To help expedite the delivery of 28,000 air-conditioned vehicles under the current national contract, United Parcel Service (UPS) has signed a new letter of agreement with the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee to begin retrofitting 5,000 package cars with air conditioning for the country's hottest delivery zone.

"The Teamsters Union appreciates UPS's recognition that our members in Zone 1 need real relief from the heat, and they need it now," said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. "The rank-and-file at UPS are essential workers who move the American economy. In 2023, the Teamsters secured historic heat protections for our members, and there can be no further delay in implementing these safeguards. We look forward to working with UPS to ensure this retrofitting is completed on schedule to get our members the relief they deserve."

The 5,000 package cars will be retrofitted with air conditioning by June 1, 2027, and dispatched to the Teamsters' hottest delivery areas, mainly in Southern and Southwest states. The first 2,000 vehicles readied under the agreement will be retrofitted by June 1, 2026.

The agreement also designates that 100 package cars will be upgraded with air conditioning vented into the cargo compartment under a new pilot program to evaluate strategies for greater heat relief. This is an evolution of UPS's commitment under the 2023 National Master Agreement to ventilate cargo compartments with retrofitted air ducts. The results of the pilot program will be reviewed by the joint Teamsters/UPS Package Car Heat Committee.

"Since our union ratified the National Master Agreement, the Teamsters heat committee has been working with UPS to study the best ways to retrofit vehicles for better ventilation. We are eager to start testing A/C in the cargo compartment, inarguably the hottest part of the package cars," said Karla Schumann, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 104 in Phoenix, Ariz., and Chair of the Package Car Heat Committee. "This is a positive step for UPS to speed up the delivery of air-conditioned vehicles by utilizing retrofitting for our most affected members."

The retrofit of 5,000 package cars will help UPS fulfill its obligation under the current Teamsters contract to deliver 28,000 new vehicles equipped with air conditioning. Zone 1 applies to UPS Teamsters in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington.

It’s over! After 45 days on strike, the members at RISE Dispensary in York ratified their first Teamster Contract. This new contract takes away the at-will status. It installs the just cause and due process afforded under Union contracts, along with other job improvements that they were not afforded previously. The members returned to work on Monday, October 20, 2025

Commented Local 776 Business Agent Mark Cicak: “The members were fully behind the strike action for a better agreement. They stood united and never wavered from their goal. The members know that this is the first step in this new industry and see firsthand the growth in the business. They want to ensure they have a seat at the table as the business (and profits) grow. The three-year agreement is one that the Members can use as a building block for their own successive agreements and sets the stage for other cannabis workers to join the fight and organize this billion-dollar industry.”

The Rise members and Local 776 want to thank everyone who showed solidarity by honking, waving, walking the line, or dropping off snacks and drinks during the strike!

Members of Teamsters Local 30 at Allegheny Health Network's (AHN) New Kensington Express and Primacy Care facility rallied alongside local elected officials, members of the community, and Teamsters from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including Local 776 Vice President Garry Teter, Jr., Trustee Dee Patel, and our truck, to demand AHN keep the clinic open.

The staff at United Physicians voted to join Teamsters Local 30 on August 27th. The election was certified on September 5th. AHN then decided to close the facility on September 8th.

"Our community relies on the care provided by Teamsters and needs this facility to stay open," said Gino Bessetti, President of Local 30. "It would be shameful to close this thriving facility. AHN is attempting to break our members' hard-won Union."

"Every worker should have the freedom to form and join a union without fear of retaliation," said Congressman Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17^th District). "My message is simple: our country should always respect that freedom, and we need more health care options in our region, not fewer."

In closing this facility, AHN would force New Kensington residents—a majority of whom are elderly—to cross the Allegheny River and travel to a neighboring town to receive in-network medical care. Local 30 has filed an unfair labor practice charge against AHN for its blatant union-busting efforts that threaten to close the clinic.

"Without access to care provided by this office, many of our patients would likely end up in the hospital," said Mari Kerr, a nurse practitioner at AHN in New Kensington. "We don't want to see this happen, and we are calling on AHN to stop trying to break our union with its threats to close down the New Kensington facility."

Commented Local 776 President Ed Thompson: "I'm proud to have our Local supporting the Local 30 Members. An injustice to one member is an injustice to all members. Employers will stop at nothing in their drive to destroy Unions. These hard-working members exercised their legal right to organize and bargain collectively with their employer. What does the employer do with their most valuable resource? Toss them aside like yesterday's trash!"

With the Local's truck as a backdrop, Members of Teamsters Local 30 rallied alongside local elected officials, community members, and Teamsters from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

After a summer break, the Local 776 Retirees Club is back at it. The group will be having a general membership meeting this Wednesday, October 15, 2025, beginning at 10:00 AM at the Camp Hill Union Hall. Come on out and visit with other Teamster Retirees and see what the club has planned.