Workers in Indiana and California Seek Union Membership at UPS Freight

An Overwhelming Majority of Workers Plan to Join Locals 414 And 186

An overwhelming majority of about 100 workers at the UPS Freight (formerly Overnite Transportation) terminals in Fort Wayne, Indiana and in Simi Valley and Oxnard, in California, have signed authorization cards to become Teamsters, bringing the total number of drivers and dockworkers seeking to join the union to about 3,700 since January 16, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced.

The Indiana workers are seeking to join Local 414 in Fort Wayne, while the California workers will be joining Local 186 in Ventura.

“The UPS Freight workers in Fort Wayne couldn’t wait to sign cards and now they are very excited about getting certified and negotiating their first Teamster contract,” said Brian Lytle, a Local 414 organizer who coordinated the campaign in Fort Wayne.

“The UPS Freight workers in Simi Valley and Oxnard are looking forward to winning some of the same protections that the workers in Indianapolis have already secured,” said Bill Elder, Local 186 Secretary-Treasurer.

“Across the country, UPS Freight workers are signing cards on their way to better working conditions, and energy is building throughout the UPS Freight system,” said Ken Hall, Director of the Teamsters Package Division.

In addition to the Fort Wayne, Simi Valley and Oxnard workers, a majority of UPS Freight workers in Tampa, Fort Myers, Arizona, Fresno, Atlanta, Newburgh, Farmingdale, Louisville, Lexington, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Southern California, Oakland, Seattle, New England, Memphis and Detroit have submitted cards to become Teamsters.