Drivers at DHL Express delivery vendors in Dallas join Teamsters union

The Teamsters has convinced 55 drivers at two parcel delivery subcontractors for DHL Express in the Dallas metropolitan area to join Local 745 as the union pushes to extend benefits and workforce protections enjoyed by a few thousand members at DHL Express.

The union last week said its organizing drive had succeeded in getting 55 drivers at DeliverOL and Driven-Force Inc. , to vote unanimously to join its local division in Dallas.

DHL Express and the Teamsters in the spring finalized a new four-year contract for package drivers and warehouse workers, which the union said included a 20% wage increase, higher health and welfare contributions, and critical job protections, according to the union.

“We wear DHL uniforms, deliver DHL packages, and drive DHL trucks, but we are paid considerably less than DHL Teamsters,” said Malik Hathorn, a driver at Cartage Services by DeliverOL and a new member of Local 745, in a Teamsters news release.

“We organized because we saw what our Teamsters brothers and sisters at DHL have won, and we know we deserve the same. Now we’re ready to fight for it at the bargaining table.”

The Teamsters alleged that DeliverOL and Driven-Force engaged in unfair labor practices in an effort to prevent the formation of a union bargaining unit, but a search of the National Labor Relations Board case files does not show any formal complaints. An official at Duluth, Georgia-based DeliverOL declined to comment on the situation.

Driven-Force could not be reached for comment. Both companies operate out of the same facility outside Dallas. “We are organizing every corner of DHL’s operation and building the power necessary to raise standards for anyone who moves a DHL package,” said Spencer Dearth, director of the Teamsters Logistics Division.

The union will now work to negotiate the first contracts for members at both companies. Why It Matters: The Teamsters is a very large and powerful union. It can have more influence over DHL Express if it also organizes local companies that provide outsourced services to the global carrier.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch. Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves. com.

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