Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Lead Bipartisan Letter Affirming Support for Collective Bargaining Rights in UPS-Teamsters Negotiations

July 19, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Steven Horsford (D-NV), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and Mark Pocan (D-WI), led a bipartisan group of more than 170 Members of Congress supporting their constituents’ right to collectively bargain with their employer.

“The Teamsters-UPS contract is the largest private collective bargaining agreement in North America, and given the recent increase in attacks on employees’ collective bargaining rights, it is critical that these rights are in no way undermined in the current contract negotiations between Teamsters and UPS. Furthermore, we support the principles of fair wages, safe working conditions, affordable health care, and dignified retirement,” the Members wrote in a letter to UPS CEO Carol Tomé and Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien.

“We understand that UPS Teamsters recently announced their overwhelming authorization of a strike—which would be the largest work stoppage at a single employer in American history—if the two parties cannot reach agreement on a contract by August 1st,” the Members continued. “We are hopeful that both sides can negotiate in good faith and reach a consensus agreement that addresses basic human needs and allows workers to do their jobs safely and with dignity. However, in the event a fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached, we commit to respect our constituents’ statutory and constitutional rights to withhold their labor and initiate and participate in a strike.”

In modern history, Congress has not previously intervened to implement a collective bargaining agreement between workers and their employer under the National Labor Relations Act, and this letter commits to upholding that precedent in the UPS-Teamsters negotiations.

A full copy of the letter can be found here.

The Senate sent a version of their own letter with 29 signers this afternoon to Ms. Tomé and Mr. O’Brien.

The letter was signed by 172 Members, including: Reps. Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Cori Bush (MI-01), Yadira Caraveo (CO-08), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Matt Cartwright (PA-08), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sean Casten (IL-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Angie Craig (MN-02), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Sharice Davids, (KS-03), Danny Davis (IL-07), Donald Davis (NC-01), Madeline Dean (PA-04), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Christopher Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Ruben Gallego (AZ-03), John Garamendi (CA-08), Jesús García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Al Green (TX-09), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Brian Higgins (NY-26), James Himes (CT-04), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-13), Jeff Jackson (NC-14), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Henry Johnson (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Thomas Kean (NJ-07), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Daniel Kildee (MI-08), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Andy Kim (NJ-03), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Ann Kuster (NH-02), Nick LaLota (NY-01), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Rick Larsen (WA-02), John Larson (CT-01), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Summer Lee (PA-12), Susie Lee (NV-03), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Mike Levin (CA-49), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), Kathy Manning (NC-06), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), James McGovern (MA-02), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Grace Meng (NY-06), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Marcus Molinaro (NY-19), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joseph Morelle (NY-25), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Frank Mrvan (IN-01), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Grace Napolitano (CA-31), Wiley Nickel (NC-13), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Eleanor Norton (DC), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Donald Payne (NJ-10), Mary Peltola (AK-AL), Scott Peters (CA-50), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Dean Phillips (MN-03), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Katie Porter (CA-47), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Raul Ruiz (CA-25), C. Ruppersberger (MD-02), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), John Sarbanes (MD-03), Mary Scanlon (PA-05), Janice Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Bradley Schneider (IL-10), Hillary Scholten (MI-03), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Elissa Slotkin (MI-07), Adam Smith (WA-09), Christopher Smith (NJ-04), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Darren Soto (FL-09), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Emilia Sykes (OH-13), Mark Takano (CA-39), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lori Trahan (MA-03), David Trone (MD-06), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Jefferson Van Drew (NJ-02), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), Susan Wild (PA-07), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

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