Teamsters, Activists Deliver Thousands Of Signed Petitions To UPS Calling For Withdrawal From ALEC

Delegations in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. UPS Offices Call on UPS to End Association with Anti-Union, Anti-Worker Organization

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Dec 10, 2015, 10:25 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Teamsters Union representatives in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, Ga., led delegations that included environmental and community activists that delivered thousands signed petitions to UPS offices in both cities. The 75,000 signed petitions collected call on the corporation to withdraw its membership in the controversial American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

The Teamsters Union represents more than 250,000 members at UPS and UPS Freight. UPS remains an active member of ALEC despite the organization's anti-worker and anti-union agenda that seeks to undermine and weaken worker protections. Representatives from Teamsters Local 639 in Washington and Local 728 in Atlanta led the delegations.

"There is absolutely no good reason why UPS should continue its membership in ALEC," said Ken Hall, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer and Package Division Director. "ALEC is an organization that is committed to destroying every protection and gain middle class working families have fought so hard to secure. It is difficult for our 250,000 UPS members to believe the company has their best interest in mind while it continues to support ALEC."

The signatures were collected during a massive petition drive staged by the Teamsters, Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Stand Up to ALEC, Jobs With Justice and the American Postal Workers Union. As of August 2015, more than 120 major corporations and organizations have publically announced they no longer work with ALEC due to the organization's stance on many controversial issues, including Amazon.com, Coca Cola, Apple, McDonald's, Wal-Mart, and just this week, American Electric Power.

Randy Brown, President of Teamsters Local 728 in Atlanta, Ga. and former UPS driver, led the delegation that delivered the petitions to the UPS World Headquarters. Brown expressed his disappointment in UPS' continued refusal to leave ALEC.

"UPS' membership in ALEC is disturbing to me on a personal level," Brown said. "How can a company with the largest unionized workforce in the country participate in an organization that attacks the very workers that make UPS so successful? It's time for UPS to do what's right and leave ALEC."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:
Galen Munroe (202) 624-6911
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters