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UPS says it has a better offer for its more than 340,000 workers to avoid a strike on August 1
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A bipartisan group of Senators and House Representatives send letters to the Teamsters and UPS committing to not intervene in the negotiations and to support the workers
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On Sunday, Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien said he had asked the White House not to intervene
United Parcel Service will resume talks next week with its workers’ union, saying it has a better offer for roughly 340,000 US employees represented by Teamsters to avert a potentially economically damaging strike on August 1.
“We are pleased to be back at the negotiating table next week to resolve the few remaining open issues,” said UPS, the world’s largest delivery company, in a statement on July 19.
“We are prepared to increase our industry-leading pay and benefits, but need to work quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country.”
The workers’ union said UPS contacted it on Wednesday with an offer to resume talks next week, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a statement.
The Teamsters agreement with UPS is the largest private-sector union contract in North America. UPS Teamsters are demanding the strongest possible contract or are prepared to strike – with rank-and-file members authorizing a strike by 97% vote.
The union says UPS made more than US$100 billion last year alone. Talks broke down on July 5 with each side blaming the other for toughening up its position.
The union won support Wednesday from a bipartisan group of US House and Senate members who sent letters to the Teamsters and UPS chief executive Carol Tomé, committing to not intervene in the negotiations and to support rank-and-file UPS Teamsters fighting for a historic contract with UPS.
Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien thanked the lawmakers. “This growing group of elected officials, including Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, has committed to have our members’ backs if UPS fails us all by forcing workers out on strike August 1,” he said.
“By saying they will not intervene, these officials are doing right by American workers and the labor movement. The power is in our own hands to negotiate the best contract, higher wages, and benefits.”
On July 17, O’Brien said he had asked the White House not to intervene if unionized UPS workers go on strike.
“We don’t need anybody getting involved in this fight,” O’Brien said during a webcast with members when asked whether the White House could force a contract on the union.
A key sticking point in the talks is pay increases for experienced part-time workers who get roughly the same or even less than new hires, whose starting wages jumped due to the labor shortage in the last few years, a Reuters report said.
“Any disruption to the business of UPS would be broadly felt because the company handles about 20 million packages a day – about 25% of the parcel shipments in the United States. Those include deliveries for online retailers like Amazon.com, high-value prescription drugs for doctors and hospitals, and inventory for millions of other large and small businesses,” Reuters said.
The news agency said a strike could be one of the costliest in at least a century, with one think tank estimating the impact of a 10-day strike would top $7 billion. It said UPS pilots, who belong to a different union, would also stop flying in solidarity with the striking workers.
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