‘They’re fired up’: Teamsters president on looming UPS strike – By Michael Sainato (The Guardian) / July 24, 2023
Sean O’Brien could be leading his union in one of the biggest – and costliest – strike at a single private employer in US history
Sean O’Brien has a long family legacy at the Teamsters: his great-grandfather, grandfather and father were all Teamster union members in Boston. O’Brien joined the union after dropping out of college at age 19 to haul equipment on construction sites in 1991. Thirty-two years later, he is on the verge of leading the union in one of the biggest – and costliest – strikes at a single private employer in US history.
The Teamsters have 1.2 million members, making it one of the largest unions in the world. Its membership is diverse, ranging from police to bakers, but it is most famous for representing freight drivers and warehouse workers. The shipping and logistics giant UPS is the single largest employer in the Teamsters Union.
Under O’Brien, the Teamster’s general president, the contract negotiations between the two have become a test case for a union giant that is flexing its muscles after corporations have stonewalled nascent labor movements at Starbucks and Amazon with long delays toward a first contract.
“We are going to set the tone – and we have – for how organized labor should deal with corporate America, with politicians, and how they should stand up and fight. We will set the example through this situation with UPS whether we get a deal or if UPS chooses not to do the right thing to strike themselves,” said O’Brien.
CONTINUE > https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/24/teamsters-president-sean-obrien-ups-strike
