The Teamsters has expanded its presence among DHL Express delivery workers in the Dallas metropolitan area after 55 drivers employed by two parcel delivery subcontractors voted unanimously to join Local 745.
The drivers work for DeliverOL and Driven-Force Inc., two companies that provide delivery services for DHL Express. The Teamsters announced the organizing victory last week as the union seeks to extend the wages, benefits and workplace protections already secured by several thousand of its members directly employed by DHL Express.
The move comes months after DHL Express and the Teamsters finalized a new four-year contract in the spring covering package drivers and warehouse workers. According to the union, the agreement provides a 20% wage increase, higher health and welfare contributions, as well as key job protections.
For workers employed by the subcontractors, the agreement has become a benchmark for what they believe they should also receive.
“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 newly organized 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 has also alleged that DeliverOL and Driven-Force engaged in unfair labor practices in an effort to stop the formation of a union bargaining unit. However, a review of National Labor Relations Board case files does not show any formal complaints against the companies in connection with those allegations.
DeliverOL, which is based in Duluth, Georgia, declined to comment on the situation. Driven-Force could not be reached for comment. The two companies operate from the same facility outside Dallas.
The organizing effort is part of a broader Teamsters campaign targeting outsourced operations connected to DHL Express.
“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.
With the organizing vote completed, the union will now turn its attention to negotiating first contracts for employees at both DeliverOL and Driven-Force.
Why It Matters
The Teamsters is a large and influential labor union, and organizing workers at DHL Express subcontractors could expand its leverage beyond the carrier’s directly employed workforce. By bringing local delivery companies into the union, the Teamsters is seeking to extend the standards and protections negotiated with DHL Express to more workers handling the company’s packages.
