When we beat the bosses - Socialist Worker
On the 20th anniversary of the UPS strike, Lee Sustar looks back on the Teamsters' tremendous victory and its continuing significance for unions today.
IT WAS a risky strike that was bound to lose. That, at least, was the opinion of the bosses--and more than a few top union officials.
But when some 185,000 Teamsters union members took to the picket lines at United Parcel Service (UPS) on August 4, 1997, Corporate America was stunned, anti-union politicians were caught flat-footed, and working-class people across the U.S. embraced the struggle as their own.
"This isn't just about money," Mike, a part-time worker in Chicago, told Socialist Worker in an interview at a picket-line rally two days into the strike. "This is about taking care of your family, yourself, and making a better life for yourself and your family, and sending a message to these corporations that you cannot treat workers in America--and around the world--like this."
On the 20th anniversary of the UPS strike, Lee Sustar looks back on the Teamsters' tremendous victory and its continuing significance for unions today.
IT WAS a risky strike that was bound to lose. That, at least, was the opinion of the bosses--and more than a few top union officials.
But when some 185,000 Teamsters union members took to the picket lines at United Parcel Service (UPS) on August 4, 1997, Corporate America was stunned, anti-union politicians were caught flat-footed, and working-class people across the U.S. embraced the struggle as their own.
"This isn't just about money," Mike, a part-time worker in Chicago, told Socialist Worker in an interview at a picket-line rally two days into the strike. "This is about taking care of your family, yourself, and making a better life for yourself and your family, and sending a message to these corporations that you cannot treat workers in America--and around the world--like this."
