
First, the Teamsters threatened to strike at the biggest DHL Express U.S. air hub before walking off the job on Thursday. Now, the 1.3-million-member group, one of America’s most powerful unions, has UPS in its crosshairs, potentially throwing the logistics heartland into chaos just as the e-commerce super-season kicks into high gear.
Teamsters president Sean O’Brien claims UPS terminated nearly three dozen workers this autumn after they joined the union in the wake of this summer’s historic multi-billion-dollar labor contact with America’s biggest package carrier.
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UPS “shamefully laid off” the nearly 35 specialists and administrative employees working at the company’s Centennial hub in Louisville, Ken., “falsely claiming their labor should be performed by management,” O’Brien said in a statement on Thursday. The shipping giant cut the workers despite a neutral third-party arbitrator advising against the dismissals, he added.
“If UPS doesn’t get its act together, they’ll be on strike next,” O’Brien warned, adding that the Local 89 chapter is lodging unfair labor practice charges against the FedEx rival. “Our union will not hesitate to act, and we will not back down. The Teamsters will protect all our members in the delivery and logistics industry no matter the cost.”
In a statement, UPS said the layoffs reflect the company’s business needs and denied committing inappropriate labor practices.
“Our ratified National Master Agreement with the Teamsters remains intact and we are committed to working with the Teamsters to resolve this separate matter with a small number of employees at Centennial,” said a UPS spokesperson. “We do not expect disruptions to our Louisville operations and will continue to provide reliable service to our customers.”
The company quickly struck a new deal with the union on Friday, averting a potential walkout.
“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with the Teamsters regarding our Louisville Centennial and Chicago Jefferson Street hubs,” a UPS spokesperson said. “We remain focused on providing reliable service to our customers during peak season.”
“Red hot” Louisville and the state of Kentucky more broadly have become a ground zero of sorts for the #hotunionsummer that shows little sign of letting up. Some 98 percent of Teamsters working at DHL’s Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport hub (DHL-CVG), its largest in the 50 states, voted to walk off the job if the German giant failed to come up with a new contract covering 1,100 employees.
“DHL Teamsters deserve a strong contract now. Our hardworking members know the value of their labor and they are ready to withhold it if DHL doesn’t get serious about remedying its bad behavior and bargaining a fair contract,” Bill Hamilton, director of the Teamsters Express Division, said in a statement on Sunday.
They followed through with that threat just four days later.
“For too long, DHL has walked all over our rights to collective action,” Gina Kemp, a DHL-CVG ramp and tug worker, said in a statement issued Thursday. “We were forced to go on strike to put an end to DHL’s illegal anti-union behavior. This company’s repeated acts of disrespect—from the tarmac where we work to the bargaining table—leave me and my co-workers with no choice but to withhold our labor.”
Charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board accuse DHL Express of retaliating against workers who support the Teamsters, according to the union, which represents more than 6,000 U.S. DHL employees.
Hamilton claimed DHL executives pocket “billions” as many of these workers try to survive from one paycheck to the next. DHL Express recorded profits north of $4 billion last year, while parent company Deutsche Post did more than $100 billion in revenue.
“Meanwhile, this anti-worker company has the audacity to disrespect rank-and-file workers who are simply trying to stand up for themselves at the bargaining table,” he said. “Enough is enough.”
DHL Express responded by saying it’s negotiating with the union to resolve the contract dispute.
“Unfortunately, the Teamsters decided to try and influence these negotiations and pressure the company to agree to unreasonable contract terms by taking a job action in CVG Thursday morning,” a company spokesperson told Sourcing Journal. “While a number of employees at CVG chose to picket on Thursday, the vast majority of our employees came to work and our operations ran at full capacity.”
The logistics firm was “fully prepared” when the Teamsters expanded their picketing to additional DHL Express sites nationwide, according to the spokesperson. This includes enacting contingency plans, such as shifting flights and volume away from CVG to other locations, and deploying stand-in staff to “maintain full-service capabilities” during a “critical time of the year,” they added.
“We recognize the need to act responsibly and maintain the stability and reliability of our service offering during this period, for the long-term benefit of our customers and our own employees,” the spokesperson said. “As a result of these contingencies, we do not anticipate any significant disruptions to our service performance.”
DHL Express said it’s dedicated to reaching a new labor agreement. “While there is no agreed deadline for these contract negotiations, we are committed to working in good faith at the December negotiating sessions and have offered further negotiating dates in January to conclude this matter,” the spokesperson said. “Our customers should remain confident in our ability to provide the excellent service they expect and require. DHL Express will provide further updates to these ongoing negotiations when they become available.”
Editor’s note: This article was updated at 5:26 p.m. Friday with the UPS statement on the new Teamsters contract.
