55 DHL Drivers Vote Unanimously to Join Local 745, Prepare to Bargain First Contracts
CARROLLTON, Texas, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fifty-five drivers at Cartage Services by DeliverOL and Driven-Force Inc., two subcontractors for DHL Express, have voted unanimously to join Teamsters Local 745. The two organizing victories, secured within 24 hours of each other, come as workers seek to win the wages, benefits, and workplace protections enjoyed by thousands of DHL Teamsters nationwide.
“We wear DHL uniforms, deliver DHL packages, and drive DHL trucks, but we are paid considerably less than DHL Teamsters,” said Malik Hathorn, a driver at Cartage Services by DeliverOL and a new member of Local 745. “We organized because we saw what our Teamsters brothers and sisters at DHL have won, and we know we deserve the same. Now we’re ready to fight for it at the bargaining table.”
During the organizing campaign, both DHL subcontractors committed multiple unfair labor practices and hired high-priced outside union-busters to try to stop workers from organizing. Their efforts failed. Drivers at both companies voted unanimously to join the Teamsters.
“We had some simple questions for the union buster management flew in from Florida: who do you work for, and whose interests are you here to protect?” said Calvin Dawson, a driver at Driven-Force Inc. and a new member of Local 745. “The company paid his fees, his hotel, his airfare, and his meals. We told him he could take our message back to management. We are Teamsters, 100 percent, and we aren’t going anywhere.”
The Teamsters represent thousands of workers at DHL, its subsidiaries, and subcontractors nationwide. In May, DHL Teamsters overwhelmingly ratified a new national master agreement that secured significant wage increases, increased health and welfare contributions, and established protections against AI-driven routing systems and autonomous vehicles.
“We are organizing every corner of DHL’s operation and building the power necessary to raise standards for anyone who moves a DHL package,” said Spencer Dearth, Director of the Teamsters Logistics Division. “These drivers stood together, defeated the company’s union-busting campaign, and voted unanimously to join their local. Now we will turn that unity into strong first contracts.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.
Contact:
Maura Drumm, (215) 510-3735
MDrumm@teamster.org
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SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters
