March 20, 2008  

(Washington, D.C.) – An overwhelming majority of about 280 workers at the UPS Freight (formerly Overnite Transportation) terminals in Alabama, Michigan and Pennsylvania have signed authorization cards to become Teamsters, bringing the total number of drivers and dockworkers seeking to join the union to more than 9,000 since January 16, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced.

The workers are seeking to join Locals 991 and 612 in the Alabama cities of Birmingham, Dothan and Mobile; Locals 7, 406 and 486 in the Michigan cities of Battle Creek, Cadillac, Grand Rapids and Saginaw, and; Local 397 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

“Every day brings more good news for UPS Freight workers, who have remained strong and committed in their long effort to join the Teamsters,” said Ken Hall, Director of the Teamsters Package Division. “It is exciting to have more than 9,000 UPS Freight workers join the Teamsters from across the nation.”

“This victory means a lot and I want to thank Jim Hoffa and Ken Hall for their efforts to make this happen,” said Tom Harty, President of Local 7.

“A lot of workers who started at Overnite were prior Teamsters who tried for years to rejoin the union. But they kept at it and now the former Overnite workers and UPS Freight workers are pretty tickled,” said David Robinson, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 486.

“We are ecstatic that these workers will be part of our union,” said Ron Holzgen, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 406. “We believe we can greatly improve the lives of these workers.”

 “I want to thank several UPS Freight employees who were particularly instrumental in acting as organizers to get this done,” said Donnie West, President of Local 612.

 “These workers will now have a voice on the job and this will move them toward a more secure future with the Teamsters,” said Jim Gookins, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 991. “Our thanks go out to the Teamsters’ Organizing Department for helping us with this victory.”

 “We look forward to negotiating a strong contract for our new members,” said Ron Gibbs, President of Local 397. “Our greatest asset is our members.”

In addition to these workers, a majority of UPS Freight workers in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, the New England area, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington state and Wisconsin have submitted cards to become Teamsters.

Victories have come in numerous large cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis, Nashville, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.