Labor negotiations between United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have ended without reaching an agreement, with a planned “work stoppage” just days away.
The situation is potentially worrying considering the looming August 1 deadline and the chance that a no-deal decision will boil over into the largest U.S. strike since the United Steelworkers of America strike of 1959.
Representing 340,000 of the company’s package delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers nationwide, the Teamsters rejected the deal, reporting that the United Parcel Service (UPS) had claimed it had nothing more to propose and refused to provide a last, best, and final offer.
“This multibillion-dollar corporation has plenty to give American workers — they just don’t want to,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement after negotiations failed on Wednesday. “UPS had a choice to make, and they have clearly chosen to go down the wrong road.”
UPS, however, refuted the claim that it walked away from the negotiating table.
“We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table,” UPS said in a statement. “Refusing to negotiate, especially when the finish line is in sight, creates significant unease among employees and customers and threatens to disrupt the U.S. economy.”
“Only our non-union competitors benefit from the Teamsters’ actions,” UPS added.
With a deal unlikely to be reached before July 31 and no additional negotiations scheduled before the August 1 deadline, a strike – authorized by 97% of rank-and-file UPS Teamsters members — will most likely go into effect once the existing contract expires.
O’Brien noted when the union voted to strike, “The strongest leverage our members have is their labor and they are prepared to withhold it to ensure UPS acts accordingly.”
If the strike goes as the Teamsters plan, UPS has suggested that it would bring shipping across the country to a grinding halt, as well as damage the company’s reputation with customers.
Still, the Teamsters have informed UPS that members will not work beyond the expiration of the current contract.
