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Philly-area DHL Teamsters honor Ohio picket line

The Sharon Hill and West Deptford DHL workers were among Teamsters across the U.S. who extended a picket line from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport DHL workers.

A mannequin in DHL uniform with a sign that reads, "Welcome to Philly" inside the DHL shipping company facility in Sharon Hill, Pa., on October 28, 2021.
A mannequin in DHL uniform with a sign that reads, "Welcome to Philly" inside the DHL shipping company facility in Sharon Hill, Pa., on October 28, 2021.Read moreALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / Staff Photographer

About 200 unionized employees at international shipping giant DHL Express locations in Sharon Hill and West Deptford refrained from working on Wednesday, honoring a picket line set by their colleagues at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).

The Philly-area DHL employees are members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 107 and Local 500. They’re refusing to work in support of more than 1,100 CVG employees who belong to Local 100.

While they won’t cross the picket line, the Philly-area workers are not themselves on strike, Local 107 president Bill Hamilton said. He said the picket has extended to at least 15 other cities where the local unions’ contracts allow them to honor it. “They’re together in this,” he said.

DHL’s CVG employees officially unionized with Teamsters Local 100 in April, and have been negotiating a first contract. They went on strike Dec. 7, accusing DHL of unfair labor practices and to demand a fair contract. According to the Teamsters, CVG is DHL Express’ largest and busiest logistics hub in North America.

“For too long, DHL has walked all over our rights to collective action,” said Gina Kemp, a DHL-CVG ramp and tug worker. “This company’s repeated acts of disrespect — from the tarmac where we work to the bargaining table — leave me and my coworkers with no choice but to withhold our labor.”

According to Hamilton, who is also director of the Teamsters Express Division, a major sticking point in negotiations leading to last week’s walkout has been the right to strike. The terms DHL has proposed would allow the workers to strike only once their contract has expired, and would not allow them to honor another striking unions’ picket line, he said.

“We’re still a little appalled that they would take this position,” Hamilton said.

German-owned DHL Express is one of the largest shipping companies in the world, competing with FedEx and UPS. Its annual revenue in 2022 was about $29.8 billion.

The company increased its local workspace in 2021 by shutting down a Southwest Philadelphia location and replacing it with the Sharon Hill and West Deptford facilities. That year, the company was experiencing a 25% increase in Philadelphia shipments.

A spokesperson for DHL Express did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.