The Teamsters announced Thursday morning that more than 1,100 DHL workers are on strike at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport after months of failed contract negotiations with the company.
The ramp and tug workers, who load and unload planes, voted to unionize in April citing safety concerns and the need for better wages. Contract negotiations have been underway since July.
“DHL bosses are pocketing billions as many of these workers live paycheck to paycheck,” said Bill Hamilton, Director of the Teamsters Express Division in a news release. “Meanwhile, this anti-worker company has the audacity to disrespect rank-and-file workers who are simply trying to stand up for themselves at the bargaining table. Enough is enough.”
The Teamsters said last week it has over $300 million in its strike fund to support workers.
What does that mean for your packages? DHL insists a strike won’t disrupt services, but an industry expert says there’s a chance your package may take longer to get to its destination.
DHL saw this strike coming
Over three days last week, members of Teamsters Local 100 voted to authorize a strike, meaning they gave the national Teamsters organization the OK to call a strike if it’s needed.
“Their latest decision was anticipated and a situation for which we are fully prepared,” DHL said about the workers’ decision to authorize a strike last week.
DHL has declined interview requests from The Enquirer, though they did provide several written statements last week.
“While it is unfortunate the U.S. Teamsters have decided to increase the external rhetoric and communicate inaccuracies around the status of these CVG Hub negotiations, we have consistently sought to bargain in good faith and to find constructive solutions at the negotiating table,” the company said.
She said the company’s contingency plan includes temporarily sending cargo to other DHL facilities and using supplemental airline or contractor staff at CVG to fill vacancies.
“We expect no disruption to services,” the company said in a statement. “…Our customers should remain confident in our ability to provide the excellent service they expect and require.”
She also said that while DHL officials will not go back to the negotiation table after Thursday, they are willing to keep negotiating in January.
That’s not good enough for workers, in part, because they handle up to twice as many packages during the holiday season. Kemp said a single shift can move over 400,000 packages during the holidays.
The Enquirer reached out to DHL for a comment or interview regarding the strike and will update this story if we receive one.
Why did workers unionize?
When DHL team leader Gina Kemp goes to work every night, she knows she could end up in a crash while on the job.
She’s seen it happen at the company’s air hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where some areas of the hangar where she works are so dark not even headlights help much, she said.
The simple fix would be to add more lighting, something the company hasn’t done, she said. That’s the kind of safety issue she said led workers to unionize in April and it’s one of the many reasons why they’re threatening to strike.
“You get night blindness. You can’t see anything. … It is scary to be walking around in the pitch dark,” said Kemp, 23, of North College Hill, a Cincinnati suburb.
The Teamsters said in a news release that 22 injuries at the DHL facility required a hospital or emergency room visit last year. DHL did not respond to requests for comment about the union’s allegations.
Kemp also said workers want to upgrade equipment because malfunctioning machinery can cause injuries and slow down operations.
Better pay is also a key part of contract negotiations. Kemp is in charge of a team of about six people every night. She said she gets paid $26.90 per hour and has been with the company for almost four years.
“We do kind of confide in each other when it comes to our struggles,” she said of her co-workers. “And you know, we don’t all have luxuries. So a lot of us are struggling,” she said.
What does this strike mean?
A strike means union members will not be working until a fair contract is negotiated. Again, that means your packages will likely be delayed if they’re coming from overseas.
It’s not just about your packages, though. DHL employs about 4,000 people at the DHL air hub and more than a third of them are in the union.
“There could be a significant impact, to be honest with you, not only on the economy but also on DHL’s revenues,” said Cathy Roberson, president of Logistics Trends & Insights.
Some delays in shipping might be expected because of the influx of packages to other facilities and the additional drive time needed to get to places the CVG hub usually serves, she said. The company’s other two air hubs in the U.S. are in Miami and Atlanta.
But if the company can quickly switch to its contingency plans, she said, they might be able to avoid long-term negative economic consequences.
DHL has invested more than $280 million at the airport since 2009. This summer, the company announced a $192 million investment for a new maintenance hangar and more ramp and parking spaces.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: DHL workers at CVG announce strike
Reporting by Jolene Almendarez, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
