LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — United Parcel Service laid off about 35 employees at its Centennial ground hub in Louisville on Thursday, drawing a rebuke and a threat of a strike from the Teamsters union, which said those workers had just voted to unionize.
In a statement Thursday, International Brotherhood of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said UPS risks a strike in Louisville if it does not “rectify this situation” by Dec. 11.
“Our union will not hesitate to act, and we will not back down. The Teamsters will protect all our members in the delivery and logistics industry no matter the cost,” O’Brien said in the statement.
At issue are about three dozen “specialists” and “admins” who work at Centennial, which is a hub for ground packages near UPS’ Worldport global air hub at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
The specialists and admins are office workers who are not traditionally unionized like UPS’ package handlers and truck drivers. They voted in October to join Teamsters Local 89, according to the union’s Facebook page.
UPS spokesman Jim Mayer confirmed the layoffs from the Centennial hub, but denied a connection to the employees' having joined the Teamsters.
"We regularly align our staffing with the needs of our business, and as a result a small number of employees are being laid off at our Louisville Centennial Hub," Mayer said in an emailed statement. "UPS respects our employees’ rights to organize and we have not committed any unfair labor practices. Our ratified National Master Agreement with the Teamsters remains intact and we are committed to working with the Teamsters to resolve this separate matter with a small number of employees at Centennial. We do not expect disruptions to our Louisville operations and will continue to provide reliable service to our customers."
Since threatening a nationwide strike and winning significant raises in contract talks last summer, the Teamsters have been focused on organizing the remaining non-union employees at UPS’ vast Louisville operations, including at Worldport.
According to the Teamsters, UPS disagreed about whether the specialists and admins who voted to join Teamsters Local 89 in October were eligible for collective bargaining, but an independent arbitrator sided with the workers.
UPS then eliminated their jobs, “falsely claiming their labor should be performed by management,” O’Brien said in the statement.
