PALMETTO, Ga. — A determined group of six Teamsters, members of Local 728, have been staffing the picket line at the 10 Roads Express satellite yard here every day since Feb. 27 when they joined 500 others in eight states who had walked out Feb. 18. The strike has expanded since then, as drivers in Alabama, Florida and Georgia have joined the fight to win an improved contract. The company is one of the largest postal contractors in the country.
Three of the strikers described their fight to Susan LaMont, SWP candidate for mayor of Atlanta, and campaign supporter Val Edwards on a March 7 visit to the picket line. Concerned about company retaliation, they said their union representative told strikers to not give out their names to anyone.
The strikers are fighting for a $3-an-hour wage increase and the ability to opt out of the company health insurance they are forced to use, several strikers told us. Workers at 10 Roads Express haven’t had a raise in four years, while prices for virtually everything working families need continue to rise.
The health insurance situation is a real sore point, they said. The U.S. Postal Service provides a “health and welfare” payment to the company to cover health insurance costs for workers, close to $6 an hour. But the company forces workers to sign up for its own health insurance plan, whose premiums often exceed the subsidy. The difference comes out of workers’ pay. And the deductible is as high as $6,000 a year.
Drivers get no premium pay for overtime and have no sick days or personal time off, only accrued vacation days, which the company subtracts if they’re out sick. They no longer have a defined company pension, only a 401(k) setup, tied to the ups and downs of the stock market.
The number of drivers here has fallen precipitously as the Postal Service has found other ways to move the mail. There are now only 11 drivers left at 10 Roads Express here. “What makes the union powerful is the number of people in it,” one striker explained. “They’re trying to undermine the union at this and other yards. That’s why our strike is so important.”
The strikers welcome the solidarity of visitors to their picket line and told us that Teamsters from UPS, DHL, Amazon and other companies have stopped by to strengthen the picket line. Pickets are up from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, at 58 Tingle Lane.