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ups strike
The Teamsters Show There’s (Still) Power in a Union
Never forget this: Working people outnumber the billionaires and CEOs. If workers stand together, they will win.
Jul 28, 2023
Good and important news on the labor front (from your former labor secretary).
What would have been one of the biggest labor strikes in U.S. history has likely been averted, as Teamsters reps agreed to a tentative contract with UPS. The contract must now be voted on by the 340,000 unionized UPS workers.
The tentative deal reportedly includes $30 billion in wage increases for all UPS employees (including part-timers), elimination of the two-tier wage system, the establishment of MLK Day as a paid holiday for all workers, and a ban on driver-facing cameras in truck cabs as well as forced overtime on drivers’ scheduled days off.
Oh, and the installation of air conditioning and fans in delivery trucks.
As a result of the tentative agreement, air conditioning will be equipped in new delivery trucks, while existing trucks will receive additional fans and air induction vents to protect drivers.
Temperatures in the back of delivery trucks have reportedly reached 120 degrees, which has resulted in over 140 UPS employees suffering severe heat and dehydration-related injuries since 2015. One California driver died while delivering packages last June.
As a result of the tentative agreement, air conditioning will be equipped in new delivery trucks, while existing trucks will receive additional fans and air induction vents to protect drivers.
Folks, never underestimate the power and importance of labor unions.
UPS is one of the most profitable delivery companies in the world. In the past two years, its profits grew close to THREE TIMES what they were before the pandemic.
The company also spent $8.6 billion on stock buybacks and dividends in 2022, while paying its CEO $19 million — a figure 364 times higher than the earnings of the company’s median employee.
UPS workers rightfully wanted a bigger piece of the pie they helped create, and better safety protections while on the job.
As we’ve seen across so many industries, major corporations are making big bucks off the backs of their workers—many of whom were quick to be labeled “essential” as they risked their lives throughout the pandemic.
But working people everywhere have seen their hard work result in stagnant wages while CEOs, other top executives, and major investors do gangbusters.
Forty years of union-busting and trickle-down economics has made the rich richer, while eviscerating the American working class.
That’s why UPS workers fought back. And why over 320,000 other unionized workers across various industries have gone on strike so far this year. They are organizing to rebuild worker power and demand the pay and dignity they deserve.
Never forget this: Working people outnumber the billionaires and CEOs.
If workers stand together, they will win.
It’s an old-fashioned idea that’s as true today as ever. It’s called Solidarity.
Unfortunately, after decades of union-busting and so-called “right-to-work” states, only 6% of private-sector workers are unionized today. When I was a kid in the 1950s, a third of all private-sector workers were unionized.
Which goes a long way to explaining why in the three decades after World War II, America created the largest middle class the world had ever seen. And why, starting in the 1980s, that middle class has hollowed out—creating anger and anxiety that’s been channeled by cynical, power-hungry politicians into racism, xenophobia, and rage.
Does this summer of labor discontent signal that the pendulum is about to swing back?
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UPS Strike Likely Averted as Teamsters Celebrate 'Historic' Contract Victory
"This contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers," said Teamsters president Sean O'Brien.
Jul 25, 2023
The Teamsters and UPS on Tuesday reached a tentative five-year contract agreement that union negotiators hailed as a "historic" victory, likely averting what would have been the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history.
In a statement, Teamsters president Sean O'Brien said that "we demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it."
"UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations," said O'Brien. "We've changed the game, battling it out day and night to make sure our members won an agreement that pays strong wages, rewards their labor, and doesn't require a single concession. This contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers."
According to the union, which represents roughly 340,000 workers, the tentative contract includes "historic wage increases" for full- and part-time UPS Teamsters, new health and safety protections such as in-cab air conditioning for larger delivery vehicles, an end to forced overtime on scheduled days off, and the creation of 7,500 new union jobs.
Under the new agreement, full- and part-time UPS workers would receive a $2.75-per-hour wage boost this year and a $7.50-per-hour raise over the course of the contract.
UPS CEO Carol Tomé described the contract agreement as "a win-win-win."
Rank-and-file union members still must approve the deal. If they don't, there will be a strike following the voting period, Teamsters leaders said.
Voting is set to begin on August 3 and end on August 22.
"UPS came dangerously close to putting itself on strike, but we kept firm on our demands," said Teamsters general secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman. "In my more than 40 years in Louisville representing members at Worldport—the largest UPS hub in the country—I have never seen a national contract that levels the playing field for workers so dramatically as this one."
"The agreement puts more money in our members' pockets and establishes a full range of new protections for them on the job," Zuckerman added. "We stayed focused on our members and fought like hell to get everything that full-time and part-time UPS Teamsters deserve."
The tentative bargaining agreement was reached less than a week before the current contract was set to expire.
Last month, 97% of UPS workers represented by the Teamsters voted to authorize a strike if there was no acceptable deal with management by the end of July.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, applauded the Teamsters for "negotiating a strong pro-worker contract with UPS."
"This is what progressive, grassroots union leadership is all about," the senator wrote. "This is a major victory for the American working class. Let's keep going."
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200 Members of Congress Vow Not to Interfere If UPS Workers Strike
"All workers, including UPS Teamsters, deserve fair wages, safe conditions, and decent benefits," said Sen. Bernie Sanders. "If a bargaining agreement can't be reached, we will not intervene if UPS workers strike."
