UPS, Teamsters back at bargaining table after ‘significant’ boost in pay offer
There are signs of compromise between United Parcel Service (UPS) and the Teamsters union to avoid the first labor stoppage at the small parcel giant in nearly three decades.
UPS—under prodding from the Teamsters union to deliver a strong contract to its 340,000 members—has given the union a revised counterproposal with what the union called “significant movement” on wages and other economic language.
The company is trying to reach a deal no later than July 5 for 340,000 Teamster package delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers nationwide. The current labor agreement expires July 31, but the union is pressuring the company for an early agreement.
The union says UPS agreed to put a contract offer on the table by July 5 to give Teamster members time to complete voting on a proposed contract by the strike deadline of Aug. 1.
“UPS Teamsters have strategically navigated this process for maximum leverage against this multibillion-dollar corporation. At every step, we are forcing them to do what they don’t want to do, which is give our members more money and better protections at work,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
The Teamsters have told UPS that a new contract must be in place by Aug. 1. The Teamsters say they “will not work one minute beyond the expiration of our current agreement.”
The union says UPS is offering “real movement” in its financial negotiations.
“One of two things is going to happen next—UPS will come to terms on a deal we can confidently recommend to our members or UPS will fail and the company will put itself on the street,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. “Thousands of UPS Teamsters are practice picketing right now across the country, showing UPS how serious we are about getting the best contract in our history.”
There continues to be widespread belief among rival carriers and observers that there will not be a rerun on the three-week strike that crippled UPS in 1997 under the late union president Ron Carey.
First off, both sides have a lot to lose. Another factor is new UPS CEO Carol Tome's strong track record with labor negotiations. Shippers seem to think the same thing as well. There has not been much diversion, as rival FedEx says it has not seen many big gains from large UPS shippers.
O’Brien, Zuckerman and the full UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee held a press conference outside Teamsters headquarters across from the U.S. Capitol on July 1, to provide an up-to-the minute progress report of UPS’s actions at the bargaining table.
“They’ve made some movement but it’s not enough,” O’Brien said on the steps of the Teamsters building. “We will determine when it’s enough.”
O’Brien said the Teamsters’ goal is to win “the best contract—not just for the Teamsters but the entire labor movement. We’re not there yet. For UPS, the ball is in their court.”
The Teamsters are fighting to win a strong agreement with UPS that guarantees better pay for all workers, eliminates a two-tier wage system, increases full-time jobs, resolves safety and health concerns and provides stronger protections against managerial harassment.
UPS, which recorded $100 billion in revenue and over $13 billion in profits last year alone, was encouraged that the Teamsters will continue forward progress toward a new five-year labor agreement.
“We are encouraged the Teamsters are ready to continue negotiations and discuss our most recent proposal,” the company said in a statement. Productive discussions are critical at this stage of the process.
“We look forward to the union’s input so we can reach a timely agreement and provide certainty for our employees, our customers and the U.S. economy,” the company added.
In a statement released by the union, Cesar Castro, a part-time UPS Teamster with Local 396 in Los Angeles and a member of the Teamsters National Negotiating Committee, said: “We break our backs working for this company. UPS needs to recognize our sacrifices not just with empty words, calling us ‘essential workers,’ but by putting the pay, benefits, and protections we deserve into a contract.”
O’Brien said UPS has two choices—“One road is to give our members the contract they deserve. The other road is to stay loyal to Wall Street and ignore Main Street.”
