Contact:
Eddie Cullen
414-793-0347
MILWAUKEE — United Parcel Service (UPS) recently reported it would return to the bargaining table with roughly 340,000 Teamsters-represented workers before their contract expires on July 31. County Supervisors Juan Miguel Martinez, Ryan Clancy, Steven Shea, Peter Burgelis, and Shawn Rolland made the following joint statement:
“We stand firmly in solidarity with the more than 340,000 UPS workers — a staggering 97% of whom have resolutely voted in favor of a strike. As they bravely raise their voices and take a collective stand, we’d like to emphasize our unwavering support for their reasonable demands for fair and stable pay structures, working conditions, and protections.“
Supervisor Martinez went on to state: “I wholeheartedly embrace my identity as a labor organizer, and in that spirit, I stand resolutely in support of the UPS workers. As an elected official, and simply as a fellow human being, it is my duty to champion their cause. This strike represents not merely a struggle for UPS workers’ rights but a profound battle for the very principles that define a just and equitable society. No one should endure the burden of unstable working conditions or insufficient wages that fail to meet their basic needs, regardless of the nature of their job, whether deemed essential or otherwise.”
A former member of Teamsters Local 89, Supervisor Burgelis added, “Having experienced the challenges and triumphs of labor organizing firsthand, I wholeheartedly endorse the UPS workers’ quest for a better workplace, fair wages, and the respect they rightfully deserve.”
Workers have said they want a new five-year contract that addresses concerns over the health and safety of workers and includes provisions for higher wages, job increases, paid time-off for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, protections against managerial harassment, and elimination of the current two-tier compensation structure.
The most recent UPS Teamsters strike was in 1997 and resulted in workers securing a new contract that met their demands.
