May 15, 2023
Teamsters Local 174 members confront UPS management to demand water during heat wave and apology for retaliatory discipline against two Safety Committee members
As temperatures in the Seattle area soar into the 90s, UPS managers were the ones sweating after a showdown at the Shoreline hub this morning ended in victory for Teamsters Local 174 members. In an incredible show of solidarity, a group of nearly one hundred UPSers marched into the hub and demanded to speak to the Center Manager about an incident last week in which two Safety Committee members were disciplined for demanding the Company continue to provide water to workers. Today’s confrontation ended with management not only rescinding the discipline, but also promising to continue providing water and apologizing to the two committee members for the way this matter was handled.
The issue began when the Center Manager of the UPS Shoreline hub decided she was no longer going to purchase bottled water for workers performing manual labor in the heat. When Teamster rank and file elected Safety Committee members attended a meeting to discuss this issue, UPS did not even bother sending members of management to the meeting, opting instead to send a third-party consultant with no power to make decisions. After the members continued to strongly advocate for the life-and-death importance of access to water, the Company handed out warning letters for “unprofessional conduct” based solely on the consultant’s totally inaccurate version of what occurred in the meeting. In response, Teamsters Local 174 showed up in force to demand workers’ safety be taken seriously.
“When it comes to safety in the State of Washington, you are all considered 50-50 equals with management, which means you have every right to advocate for yourselves whether they like it or not,” said Teamsters Local 174 Secretary-Treasurer Rick Hicks as he addressed the workers in the parking lot before leading the march into the hub. “We know better than anybody how important it is to stay hydrated when it gets hot – there have been recent deaths from heat exhaustion at UPS. This company has chosen the wrong position on this incredibly important issue. Now let’s go show them that we aren’t going to tolerate them coming after our Safety Committee members for doing exactly what they’re supposed to do, which is to advocate for your safety.”
The group went in with several demands: that management pledges to continue providing water; that the discipline against the two Safety Committee members be rescinded in writing today; that the Center Manager personally apologize for the way this issue was handled and how our members were treated unfairly; and finally, that management recommit to the importance of attending Safety Meetings. The manager agreed to all of these demands, and we will hold them to their commitment. Meanwhile, Teamsters Local 174 made sure to hand out plenty of Teamster-supplied water to workers before they went to work today.
Founded in 1909, Teamsters Local 174 represents 8,600 working men and women in Seattle and the surrounding areas. “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamstersLocal174.