The Teamsters Union has had an ongoing battle with the UPS to avoid a labor strike in order to get their requested changes. On June 30th they issued an ultimatum that if their demands were not met, they would turn to a labor strike once their agreement ended. The National Master Agreement between the Teamsters Union and UPS is set to expire on July 31st.
UPS has stated they have already worked to make alterations to the agreement to account for many of the union’s demands.
The Teamsters further demanded that a final offer was given by June 30th after making the ultimatum a week before the 30th. Logistics analysts have said that neither side can afford a strike, but one is apparent and on the horizon. After the last strike in 1997, UPS lost most of its market share value. Analysts are hopeful, for the sake of the company, that they will ultimately settle an agreement before a strike starts.
According to statistics, they can tell that UPS can definitely pay more than what they proposed in their latest offer given to the Teamsters. Other organizations are also unsure of how their fate lies with Teamsters because UPS is among one of the highest payers for the Union.
The current list of demands from the Teamsters includes a five-year agreement that provides higher wages for all employees, more positions for full-time workers, ending forced overtime and harassment from management, cutting the two-tier wage system that is currently in place, and providing more protection from heat and other hazards.
If no deal is reached, the General President of the Teamsters Union, Sean O’Brien, has confirmed they will strike if no deal is reached.
If the Teamsters go on strike against UPS, everyone will suffer greatly due to how reliant we have become on parcel delivery services in the United States. Especially in a post pandemic world, parcel delivery has increased in popularity exponentially. The agreement that the Teamsters are requesting is in consideration of the changes made to the industry after Covid-19.
While most are anticipating and preparing for the Teamsters to officially go on strike, it is unclear if it will 100% happen. If the strike does happen, we are unsure when it will officially begin.