More than 1,000 DHL Teamsters at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) voted Sunday to authorize a strike – a vote allows the DHL Teamsters Negotiating Committee to call for a work stoppage at any time as the carrier and union work on a contract covering 1,100 ramp and tug workers. The members of Teamsters Local 100 load and unload airplanes at DHL's largest and busiest logistics hub in North America.
The Teamsters represent more than 6,000 members at DHL (CCJ Top 250, No. 35) in the U.S., and seeks to organize more of DHL's U.S. workforce. Teamsters at Northeast Transportation Services — a third-party contractor for DHL Express – endured a seven-month long strike that ended in February this year.
DHL ramp and tug workers joined the Teamsters in April and the Teamsters Negotiating Committee has been bargaining with DHL since July. Local 100 has also filed unfair labor practice charges against DHL with the National Labor Relations Board.
"DHL Express is in ongoing contract negotiations with the Teamsters representing a portion of our employees at our Cincinnati (CVG) Global Hub," the company told CCJ via emailed statement Sunday afternoon. "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. Their latest decision was anticipated and a situation for which we are fully prepared."
DHL Express has activated an initial phase of contingency plans to limit business disruptions caused by a strike threat, including activating supplemental staff at CVG and temporarily moving volume away from CVG to other key strategic DHL locations throughout the Americas Region. "We are confident these prudent and proactive measures will ensure we maintain our high level of delivery standards and performance for our customers in their most critical peak period of the year. We expect no disruption to services," the company said.
Teamsters claim DHL has told the union it will not schedule negotiations this year after Dec. 7. DHL told CCJ Sunday that there is no agreed deadline for contract negotiations, adding "we are committed to working in good faith at the December negotiating sessions and have offered further negotiating dates in January to conclude this matter."
