June UPS Teamsters Action Toolkit

National negotiations are heating up. Our rank-and-file committee members, along with General President Sean M. O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman, are facing off with the company and making significant gains on important issues. Every day in negotiations, it is our Teamster committee members who command the room, pushing back on the company’s most regressive proposals and holding the line against all concessions.

But as negotiations move forward, the mercury outside moves higher. And we will not allow UPS to subject Teamsters to another boiling summer being dispatched to die in the heat. This month, the International is calling on all UPS locals to take action to make UPS feel the heat. We demand a strong contract that includes meaningful actions by the company to protect UPS Teamsters amid soaring temperatures. At the bargaining table and at the barns, we need to keep management sweating until UPS puts our health and safety over packages and profits. Meanwhile, with the approach of the Juneteenth holiday, we must call on UPS to truly embrace diversity and inclusion by honoring Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Day as paid holidays.

We urge all UPS locals to hold regular parking lot meetings, rallies, and leafletting actions this month. These actions can take place along with strike balloting and after June 16 when the strike vote is complete. Use the resources and materials below to build actions and continue engaging members. Please urge members to fill out the Heat, Hydration, and Harassment Violation Form. Locals should also continue to support the ongoing Contract Unity Pledge campaign.

In this toolkit:

“Make UPS Feel the Heat” Juneteenth Flier

Rally Signs

Note: Rally signs are being shipped to UPS locals. We have provided print-ready rally sign files here in case you need to print more of your own.

18″ x 12″

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These files can be sent to any local printer. If you need help finding a local printer, click here to use the Graphic Communications Conference “Find a Union Printer” tool.

The following guidelines for printing should be shared with the printer you use:
• Sign size: 18″ x 12″
• Each sign – seven in total – is double-sided
• The signs are full color, full bleed

Social Media Graphics

Sample Social Media Text for Facebook, Instagram, etc.


UPS Teamsters will not endure another boiling summer being dispatched to die in the heat. We demand serious, meaningful action by the company to protect our safety amid soaring temperatures.

This summer, UPS Teamsters demand:
• All new package cars and trucks that come on-line get equipped with air conditioning.
• Fans installed in every vehicle.
• Functioning ice machines in every center.
• Water provided to all drivers, including electrolyte-enhanced water during heat advisories.
• More jobs and lighter routes, especially during heat advisories.
• Adequate time to take rest breaks to cool off, rehydrate, and recover from heat-related symptoms — without fear of harassment or discipline from management.
• Gear like cooling hats, cooling neck towels, and uniform materials with higher air and vapor permeability.
• Communication to drivers about locations along their route where they can seek shade and public air-conditioned spaces.

At the bargaining table and in the barns, we will keep management sweating until UPS puts our health and safety over packages and profits.

Go to the UPS Teamsters app to report excessive heat, broken equipment (like fans, ice machines, etc.)

It’s time to expose UPS’s inaction on heat safety.

– Click below to download graphics –

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HEAT, HYDRATION, AND HARASSMENT VIOLATION FORM

The International, along with our UPS Teamsters National Safety and Health Subcommittee, encourages locals to use the following form during parking lot rallies and leafletting at the gates. The form should be used to enable members to blow the whistle on excessive heat, heat-related illness, inadequate PPE, insufficient water and ice provisions, lack of functioning fans and ventilation, and harassment from management when taking breaks to rest and hydrate.

Completed forms will be reviewed by the Teamsters National Safety and Health Subcommittee. Please scan and email completed forms to the Teamsters Package Division – Kaeana Tutt: ktutt@teamster.org.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE FORM

Contract Unity Pledge Campaign Continues

The Contract Unity Pledge campaign is ongoing and we urge locals to continue getting cards signed. While many thousands of cards have been returned to the International by locals across the country, many thousands more have not been signed. The Contract Unity Pledge needs to be a priority for all UPS locals for the duration of the contract campaign as a tool to engage and follow up with members about urgent actions that may be organized to win a strong contract.

Please return signed cards every two weeks to the Package Division throughout the duration of the contract campaign. Contact the Package Division if you need more cards.

Tips for Tabling

Make sure you have:

Share Photos & Videos from Your UPS Actions

Follow the instructions below for submitting photos and videos from your local union’s actions. We will feature content from local union actions on the International’s social media platforms and on the UPS Teamsters app.

To submit image or video files from your phone:

  1. CLICK HERE to upload files and indicate your local union and location of the action. OR…
  2. Open the UPS Teamsters app, click on the ≡ menu icon on the top left of the screen, and select “Share Action Photos/Videos.” Upload your files and indicate your local union. OR…
  3. Email your files to UPSvictory@teamster.org. Remember to include your local union, as well as the UPS center/location where the action took place.

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