Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters, General President Sean M. O’Brien, and Teamsters Local 804 President Vinnie Perrone rallied in Long Island Saturday morning as the national strike deadline nears.

"UPS has a choice," O'Brien said. "They can respect and do right by working people, they can pay the wages that part-time and full-time workers deserve, and they can agree to terms on a strong new contract. Or UPS can wait until August 1 and regret turning its back on the hardworking people who make it a success. We are not backing down. We will take on this corporate bully for as long as it takes to get what we’ve earned.”

"Our members bust their ass every day for this greedy company, keeping supply chains moving and generating historic, multibillion-dollar profits for UPS," Perrone said. "Those record profits are unpaid wages. UPS Teamsters are done with the company's disrespect."

"UPS is not ready for this fight and they are not taking it seriously. But UPS forgets-it’s the Teamsters who actually run this company. This is our livelihood. And we take nothing more serious than the battle before us. This fight is bigger than any one member. It's about ending part-time poverty and not allowing UPS to further degrade good union jobs, turning our work into gig side hustles. This is a fight we must win to protect the future of good-paying, dignified careers at UPS. The Teamsters will hold the line against corporate greed at this company, and we will fight like hell to keep the power in the workers’ pockets," O'Brien said.

More than 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide are more united, organized, and militant than at any time in UPS history. The message from today's rally was clear: whether there is a strike is entirely up to UPS. Either way, Teamsters are ready-and we will win.