UPS Contract Ratified. What's Next? | The Upsurge

On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the Teamsters union announced that its members voted to ratify the national UPS contract by 86.3% – and with record turnout. Workers won significant raises, the abolition of the two-tier driver system, air conditioning in package cars, thousands of new full-time jobs, and more.<br /><br />In our previous episode, we discussed the gains of the tentative agreement and the years of Teamsters organizing it took to make them possible, including the past year's contract campaign which built a credible strike threat. In this episode, we dug deeper into the various layers of members' reactions to the contract, as well as what's required of the membership to enforce it and build on it moving forward.<br /><br />We invited Greg Kerwood, a UPSer from Local 25 in Somerville, Massachusetts, back on the show to share his point of view. Greg explained what he's heard from the membership, how social media may have distorted members' views, and why it's important to translate the disappointment of some workers – including his own – into productive organizing on the shop floor.<br /><br />We also share some news on the future of The Upsurge…<br /><br />*Hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/TeddyOstrow" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Teddy Ostrow</a><br />Edited by Teddy Ostrow and Ruby Walsh<br />Produced by NYGP &amp; Ruby Walsh, in partnership with <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">In These Times</a> &amp; <a href="https://therealnews.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Real News</a><br />Music by <a href="https://caseygallagher.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Casey Gallagher</a><br />Cover art by <a href="https://www.imanclaro.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Devlin Claro Resetar</a><br /><br />**Support the show at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/upsurgepod" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Patreon.com/upsurgepod</a>.<br />Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/upsurgepod" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">@upsurgepod</a>, Facebook, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/upsurgepod" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The Upsurge</a>, and YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@upsurgepod/feature" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">@upsurgepod</a>.<br /><br /><b>Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:</b><br /><br />Donate: <a href="https://therealnews.com/donate-pod" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://therealnews.com/donate-pod</a><br />Sign up for our newsletter: <a href="https://therealnews.com/newsletter-pod" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://therealnews.com/newsletter-pod</a><br /><br />Like us on Facebook: <a href="https://facebook.com/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://facebook.com/therealnews</a><br />Follow us on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/therealnews</a><br /><br />Become a supporter of this podcast: <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=rss">https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.</a><br /><b></b><br /><b>Follow us on:</b><br /><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/therealnews.com" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Bluesky: @therealnews.com</a><b><br /></b><a href="https://facebook.com/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Facebook: The Real News Network</a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Twitter: @TheRealNews</a><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/therealnews" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">YouTube: @therealnews</a><br /><a href="https://www.instagram.com/therealnewsnetwork/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Instagram: @therealnewsnetwork</a><br /><a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><b></b></a><br /><b></b><a href="https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><b>Become a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!</b></a>