Martin Luther King Holiday : Why not now?
On Jan. 15, Local 728 proudly joined in the Martin Luther King Day march here in Atlanta, Dr. King’s home and also the headquarters of UPS.
It’s time for UPS to recognize the Martin Luther King holiday that our country celebrates, but too many corporations ignore. If we win this at UPS, we can take that win to lots of other Teamster employers.
One of UPS’s two big competitors, the Postal Service, already observes this holiday. If UPS were to come on board, pressure could then be put on FedEx to do the same. There would be no competitive disadvantage at all to UPS.
It’s time to recognize Dr. King and the nonviolent struggle for equality for all Americans. Furthermore, how long has it been since we won a single new holiday in our contract?
To our union negotiators: this is an easy one. Please do the right thing, and insist on the holiday in the UPS contract.
Eric Robertson
Local 728 Business Representative
Atlanta
Inspired to Join TDU
I am a member of Local 96. Our former President Bill Gibson was a great inspiration to me and taught me a lot about the labor movement. I decided to take a look at TDU’s words and the fight they took on—and I decided to join.
My friends and I believe in the ideas of TDU. But we’re worried that our new officers won’t give us the representation we need. We are hoping to get further insight and help in our struggle.
Again, thank you for standing for democracy the way it was meant to be. It is bad enough we have to fight the companies with their enormous pockets. We should not have to fight with our union officers to bring justice and democracy to our members.
Sascha Byrd
Local 96, Washington Gas
Washington, D.C
Thank God for Unions
Thank God for unions and our union pension. I retired eight years ago, and it would be impossible to live on just social security.
We need to build our union stronger. This means we need to get more young people involved and understanding our union.
The Hoffa re-election with only 13 percent of Teamsters voting for him is a warning sign. Get involved.
Ken Nowacki
Local 612, Retired
Jemison, Ala.