Record Number of Workers Join North America’s Strongest, Most Militant Labor Union
 

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced today the union has grown by an astounding 50,000 new members in the last two-and-a-half years, a direct result of key investments in strategic organizing under Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman since March 2022.

“Since being elected to lead the Teamsters, our team has been determined to make this International Union bigger, faster, and stronger. These massive organizing numbers in such a short period of time are proof positive that the Teamsters are doing something right,” O’Brien said. “They’re also a reminder that American workers are fed up with corporate greed and the hollowing out of the middle class by Big Business and the political elite. We see workers fighting back in every state, taking hold of their futures, and joining the Teamsters in record numbers. We will proudly represent everyone and continue to win stronger industry standards and richer labor contracts for all workers.”

“The labor movement today is more robust than it’s been in generations, and workers in nearly every sector are showing some real backbone by becoming Teamsters,” Zuckerman said. “Not only are the Teamsters growing stronger in delivery and logistics — at UPS, DHL, and Amazon — but we’re attracting and protecting younger and more diverse workers in every industry from public health to film and television and fast food. The Teamsters have strength because workers have power, and they are exercising it like never before.”

This summer alone, 10,000 workers organized with the Teamsters for the first time at a wide range of employers in traditional Teamsters industries like transportation and delivery, including at DHL, UNFI, UPS, and Sysco. Teamsters organizers have also found runaway success in bringing more workers into the labor movement at once non-traditional companies, including Amazon, the American Red Cross, Costco, and cannabis dispensaries nationwide.

In March of this year, wine and liquor distribution workers at Southern Glazer’s joined Teamsters Local 492 in Albuquerque, N.M. The 45 warehouse workers, drivers, loaders, hostlers, and yard jockeys united to raise a stronger voice and address years of concerns on the job.

“We heard about the improvements other workers at the company were making by becoming Teamsters, and we wanted in,” said Michael Landis, a nine-year warehouse worker at Southern Glazer’s. “This campaign was all about securing our voice and making sure management listened to us.”

Landis and his co-workers are seeking higher wages, improved health care benefits, entry into the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust, better working conditions, and respect.

“We congratulate all the workers at Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits. Their hard work and commitment led to this victory,” said Andrew L. Palmer, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 492. “We are eager to sit down with the company to negotiate a contract that addresses our new members’ needs and concerns.”

With the help of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference, Local 492 negotiated a card-check agreement with the company. On March 16, the workers’ union authorization cards were counted, and the company formally recognized Local 492 as the bargaining representative for the group.

“When workers come together to demand respect with a collective union voice, they protect themselves and raise standards throughout the entire industry,” said Jeff Padellaro, Director of the Teamsters Brewery, Bakery, and Soft Drink Conference. “The Conference looks forward to building on this win to organize more members in the months ahead.”

Click Here to Read the Full Southern Glazer's 492 Article