Teamsters Demand Congress Pass Warehouse Worker Protection Act Following Prime Day Safety Report
Year-Long Senate Investigation Reveals Harrowing Conditions in Amazon Warehouses
Press Contact: Kara Deniz Email:
(WASHINGTON) – Following a report on Amazon Prime Day by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Teamsters are reiterating demands that Congress pass the Warehouse Worker Protection Act(WWPA). The WWPA is a bipartisan bill that holds corporations like Amazon accountable for dangerous safety practices and abusive production quotas in the warehousing industry.
“This report confirms what we’ve all known for a long time – Amazon is abusing its workers to the point of physical harm just so it can squeeze more money from its churn-and-burn, bloodthirsty business model,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Worker health and safety can’t wait – this legislation needs to make its way through both chambers of Congress and be signed into law immediately.”
O’Brien also addressed the retail behemoth in his speech to the Republican National Convention last night.
“What’s sickening is that Amazon has abandoned any national allegiance,” he said. “Amazon’s sole focus is on lining its own pockets. Remember: elites have no party. Elites have no nation. Their loyalty is to the balance sheet and to the stock price at the expense of the American citizen.”
The report, commissioned and released by HELP Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders (I – Vt.), has led to the company being forced to disclose its safety data publicly for the first time. The committee found that during Prime Day 2019, Amazon’s injury rate spiked to 45 per 100 workers – nearly half of its warehouse staff. It also revealed that the company has been underreporting its injury rates.
“The company continues to create excessive demand and push workers to extremes to meet that demand—often in ways that require workers to operate far beyond what is reasonable or safe,” the report said. “This is not an acceptable set of practices from one of the richest companies in the world. Amazon must address its injury crisis and ensure that all workers are safe at their jobs, especially during the most intense and demanding periods.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
Teamsters Demand Congress Pass Warehouse Worker Protection Act
UPS Organizing
231 UPS Admins and Specialists Join the Teamsters in One Week
"Working across 15 states, the Teamsters Organizing Department and Package Division welcomed 231 UPS admins and specialists into the Teamsters for the first time in just the past week. If you are an administrative or specialist worker at UPS, contact a local near you to become a Teamster today!"
Teamsters - 231 UPS Admins and Specialists Join the... | Facebook
Local 61 added new members in our Asheville and Lenoir centers during this organizing campaign. We are happy to welcome our new UPS Specialists, Admins & Customer Counter employees!
Teamsters Strike at Molson Coors
Beer Giant Announces Record Profits, Offers Workers Less Than a Dollar in New Wages
Press Contact: Kara Deniz Email:
(WASHINGTON) — Members of Teamsters Local 997 at Molson Coors in Fort Worth, Texas, were forced to strike today over the company’s disgusting pay package and complete unwillingness to reach a fair agreement with workers. Teamsters walked off the job after Molson Coors failed to come to terms on a new three-year contract that respects the 420 workers who make, package, and warehouse the company’s beer and beverage brands.
The strike shuts down production at the only brewery that services the entire Western region of the United States with major Molson Coors products.
Despite having months to negotiate, Molson Coors presented insulting and regressive contract proposals, including offering less than a $1 per hour wage increase for the majority of Teamsters members. Local 997 is seeking pay raises that reflect the impact of inflation over the term of the expired contract and the elimination of two-tiered health care and retirement benefits.
The union filed numerous unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over the company’s bad faith bargaining.
“As long as the profits keep flowing to the top, Molson Coors doesn’t give a damn if the workers inside its breweries can afford to take care of their families. They put pennies on the table for the workers behind these products. They want to strip working families of their health care. The greed and abuse from Molson Coors must end now,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien. “Executives shamelessly brag to investors about the company’s incredible growth and historic earnings. Millions go to the CEO, billions go to Wall Street, and a middle finger goes to the workers. We’re not taking the disrespect, we’re not accepting the crumbs, and we’re not making concessions. The Teamsters are taking this fight to the streets, and we will hold the line until our members get what they have earned.”
