February 14, 2008

(St. Louis, MO) – An overwhelming majority of about 180 workers at the UPS Freight (formerly Overnite Transportation) terminal in St. Louis have signed authorization cards to become Teamsters, bringing the total number of drivers and dockworkers seeking to join the union to more than 5,300 since January 16, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced.

The workers are seeking to join Local 600 in St. Louis.

“Many of the workers were Teamsters when the company was Overnite and owned by Union Pacific, and they are looking forward to once again being part of the Teamster family,” said Dan McKay, President of Local 600. “Our organizer, Tim Meadows, did a great job signing up a majority of the workers in just one weekend, and our executive board also played an instrumental role. We are excited about representing the UPS Freight workers.”

“With this latest victory, we are fast on our way to the halfway point in our goal to get cards from a majority of 12,600 UPS Freight workers,” said Ken Hall, Director of the Teamsters Package Division. “The excitement is building throughout Missouri and throughout the country.”

In addition to the St. Louis workers, a majority of UPS Freight workers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Indiana, California, Florida, Arizona, New York, Kentucky and New England, including the large cities of Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oakland, Seattle, Memphis and Detroit, have submitted cards to become Teamsters.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.