The Teamsters, the UAW, and the Democratic Party

I stand with and for the workers of America…

Dear Sharra,    I want to talk to you about what happened last week with the UPS Teamsters because I think it has lessons for our politics generally.  The UPS Teamsters, which includes 350,000 workers, just voted to ratify their contract. Many have described it as the best contract in UPS's history.  They got a great contract not because it was handed to them but because they organized and fought for it. Specifically, they voted overwhelmingly to go on strike and engaged in practice pickets across the country in the weeks leading up to the strike deadline. A few days before that deadline, UPS finally budged. This was one of the largest credible strike threats in US history and with UPS carrying 6% of U.S. GDP every day, the workers have tremendous power.  I stand with and for the workers of America. As President, I will continue to challenge corporate power every step of the way. A crucial part of this story is that five years ago, a terrible contract that UPS workers voted down was shoved down their throats anyway by corrupt, pro-business Teamsters leadership. When I was young, Teamsters leadership fought for their members, but they became corrupted over time and cozied up to the corporations they were supposed to fight. Rather than give up on their union, however, rank-and-file workers formed the Teamsters for a Democratic Union in order to transform the union into one that would fight for workers' needs. After decades of opposition, TDU finally won union elections and took over the Teamsters. It is under this new leadership that 350,000 UPS workers won their best contract ever.  A parallel story is occurring in the United Auto Workers. The UAW was also once militant in its fight against the big corporations, but it also became a corrupt pro-business union. But a reform group of rank-and-file workers fought to democratize the UAW and recently won in electing progressive pro-worker leadership. The UAW recently voted to strike against the "Big Three" automakers, and next month, I believe we will see them win a contract as good or better than what UPS workers got.  This story is so moving to me because I believe the story of the Teamsters and UAW is similar to the story of the Democratic Party. Like the Teamsters and UAW, the Democratic Party once fought the big corporations on behalf of ordinary working people. But also like the Teamsters and UAW, the Democratic Party became complacent and cozied up to the corporations they once fought.  The Democratic Party is still where the Teamsters were a few years ago, and it's time that, like TDU did for the Teamsters, we fight to democratize the Democratic Party and bring it back to being a party that is an unabashed ally of the working class and unabashed opponent of the big corporations.  This is exactly what our campaign is about.  We're making a stand and we're standing strong. P.S. You can read more about my labor policy here.  Would you like to receive text messages about events and opportunities to join us? You can join here. (Opt out at any time.) Shop BRAND NEW Marianne Williamson shirts, hats, mugs, and more here!   Paid for by Marianne Williamson for President ©2023 Marianne Williamson for President, all rights reserved   Our mailing address is: Marianne Williamson for President 1901 Harrison Street Oakland Suite 1550 Oakland, CA 94612 United States If you wish to receive fewer emails from the Marianne Williamson for President campaign, please click this link.   We're sad to see you go, but if you believe you received this email in error, or you no longer wish to receive our emails you can unsubscribe using the link below: unsubscribe