A group of unionized DHL Express workers on Thursday started a strike.
As part of the labor action, DHL Express saw over 1,100 of its ramp and tug workers at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport engage in the work stoppage at that site. That airport serves as a global hub for the parcel delivery company.
Those who went on strike are unionized under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which said in a press release that its DHL members total over 6,000 across the country.
With the strike, the Teamsters said the DHL Express workers aimed to "protest unfair labor practices and demand the company negotiate a fair contract." Negotiations between the ramp and tug workers, who are seeking "improved pay and working conditions," and the company first kicked off during the summer, according to another Teamsters press release.
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"The company forced this work stoppage, but DHL has the opportunity to right this wrong by respecting our members and coming to terms on a strong contract," Local 100 President Bill Davis said in a press release, calling for the company to "give workers their fair share."
FOX Business reached out to the Teamsters for additional comment on the strike.
The unionized DHL workers have accused the company of "push[ing] insulting demands that disrespect workers and fail to address the unfair labor practices that include retaliating against pro-union workers." The National Labor Relations Board has received multiple complaints lodged by the Teamsters against DHL, according to the union.
Thursday’s strike came after the option to engage in one received approval from the unionized DHL workers earlier in the week.
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"DHL Express remains committed to working with the US Teamsters and agreeing to a contract for the portion of the CVG employees they represent," the company said in a statement to FOX Business. "While there is no agreed deadline for these contract negotiations, we are committed to working in good faith at the December negotiating sessions and have offered further negotiating dates in January to conclude this matter."
The company said the "vast majority" of its CVG-based workers worked on Thursday. It also said that the Teamsters, whom it accused of attempting to "influence" and "pressure" the company into "unreasonable contract terms" via the strike, have "expanded their picket lines to other DHL Express locations in the United States" on Friday, something it had anticipated as a possibility.
DHL Express implemented "contingency plans" to "ensure that our customers receive the usual high level of service they are accustomed to from DHL Express at this critical time of the year for their businesses," according to its statement to FOX Business. The company does not expect any significant service disruptions.
The company has taken steps, including switching flights and volume to other DHL locations from CVG and "deploying replacement staff in other locations," according to DHL Express.
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On top of the global hub in Cincinnati, DHL Express has other facilities around the U.S., including in smaller hubs in Atlanta and Miami.
Germany-based DHL Group, which DHL Express falls under, employs several hundred thousand people around the world.
