AOC Teams Up With Workers To Take On UPS
AOC recently spoke to UPS workers at a practice picket. These workers told us why 340,000 of them are ready to strike.
UPS workers are prepping for one of the biggest strikes in American history. We hit a Teamsters practice picket with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and hundreds of workers, who told us why 340,000 of them are ready to strike.
The biggest demand? “We need to get paid.”
We’ve been covering UPS Teamsters ahead of their looming strike deadline later this summer. If UPS fails to reach a fair deal with workers, over 300,000 workers could walk out on the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history.
What workers want
Workers have been working in record temperatures. They demanding better working conditions like air conditioned trucks, no invasive driver-facing cameras, or forced overtime.
They’re also calling for the end of the two-tier pay system.
Under two-tier, some drivers get full-time pay and weekends off while a whole new generation of drivers works longer hours for less pay.
Companies like UPS use two-tier systems to divide workers and weaken unions. And two-tier wage systems can lead to lower wages across the whole industry.
UPS workers are also demanding equal pay for equal work.
UPS likes to boast about high wages, but only a small fraction of workers actually receive it. Here’s their dirty little secret:
60% of its workers are part-time – and many make barely above minimum wage.
Workers are demanding a pay raise for part-timers and for the company to turn these jobs into full-time.
For now, UPS workers across the country are engaged in practice picketing. If they don’t reach a deal, however, they’ll go on a very real strike.
