UPS Teamsters Vote to Strike

The Teamsters voted overwhelmingly to strike if contract negotiations fail with United Parcel Service Inc.

Preliminary results show 93 percent of the UPS Teamsters who voted during weekend balloting support a walkout if an agreement is not reached, union spokesman Bret Caldwell said. About 75 percent of locals had reported by Monday.

“It is time that we break the logjam at the negotiating table,” said Teamsters President James Hoffa. “Our members deserve a contract that reflects the success of UPS over the past five years.”

The current five-year contract expires July 31. Final vote results are expected in about a week.

UPS spokesman Norman Black cautioned that the vote is a normal part of the negotiating process and should not be taken as a barometer of the progress.

“This is not a vote that says there is going to be a strike,” Black said. “This is not a vote that in any way represents what’s going on at the negotiating table.”

Teamsters working for UPS voted at 196 local unions during the weekend. The union represents more than 200,000 UPS drivers, loaders, sorters and clerks. Contract talks are continuing this week in Chicago.

A two-week strike by 185,000 Teamsters in 1997 cost the Atlanta-based package delivery company millions of dollars. The union’s major demand had been that UPS convert more part-time jobs into full-time work. It won 10,000 new full-time jobs.

Last month, the Teamsters approved a dues increase to finance a strike fund that will raise strike benefits from $55 per week to 10 times a member’s hourly wage per week.

The Teamsters’ main demands are increased pay and pension benefits and improved health-care coverage.

“We are confident that we will negotiate a new agreement that rewards employees and avoids any disruption of service to our customers,” Black said.

But UPS says its business volume has not kept up with nonunion competitor FedEx, and the company has taken an overall hit in the recession. First-quarter net income at UPS was almost flat, and it anticipates more difficult times ahead in a still-struggling economy.

UPS says it offers the best wages and benefits in the industry. Its average hourly pay for a full-time driver is $23.11. The average hourly rate for a U.S. Postal Service driver is $19.19.

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On the Net: UPS strike information: http://www.pressroom.ups.com/contracttalks

Teamsters strike information: http://www.trakups.org/strikeauthvote.htm

© 2002 The Associated Press