Will the IBT Rise to the Challenge?

The $1.25 billion acquisition of Overnite Transportation by UPS marks a turning point in the transportation industry and for our Teamsters union.

The largest employer of Teamsters will soon operate an enormous nonunion freight division. And the Teamsters’ worst nemesis in the freight industry, Overnite, will be financially backed by the most profitable transportation company in the world.

UPS-Overnite is the face of the new trucking industry in which all the big players—Yellow-Roadway, FedEx, DHL—are consolidating and positioning themselves to compete as integrated transportation companies.

Nonunion Operations to Grow?
Each of the emerging global giants has both Teamster and nonunion operations, with the exception of FedEx, which is almost entirely nonunion. Left unchecked, the nonunion operations at “Teamster” employers will grow and undermine our bargaining power, job security, and pension plans.

We can’t let that happen.

UPS-Overnite symbolizes the threat posed by the new trucking industry. But just as important, UPS-Overnite gives our union an opportunity to take on that threat and win by organizing the world’s largest integrated parcel-freight-logistics company wall-to-wall.
We have the power to do that at UPS-Overnite, setting the pattern for organizing the other trucking giants—Yellow-Roadway, DHL, and ultimately FedEx.

The stakes have never been higher. If we act decisively, the Teamsters union can reassert ourselves as a major force in the new trucking industry, restoring Teamster power, not as a slogan, but as a source of security for a new generation of Teamsters.


Click on the stories below for more information about the UPS-Overnite deal:

UPS+Overnite = Danger Ahead
What Does it Mean for Freight Teamsters?
New Threats and Opportunities
Now's the Time to Organize Overnite
Teamster Pension Funds Could be Strengthened
DHL: The Next Move?
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