UPS workers' strike looms as negotiations hit standstill
UPS workers' strike looms
Contract negotiations between the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS are at a standstill. Teamsters - the union representing about 340- thousand UPS workers has given the multimillion dollar shipping company until Friday to improve its offer - if not union heads say the workers will strike.
Frustrated by an "appalling counterproposal" earlier this week, the head of the union representing 340,000 UPS workers said a strike is imminent and gave the shipping giant a Friday deadline to improve its offer.
Negotiations on a new national contract began in April. The current contract expires July 31.
According to the union, talks on more than 50 non-economic issues are concluded but when it comes down to money, it says UPS isn’t doing enough.
In a statement the union said: "During the past week, UPS returned an appalling counterproposal to the union’s financial package, offering miniscule raises and wage cuts to traditional cost-of-living adjustments."
In a brief statement, United Parcel Service said it has offered significant changes to its initial financial proposal and that "Reaching consensus requires time and serious, detailed discussion, but it also requires give-and-take from both sides."
Earlier this month, the Teamsters said 97% of unionized workers voted for a strike authorization, which the union urged to give it more leverage during negotiations with the company.
The Teamsters represent more than half of the company’s workforce in the largest private-sector contract in North America. If a strike occurs, it would be the first since a 15-day walkout by 185,000 workers crippled the company a quarter-century ago.
UPS has pushed back on those claims by boasting that it provides workers with industry-leading pay and benefits.
Unionized UPS workers are still upset about the current contract, which they feel was forced on them by prior union leadership in 2018 based on a technicality. The contract created two hierarchies of workers with different pay scales, hours and benefits. The union wants it eliminated.
Two weeks ago, the union and the company announced they reached a tentative agreement to equip more trucks with air conditioning equipment, a major sticking point. UPS said it would add air conditioning to U.S. small delivery vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024.
UPS delivers around 25 million packages a day, representing about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. That’s about 10 million parcels more than it delivered each day in the years leading up to the pandemic.
UPS profits have soared since the pandemic began in 2020 as millions of Americans grew to rely on delivery to their doorstops.
Annual profits at UPS in the past two years are close to three times what they were pre-pandemic. The Atlanta company returned about $8.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks in 2022, and forecasts another $8.4 billion for shareholders this year.