August 22 2023

DSA congratulates the 350,000 workers at UPS for ratifying their contract after showing their bosses and the country that they were ready to strike. This contract includes significant wage increases, the elimination of two-tier wages for package car drivers, the installation of air conditioning in new vehicles, and the creation of thousands of new full-time warehouse jobs. Together, these terms represent a transfer of over $30 billion in surplus value away from corporate owners and directly to 350,000 workers. 

Over the past month, we bore witness to a great debate as workers reviewed the contract offer to decide whether or not it was good enough. This signifies something —that workers are not willing to settle for less. As the result of a historic contract campaign, UPS Teamsters got a taste of how it felt to flex their power as workers. A working class with high expectations is a very good thing for the Teamsters, for our labor movement, and for the struggle for workplace democracy and socialism. 

After two decades of concessionary contracts, UPS Teamsters have begun the process of transforming their workplace, their union, and the labor movement. They are energized around these wins and are ready to continue the fight into the coming period. 

As DSA, we are energized with them. Our Strike Ready campaign to support UPS Teamsters engaged over 100 chapters. It was our largest national campaign since Bernie 2020. Thousands of comrades signed petitions, attended rallies, walked practice pickets, and demonstrated to strike-ready workers that socialism means solidarity. We are proud of our comrades for this incredible effort, and we look forward to building on the relationships formed with the Teamsters rank-and-file across the country.

Inside the Teamsters’ contract campaign and inside our Strike Ready campaign, we see the unmistakable spark of a new fire in the labor movement; a revival of a movement that knows its own fighting strength. This momentum will not stop. We will carry it through the fight at the Big Three auto companies and into the struggles to come. 

Solidarity forever!