UPS sweetens offer to avert union strike

• UPS delivers a revised contract offer to Teamsters negotiators on Friday, June 30, with “significant movement on wages,” but the union says “it isn’t enough”

• Teamsters also says UPS has requested more time to negotiate and pledged to reach a deal no later than July 5

• The sweetened offer aims to avert a strike by International Brotherhood of Teamsters after 97% of 340,000 drivers, package handlers and loaders at UPS voted to halt work if the talks fail

United Parcel Service (UPS) delivered a revised contract offer with “significant movement on wages and other economic language,” the union representing roughly 340,000 US drivers, package handlers and loaders at the global delivery firm told media on June 30, the deadline set by the union.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said UPS has requested more time to negotiate and pledged to reach a deal no later than July 5 to avert a union strike, Reuters reported.

While the company has sweetened its latest offer, Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said “It isn’t enough,” the news agency reported.

UPS said in a statement: “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 US economy.”

UPS came up with the revised contract proposal after O’Brien, frustrated by an “appalling counter-proposal,” walked away from the talks on Wednesday, warning a strike is imminent, and demanded that UPS give its “last, best, and final offer” no later than June 30, an Associated Press report said.

The talks began in Washington on April 17 to work out a new contract that will replace the union’s current National Master Agreement that expires on July 31.

On June 16, Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien announced that union members had voted by an overwhelming 97% to authorize a strike, giving its negotiators maximum leverage to win demands at the bargaining table. The UPS Teamsters contract is the largest private-sector contract in North America.

“This vote shows that hundreds of thousands of Teamsters are united and determined to get the best contract in our history at UPS. If this multibillion-dollar corporation fails to deliver on the contract that our hardworking members deserve, UPS will be striking itself,” said O’Brien.

“The strongest leverage our members have is their labor and they are prepared to withhold it to ensure UPS acts accordingly.”

Full- and part-time UPS Teamsters are working in lockstep for a new five-year agreement that guarantees higher wages for all workers, more full-time jobs, an end to forced overtime and harassment from management, elimination of a two-tier wage system, and protection from heat and other workplace hazards, AP reported.

“This strike authorization vote sends a clear message to UPS that our members are damned and determined to take necessary action to secure a historic contract that respects their dedication and sacrifice,” the news agency quoted Teamsters general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman as saying.

“Our members are the backbone of UPS, and they are the reason this corporation hauled in more than $100 billion in revenue just last year. It’s time for UPS to pay up.”

Two weeks ago, the union and UPS said 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 US small delivery vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024.

UPS delivers around 25 million packages a day, representing about 26% of all US parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. That’s about 10 million parcels a day more than it delivered before the pandemic.

UPS profits have soared since the pandemic began in 2020 as millions of Americans grew to rely on delivery to their doorstops. Its annual profits in the past two years were nealry three times its pre-pandemic earnings. US official data show UPS accounting for 6% of the nation’s GDP.

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.

RELATED READ: UPS on profit track