At the start of 2024, a group of more than 70 workers at Sonoco Products Company in Los Angeles voted to ditch the phony Printing Packaging & Production Workers Union (PPPWU) and join Teamsters Local 572. They wanted the strong protections on the job that you can only get through real union representation.

When they first voted to join Local 572, one worker, Gabriel Morán said, “We are so happy to finally have representatives that will be working for the workers, not for themselves or the company.”

But these workers knew that joining the Teamsters was only half the battle. They wanted to secure a strong contract that guaranteed they are treated with dignity on the job –– and that’s exactly what they did.

Just months after they joined Local 572, Sonoco workers voted overwhelmingly to ratify a strong Teamsters contract. By working together, they locked in big raises and gained access to Teamsters health and welfare benefits, which is saving members hundreds of dollars a month.

“One of the best things about our Teamsters contract is the health care,” said Valentino Cabrera, a 10-year worker at Sonoco. “Now, I’m only paying one-third of what I used to pay for our old plan. It’s been truly lifechanging.”