UPS Fires Hundreds Of Workers Who Defended Fired Colleague

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UPS, one of the world's largest shipping and logistics companies, has decided to fire 250 workers who staged a 90-minute protest in February. The protest was organized after a long-time employee was fired over an hours dispute.

Twenty of the workers were notified of their dismissal on Monday. The remaining 230 were told they would be fired as soon as replacements are trained.

The workers, who are based in Queens, N.Y., walked off the job when Jairo Reyes, a 24-year company veteran and union activist, got in a dispute with the company over the number of hours senior staff could work, according to the New York Daily News.

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The Queens workers are represented by the local branch of the Teamsters union. In a statement on their website, they describe the firings as "arbitrary discipline."

"UPS’s actions this week were a heartless attack on drivers and their families," the Teamsters Local 804 wrote.

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Update 4/3: Thursday, a UPS spokesperson informed The Huffington Post that the contract between UPS and the Teamsters includes a no-strike clause. Management at the Maspeth facility, where employees worked, warned the employees as they were leaving that their jobs were at risk, the spokesperson said. The Teamsters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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