Molson Coors announced this week that the company’s year-end 2023 earnings were its highest in 19 years. The company spent more than $50 million on advertising in the fourth quarter. Molson Coors reported making six years’ worth of profit growth in 2023 alone. Last October, the company announced a $2 billion stock buyback for wealthy shareholders.
“Molson Coors put itself on strike by taking for granted the Teamsters who keep the beer flowing and the brewery operating. Workers are fed up with the corporate elite who keep all the profits for themselves and expect the people doing the real work to make the sacrifices. Our members are not afraid to withhold their labor. The taps at Molson Coors will run dry until workers get a contract with the pay and workplace conditions they deserve,” said Jeff Padellaro, Director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference.
On Feb. 8, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced it increased strike benefits to $1,000 per week for members of Local 997 fighting for a new contract at Molson Coors in Fort Worth.
Rank-and-file Teamsters produce Coors Light, Topo Chico, Simply, Pabst, and Yuengling, among other Molson Coors beverage brands.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
January Updates
We are off to a strong start in 2024, despite the cold temperatures.
On Saturday, January 13th, we had our Monthly Membership Meeting with a good number of Members in person and on Zoom. Special guest speaker was workers' compensation attorney Lyndon Helton. Lyndon gave a good overview of the basics of workers' compensation in North Carolina and answered detailed questions from our Members.
For the first time ever, UPS employees enjoyed a paid holiday on Monday, January 15th and had the day off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We recognize Dr. King's legacy of fighting for equality for all people.
https://teamster.org/about/teamster-history/teamsters-and-civil-rights/
November Updates
Thank you to the Veterans who have served our country so bravely. We appreciate you and your service to this country more than we can express. A special shoutout to our Teamster Veterans. We have many retired and reserve military men and women working hard across all of our industries, in all of our workplaces, every single day. At our monthly meeting, we had several in attendance. Thank you to everyone who came out on your Saturday to attend the monthly meeting and see the IBT Organizing Departments training session. Thank you to David & Dennis for coming out this month to help us with our internal organizing. They visited our UPS Asheville & Hickory centers and signed up several new members for Local 61.
NORTH CAROLINA UPS TEAMSTER STEWARDS FOCUS ON CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT, INTERNAL ORGANIZING
On Saturday, November 11th, the Teamsters Organizing Department hosted an Internal Organizing Training for Local 61 UPS shop stewards in Asheville, North Carolina. Following the ratification of the historic new contract at UPS, the Organizing Department has continued its internal organizing program with a focus on contract enforcement and signing up non-members in Right to Work states.
Growing the Teamster membership at UPS is critical to building rank-and-file strength and enforcing the new contract. Any local unions that are interested in partnering with the Teamsters Organizing Department to conduct UPS internal organizing trainings can use the link below to sign up for more information: https://teamster.org/building-ups-membership/
115th Annual Canton Labor Day Parade
Local 61 was proud to be a part of the 115th Annual Canton Labor Day parade again this year. We were joined on our float by members from several of our locations and their families. It was inspiring to see the turnout from the community after such a hard year for the town of Canton. After the recent closure of the towns paper mill, Evergreen, which opened over a century ago and employed thousands of workers over the years.
'This year with the mill closed, the parade felt a little different. It was quite emotional,' President Mark Greene stated. 'We have always been proud to be a part of the oldest Labor Day parade in the South.'
To see more photos and read more about this historic parade, click the following link from the Asheville Citizen Times article:
#HaywoodStrong
- 66th Annual Convention Brings Labor Solidarity to Asheville
- Local 61 Vote Count
- UPS Contract Meeting
- Local UPS workers protest amid ongoing contract negotiations with shipping giant
- President Greene Interviewed by Local Newspaper
- Strike Authorization Voting Results
- Strike Authorization Vote
- Shop Stewards Seminar
- Teamsters Celebrate Women's History Month
- February Highlights
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