Press Releases
Drivers at 10 Roads Express in North Carolina Join Teamsters
Organizing Momentum Fuels Freight Drivers at USPS’s Second-Largest Contractor
Press Contact: Daniel Moskowitz Phone: (770) 262-4971 Email: dmoskowitz@teamster.org
(GREENSBORO, N.C.) – Drivers at 10 Roads Express in Greensboro, N.C., have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 391. The group of 54 workers is seeking higher wages, better health care and retirement benefits, and improved working conditions.
“We are done being at-will employees. Our campaign to become Teamsters was all about demanding respect and being part of something bigger than us,” said Patrick C. Smith Sr., a 10 Roads Express driver who helped lead the organizing effort in Greensboro. “The company thought they could scare us, but we knew better than to fall for their tricks. We aren’t going backwards. We are Teamsters strong, and we are going to get the wages, benefits, and retirement security that we deserve.”
Smith and his co-workers overcame a vicious anti-union campaign from management. The company even brought out the CEO and COO for union-busting captive audience meetings.
“10 Roads spared no expense to try and keep workers from forming a union with the Teamsters, but workers were determined,” said Local 391 Organizer Moses Darden. “This was a great victory. 10 Roads drivers will soon have a grievance procedure and an opportunity to negotiate better wages, benefits, and working conditions. They will no longer be an at-will employees and will soon enjoy the benefits of being ‘just cause’ employees. The boss man’s word is no longer the last word.”
The win in North Carolina is part of a national organizing effort by the Teamsters at 10 Roads Express. In the last two years, more than 300 workers at the company have voted to join the union, including recent victories in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and New Jersey.
“The Teamsters’ victory in Greensboro will give us an even stronger foundation for more organizing at 10 Roads,” said John A. Murphy, Teamsters National Freight Director. “Our message to 10 Roads drivers everywhere is that the Teamsters are here to help you win what’s yours. This latest win further solidifies the Teamsters’ presence at 10 Roads and expands the growing movement among drivers to demand their rights and secure a better workplace.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.