Former DHL employees protest layoffs Workers say unionization led to lost jobs

BREWER – Bright sun outside the DHL office on Parkway South on Monday morning greeted a large group of protesters, who might have appreciated the crisp feel of spring if not for the reason that brought them there.

Twenty-three local employees of DHL, a global shipping company and rival of Fed Ex and UPS, were laid off Friday after Black Bear Currier, the independent contractor for DHL in Brewer, failed to negotiate a new contract. Another 25 employees were laid off in Presque Isle.

Those workers, many of whom had been with DHL for more than 10 years and who recently had joined the Teamsters union Local 340 out of South Portland, made a statement of solidarity Monday that they were not going down without a fight.

“These guys that were let go, they built the company here,” Local 340 President Jim Carson said Monday during an impromptu press conference just down the street from the DHL building.

“This is the kind of thing, in Maine, that we don’t do; the people of Bangor won’t put up with it.”

Morning drivers on Parkway South and students at nearby Brewer High School craned their necks to watch displaced workers march in red and yellow DHL jackets. Some demonstrators held signs that read, “DHL fired me because I joined the Teamsters” and “I want my job back.”

The demonstration lasted most of the day, with protesters breaking only for lunch. Brewer police monitored the situation, but for the most part the picketing was peaceful. The loudest noise from the demonstrators came when the new DHL truck drivers prepared to make the day’s first deliveries.

Black Bear Currier announced last week that it would cease operations at the local DHL offices in Brewer and Presque Isle after failing to reach an agreement with DHL for a new contract. Black Bear Currier had operated DHL services in Maine for almost 12 years.

The DHL employees joined the Teamsters only about a week ago, after many years of working with low wages and no benefits, they said. When Black Bear Currier tried to negotiate with DHL on the employees’ behalf, the worldwide shipping company instead found another contractor.

Rydbom Express out of Pennsylvania took over operations Monday morning for DHL in Brewer. A New Hampshire group, Granite State Express, took over in Presque Isle. Both had largely different crews than the ones that left work on Friday.

“Each one of the individuals had the opportunity to apply for new jobs with the new companies and some did,” Doug Rydbom, president of Rydbom Express, said by phone from Pennsylvania. “Everyone that has been hired is local.”

Only four Brewer employees and two from Presque Isle were rehired. Carson said Rydbom was well known for his negative stance on organized labor and the Teamsters were just waiting for laws to be broken.

The Teamsters announced Monday that they filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board claiming that the layoffs were unlawful. The NLRB is responsible for investigating unfair labor practices by employers and unions.

“As part of our labor agreement, any contractor that changes hands is required to hire back at least 50 percent of employees,” said James Cook, political coordinator for the Teamsters.

Rydbom said early Monday afternoon that he had not received a copy of the petition. Cook said the NLRB could take up to four to six weeks before a decision is made.

Carson stressed that DHL, not the independent contractors, was at fault in this case. DHL director of corporate communications Jonathan Baker argued that DHL does not interfere in disputes between contractors and unions.

“We’re not a party to the dispute; we don’t have relationships with workers up there,” Baker said from DHL’s corporate office in Florida. “It’s not uncommon for a contractor to resign from a piece of work; it’s standard procedure. The incoming contractor can hire whoever they want.”

Many of DHL’s independent contractors have union representation and the company has not had problems before, according to Baker.

“This was strictly a business decision,” he said. “These changes were unrelated to any union activity and we’re not involved in that relationship.”

Employees disagreed. Ryan Whitney of Glenburn, a DHL employee for six years until Friday, said he reapplied for a job but was not rehired.

“[We were told] that if we were union, we weren’t going to get hired,” Whitney said. “All we want is protections.”

Carson even made a pledge for customers to divert their shipping business to UPS until the matter was resolved, an idea that was backed by the state’s top Democrat.

“I remember watching all those funny Super Bowl ads that featured DHL. Well, this is not funny here,” said Democratic Party Chairman Pat Colwell, who drove north Monday morning from his home in Bath. “We’re going to win this fight and the Democratic Party won’t be doing business with DHL until this is resolved.”

DHL was formed in San Francisco in 1969. The name stands for its three founders, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn.

BDN reporter Nok-Noi Hauger contributed to this story.