Press Releases
Teamsters Condemn DHL’s Anti-Union Tactics at Annual Shareholder Meeting in Germany
DHL Teamsters Question Board of Directors, Call Out Anti-Worker Corporate Actions
Press Contact: Daniel Moskowitz Phone: (770) 262-4971 Email: dmoskowitz@teamster.org
(BONN, Germany) – Today, DHL Teamsters from across the U.S. called out the alarming union-busting and anti-worker tactics of the global delivery and logistics giant during DHL Group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bonn, Germany.
Rank-and-file Teamsters, organizing committee members from DHL’s global hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), and Teamsters International Vice President At-Large Juan Campos attended the meeting to condemn DHL executives face-to-face. Union workers grilled company executives and directors about poor safety conditions, racial discrimination, and anti-labor behavior practices in the U.S.
“DHL’s upper management in the U.S. has created an attitude of us-versus-them when it comes to hardworking Teamsters like me and my brothers and sisters at CVG,” said Francisco Chacon, a 29-year DHL Teamster and shop steward with Teamsters Local 705 in Chicago. “Waging war against the workers who make you successful is no way to run a business. It is important that DHL’s Board of Directors and the company’s shareholders understand that.”
DHL-CVG sort workers are currently organizing to become Teamsters. Despite falsely claiming to investors and German consumers that the company respects freedom of association and collective bargaining, DHL has launched an anti-union campaign to try to intimidate and prevent CVG workers from exercising their rights.
“The Teamsters’ presence at DHL’s annual shareholder meeting signaled to CEO Tobias Meyer and the board that the company’s treatment of American workers is unacceptable,” said Michael Morency, a member of the CVG Sort Workers Organizing Committee. “While DHL presents itself as an ‘employer of choice,’ there is a clear disparity in how we are treated compared to our German brothers and sisters. Today, we highlighted this reality to both German shareholders and consumers.”
Meyer has condoned DHL’s reprehensible, anti-worker behavior by dismissing the company’s illegal labor practices as a “local management issue.”
“DHL’s top executives in Germany turn a blind eye to the exploitation of American workers for the sake of profit,” said Bill Hamilton, Director of the Teamsters Express Division and International Vice President for the Eastern Region. “Tobias Meyer has the power to end this abuse but chooses not to. He is responsible for fostering an environment where local management in the U.S. blatantly disregards our labor laws and universal basic human rights. The Teamsters will continue to shine a spotlight on these abusive practices in DHL’s backyard of Germany and across the U.S.”
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.