This year, May 1 is two worker-first holidays in one: International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, and Skilled Trades Day! Both holidays celebrate our power as working people, our solidarity as members of the Teamsters Union, and the decades of victories our movement has achieved.
May Day is a global day of celebration for workers, unions, and the international labor movement, begun in memory of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago. National Skilled Trades Day, celebrated on the first Wednesday in May, is a day to acknowledge the dedicated skilled trades workers who keep workplaces across the country running. For every Teamster, Skilled Trades and CX, we have a lot to celebrate today.
“Our 2,400 Skilled Trades Teamsters keep campuses running smoothly up and down the state for our members, students, staff and visitors. Skilled Trades workers are vital to the success of both the University of California and the California State University. Skilled Trades members are an active and important part of Teamsters Local 2010. Thank you for all you do!”
Catherine Cobb
President, Teamsters Local 2010
Worker power is on the rise across the country, with nearly one million working Americans winning a double-digit raise in 2023 thanks to their unions. Millions more won substantial contracts, like writers and actors in Hollywood, while non-union workplaces across the country also raised their wages to keep up with Union shops.
In Local 2010, the benefit of our Union is clear. CX workers are in the middle of a record-breaking five-year contract, with career employees receiving a minimum 23.4% raise over five years, and maybe more thanks to our contract’s “me too” language! CSU Teamsters, meanwhile, made history this year with the return of guaranteed salary steps in our new three-year contract, turning the page on salary compaction and inversion at the CSU!
Our power as a Union comes from the solidarity of our membership, within our union and beyond, with every unionized worker in the US. May Day actions are happening across the state today–check below for the action near you, and help every worker win the pay they deserve!
