Although media reports will continue to champion any relatively modest gains in total union membership, our own Phil Wilson recently discussed how U.S. union density reached a record low among workers in 2022.
Another new finding also won’t help union statistics after an upcoming revision. In the Teamsters’ 2022 reporting to the NLRB, the union made a considerable error, which they claim was “unintentional.” The union will submit adjusted numbers after claiming a yearly increase of 206,000 members rather than the correct number of 3,200.
Low membership or not, the Teamsters continue their strike-happy ways:
- Coca-Cola: 400+ members concluded a three-week strike at a Philly-area distributor. The dust-up included a controversial boycott of Coke products by several grocery stores owned by a mayoral candidate. The union denies encouraging said boycott, although members admittedly did ask attendees of a recent athletic event to refrain from buying Coke products.
At a Charleston, WV, distribution center, Teamsters greenlit a Coke worker strike that went on pause the next day. Weeks later, 200 workers from five different West Virginia locations went on strike to dispute a possible convenience store delivery deal, which the union argues could lead to job losses.
- Memphis Sanitation: Teamsters members ended a 9-day strike in Memphis, which the union claims is the industry’s most significant walkout since the 1968 Sanitation strike, which lasted two months and garnered the support of MLK Jr.
- Chicago-area Cannabis workers: The Teamsters also launched a coordinated joint-strike by dispensary workers on the day before 4/20, so named for the annual celebrations of those who partake. This might be the stoner-equivalent of Workers United’s so-called Red Cup Rebellion at Starbucks.
- Rhode Island School Of Design: Teamsters went on a two-week strike that ended with a new contract for retroactive raises and benefits.
- Maletis: The Portland beer distributor saw dozens of Teamsters go on strike out of frustration over contract talks and alleged “bad-faith bargaining.”
- Teamsters shenanigans at Amazon: The union allegedly took credit for a false victory, in which they claimed to unionize drivers for a third-party delivery firm in California. According to Amazon, the online retailer had already terminated the company’s contract. The union asked the NLRB for an injunction to stop Amazon from ending that contract.
Up in Canada, the Teamsters aim to unionize an Edmonton Amazon warehouse while making absurd promises about raises. One Teamsters boss even comically asserted that these should “probably be… $100,000-a-year paying job[s].”
- DHL-CVG: Employees at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport hub were urged by Amazon union leaders to join the Teamsters. That vote went the union’s way and added 900 new Teamsters members.
- UPS: The company and the union began national negotiations this month as regional discussions continue for 340,000 Teamsters drivers. The contract expires on July 31, and the union claims to hold a $300 million strike fund. The company’s drivers last went on strike in 1997, and UPS expressed confidence that a new contract would be reached before the deadline.
