By DON McINTOSH
An estimated 340,000 Teamsters-represented workers at UPS are set to strike after their contract expires July 31 if no new agreement is in place by then.
Bargaining July 1, UPS made concessions, agreeing to get rid of a two-tier wage system that pays less to weekend drivers and to equip all new trucks with air conditioning starting Jan. 1. But four days later bargaining broke down as the union team unanimously rejected what UPS called its final offer. Teamsters want more full-time jobs and big raises for part-time workers, who make as little as $16 an hour at the highly profitable company, which handles a quarter of all U.S. parcel delivery. Members voted in June by 97% to authorize a strike
The Teamsters contract at UPS is the largest private sector union contract in the United States. UPS workers last struck in 1997, before many of today’s UPS workers were born; it lasted 15 days and won big gains for workers.
