Director of Organizing for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chris Rosell, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the coalition of unions working to unionize the workforce at Delta Airlines. Rosell also discussed the UPS contract agreement and how the organizing team worked tirelessly to get members involved in the process.
Rosell comes from a family of Teamsters who worked with Teamsters regularly. As business owners, his parents dealt with the Teamsters drivers delivering and shipping goods. Rosell talked about how that influenced his decision to begin working as a UPS Package Delivery Driver and join the Teamsters. These early interactions continue to impact Rosell as the Director of Organizing for the Teamsters.
For the first time in history, three unions, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Machinists) and the Teamsters, created a coalition to organize the entirety of Delta Airlines workers. The Teamsters are responsible for organizing nearly 9,000 mechanics, while the Machinists are working with nearly 20,000 ramp workers, and the AFA is working to organize the 20,000 flight attendants. As the last remaining non-unionized “legacy” airline, Delta has done its best to keep its workforce non-union, Rosell said. Rosell talked about the desired goals and the timeline for a successful campaign to be completed.
As a former UPS driver, the new UPS contract agreement hit home for Rosell. He talked about General President Sean O’Brien’s vigilance throughout negotiations and how he utilized the skills and abilities of each negotiation team member to earn a record contract. The organizing department built a team that traveled and educated members on the importance of involvement in their local union. Rosell spoke on the importance of this contract and how the workers at UPS will benefit from the efforts of the entire union.
For more information on Teamsters organizing campaigns, listen to the show above.