Dive Brief:
- A group of Ryder Integrated Logistics workers in Wentzville, Missouri, voted 13-8 against joining the United Auto Workers union. Four other workers didn’t cast ballots.
- The nearly monthlong mail-in ballot election ended last week for dock, customer logistics and other workers. Eligible voters needed to be employed as of July 31 at the General Motors facility.
- The failed unionization drive happened as local and national workers walked out of plants across the country, affecting Ford as well as Chrysler and Jeep maker Stellantis. UAW members are seeking better pay and benefits.
Dive Insight:
Unionization drives at Ryder System subsidiaries have produced mixed results in a summer of widespread labor activism across trucking and other industries.
Workers at some Ryder subsidiaries have joined unions while other votes have come up short. The votes come amid a contract renewal for UPS workers this year, and transportation companies are facing increased pressure.
Werner Enterprises, for example, had a group of 15 drivers at a Maryland location, agree 10-5 in August to unionize. The carrier reported having no union representation for its workers in the U.S. and Canada at the beginning of this year.
For Ryder, about 3,700 of 31,900 hourly workers in the U.S. were represented by unions as of last year. A UAW spokesperson didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment about the Wentzville vote and broader strike.
