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The following is a repost of a portion of the December edition of the “New Day at UPS.” New Day at UPS is a monthly newsletter written by UPS workers for UPS workers. It aims to be a voice in the struggle to build an independent rank-and-file organization at UPS. New Day is an example of the type of initiative needed to be taken up en masse by workers to build an independent, class-conscious labor movement in the United States.

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At the West Charlotte UPS hub in the lead-up to peak season, hour cuts which have been occurring all year intensified, with UPS forcing part-time inside workers to clock out without receiving their guaranteed 3.5 hours on nearly a daily basis, often sending individuals home who have barely clocked in for more than two hours. For reference, Article 22, Section 5 of the National Master Agreement between UPS and Teamsters states that “All part-time employees governed by this Article shall be provided a minimum daily three and one-half (3-1/2) hour guarantee.”

UPSers, rightfully upset about hour cuts and the clear breach of the contract, went to the building stewards to voice their frustrations and were told the flat-out lie that “there was nothing that could be done about it.” This is not atypical, as across the country, union stewards—whose role, according to the Teamsters’ website, is to “monitor and enforce the collective bargaining agreement”—consistently only enforce the contract on rank-and-file UPSers and not on UPS management.

Forced by typical union negligence, rank-and-file UPSers began agitating about the breach of the contract themselves and calling for a mass grievance campaign to expose both the company and the union. Right away, they ran up against further lies from both union stewards and UPS management. As UPSers began to demand their 3.5 hours, management spread the falsehood that they needed to have requested it days in advance or that the hour guarantee was based on a weekly cumulative amount. Both were flat-out lies, which when UPSers went to file grievances on, union stewards again backed up.

Entering into peak season, the consciousness of Teamsters’ lack of care, UPS management continued to disregard the contract, forcing almost all part-time inside workers to sign a document requiring them to work six days a week through peak season.

Teamsters Local 71 is not just one poorly run local, but is emblematic of Teamsters as a whole; in fact, Willie Ford, the president of Local 71, is part of the Teamsters’ leadership as an international trustee and a key ally of Sean O’Brien in the South. Local 71 is also indicative of the Teamsters for a Democratic Union as since 2019, the local has been led and often highlighted by the Teamsters for a Democratic Union.