Here are some tips from UPS Teamsters who have been organizing with their coworkers to enforce the contract.

1. Informing Members

"Informing members is the first step to enforcing the contract. Any time there is a new issue in my building, I print out informational flyers from the IBT or TDU to pass out to my members. If we are dealing with a unique issue, I will type up a flyer myself."

Damian Kungle, Preload

Local 92, Canton, Ohio

2. UPS Teamsters United Webinars

"Inviting my coworkers to a UPS Teamsters United webinar is a good first step to getting my coworkers involved. Once they start coming to webinars, I can then get them coming to union meetings and parking lot rallies to keep them more involved."

Shamsher Dhillon, Package Car Driver

Local 315, Richmond, Calif.

3. Organizing Member-to-Member

"An important part of my job as a steward is to make the union’s presence felt. I try to always show up to my shift to have time to talk to everyone about the issues they are facing. This lets me find widely felt issues and shows members that their steward is being proactive."

Misty Baker, Preload

Local 651, Lexington, Ky.

4. Meeting Before Work

"We organized our first parking lot meeting this spring and got 50 package drivers to attend. We shared tips for beating unfair discipline by following the methods and enforcing 9.5 rights. It went great and now we’re planning to hold monthly meetings."

Mac Seekford, Package Car Driver

Local 992, Hagerstown, Md. 

5. Petitions & Group Grievances

"Management in my building was turning off the belt early, before the end of our shift, and forcing people to work through unsafe conditions. When I presented the problem on the safety committee, I included a petition with signatures from all the members on my boxline telling management to put an end to the problem. I told management that this wasn’t just an issue for me, it was something we all cared about. The issue was fixed the next day."

Keegan Estrella, Preload

Local 455, Denver, Colorado

6. Celebrate Your Victories

"This spring, we won a big supervisors working grievance check from a successful grievance. We used the grievance check to buy taco ingredients and then we made 80 tacos for our coworkers and brought them to the break room. Sometimes members are afraid to file grievances, or don't believe it will make a difference. I threw the taco party with my big sups working grievance check as a fun way to encourage part-timers to enforce the contract!"

Juan Castillo, Preload

Local 657, McAllen, Texas

TDU’s UPS Teamsters United network helps members organize at UPS to enforce the contract. 

Get in touch. Call us at 313-842-2600 or send us a message at [email protected].