UPS, Teamsters to resume negotiations as strike looms

UPS Inc. is set to resume contract negotiations next week with a union representing hundreds of thousands of workers, as a potential strike nears on Aug. 1, according to a Wednesday news release from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

More than 340,000 UPS Teamsters in delivery and warehouse logistics roles are demanding a new five-year agreement with higher pay, more full-time jobs, safety and health protections related to heat illness and stronger protections for workers. After months of negotiations, a final deal could hinge on the promise of increasing pay for part-time workers.

"We are pleased to be back at the negotiating table next week to resolve the few remaining open issues," said UPS in a Wednesday statement. "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."

Failing to come to an agreement could have the largest impact on the U.S. economy and supply chain since the Covid-19 pandemic, as UPS moves about 6% of the nation's gross domestic product each day, according to the company.

The Sandy Springs-based company is the ninth-largest employer in the metro area with more than 10,000 full-time equivalent workers. In total, the company has more than 500,000 global workers, including about 443,000 in the U.S. UPS reported $100.3 billion of revenue in 2022, with a profit of $13.9 billion.

UPS and the Teamsters started negotiations for a new agreement in April. Contract negotiations broke down July 5, after Teamsters said UPS walked away from the bargaining table after presenting an unacceptable offer, saying the company "refused to give the Teamsters a last, best, and final offer, telling the union the company had nothing more to give.”

At a Tuesday rally outside UPS Worldport, Teamsters General Secretary Treasurer Fred Zuckerman told members that both sides have agreed to 90% of a proposed contract, while remaining negotiations are centered around part-time worker pay, according to Louisville Business First.

The company’s current part-time package includes the same health and medical benefits as full-time employees, along with pension benefits, up to $25,000 in tuition benefits and a path to a full-time role, according to a UPS news release. Part-timers are also paid $20 an hour on average.

However, UPS can knock down that rate to as low as $16 an hour at any time, Zuckerman said. The Teamsters negotiation team is pushing for more than $21 an hour in the new contract, he said.

“We want in excess of that. We are going to fight in excess of that,” Zuckerman told the crowd on Tuesday. “We need to take care of our part timers and raise them up to a livable wage that everybody can live on. That’s one of our primary disputes.”

In anticipation of the strike, UPS has said it will train non-union employees to perform tasks that would be impacted by a work stoppage. The Independent Pilots Association, which represents UPS Airline pilots, said it would support the picket line, as it did during the 1997 strike, which could further slow operations.