Jul 19, 2023
Two hundred members of the United States Congress have committed not to step in if United Parcel Service workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters go on strike next month.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with the Democratic Party, and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) led 28 Senate Democrats in sending a letter to Teamsters president Sean O'Brien and UPS chief executive officer Carol Tomé on Wednesday. An identical letter signed by 164 House Democrats and eight House Republicans was addressed to the union leader and corporate executive on Monday.
"We are writing to strongly affirm support of our constituents' right to collectively bargain with their employer," the letter states.
The Teamsters union represents more than 340,000 UPS warehouse workers and delivery drivers nationwide. Last month, 97% of them voted to authorize a strike beginning on August 1 if a deal is not reached before their current five-year contract expires on July 31. It would be the second-largest work stoppage at a single employer in U.S. history, trailing only a 1970 strike of 400,000 General Motors workers.
"The Teamsters-UPS contract is the largest private collective bargaining agreement in North America, and given the recent increase in attacks on employees' collective bargaining rights, it is critical that these rights are in no way undermined in the current contract negotiations between Teamsters and UPS," wrote the 200 members of Congress. "Furthermore, we support the principles of fair wages, safe working conditions, affordable healthcare, and dignified retirement."
"UPS Teamsters play an essential role every day in delivering critical products across the country and keeping the American economy afloat," the lawmakers continued. "In addition to continuing to work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, these workers moved a record amount of goods during this period to keep American families safe, healthy, and fed."
"We are hopeful that both sides can negotiate in good faith and reach a consensus agreement that addresses basic human needs and allows workers to do their jobs safely and with dignity," they added. "However, in the event a fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached, we commit to respect our constituents' statutory and constitutional rights to withhold their labor and initiate and participate in a strike."
The letter notes that "Congress has not previously intervened in recent history to implement a collective bargaining agreement between workers and their employer under the National Labor Relations Act, and we commit to not intervening in the collective bargaining process between Teamsters and UPS."
Because the signatories constitute a minority of Congress, the letter amounts to a symbolic gesture of solidarity. While the Teamsters welcomed it, the risk remains that federal lawmakers could impose a contract against the will of UPS workers.
If Congress stays out of the way and a strike occurs, President Joe Biden could invoke emergency provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act to end a UPS work stoppage, as former President Jimmy Carter did to break a coal miners' strike in 1978 and former President Ronald Reagan did to force striking air traffic controllers back to work in 1981.
On Sunday, during a UPS Teamsters members update webinar, O'Brien made clear that he has asked the White House on multiple occasions to stay away.
"My neighborhood where I grew up in Boston, if two people had a disagreement and you had nothing to do with it, you just kept walking," said O'Brien. "We don't need anybody getting involved in this fight."
In early December, Biden—the self-proclaimed "most pro-union president" in U.S. history—joined Congress to thwart a pending railroad worker strike using the Railway Labor Act, which covers the rail and airline industries but isn't applicable to UPS workers.
It remains unclear whether a UPS strike will happen. Negotiations have been at a standstill for weeks, with the Teamsters holding practice pickets around the country and the company, which raked in more than $100 billion in 2022, training scabs.
The practice rallies appear to have had an impact, as UPS contacted the Teamsters on Wednesday to restart contract talks.
"UPS bowed today to the overwhelming show of Teamster unity and reached out to the union to resume negotiations," the union announced. "The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee and the company will set dates soon to resume negotiations next week."
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Ocasio-Cortez Rallies With Teamsters and Rips UPS Greed as Historic Strike Looms
"Let's remind them who's actually the boss in this, and that's the workers."
Jul 16, 2023
With hundreds of thousands of UPS workers preparing to strike as soon as August 1, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined other New York lawmakers at a rally with members of the Teamsters union on Saturday to push the ultra-profitable shipping giant to agree to a just contract.
"This is about making sure that we not just demand better wages, equal wages for our part-timers, making sure that we're getting the dignified conditions, A/C in trucks. But this is also about demanding respect," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said during the rally at Teamsters Local 282 union hall in New Hyde Park.
"This shouldn't even be a fight," Ocasio-Cortez added, noting that UPS raked in record profits last year and could easily afford to meet the union's demands.
UPS CEO Carol Tomé, a donor to anti-union Republicans, took home close to $19 million in total compensation in 2022.
"Let's remind them who's actually the boss in this, and that's the workers," said Ocasio-Cortez.
Saturday's rally came days after negotiations between UPS management and Teamsters leaders fell apart for the second time in recent weeks, with the Teamsters accusing the company of presenting an "unacceptable offer" that "did not address members' needs."
UPS has since announced that it will be training nonunion delivery drivers in preparation for a strike. If the work stoppage moves forward, it would mark the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history.
Last month, 97% of UPS workers represented by the Teamsters voted to authorize a strike if there's no acceptable deal with management by July 31, when the current contract expires.
If the working class doesn’t stand up for itself, no one else will.
UPS has made record profits during the pandemic. That’s because of UPS workers, who are prepared to strike Aug 1st without a fair contract.
This morning we rallied in support w/ @TeamsterSOB & @UAW Shawn Fein💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/U11ZqTxcZ3
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 15, 2023
The Teamsters have won significant tentative victories in recent negotiations, including an agreement from UPS to add in-cab air conditioning systems to newly purchased delivery vehicles and end the two-tiered wage system under which part-time workers earn significantly less per hour than full-time employees.
But the union said earlier this month that the company's contract offers haven't gone far enough to justly compensate employees, a message that Teamsters leaders echoed during Saturday's rally.
"Our members bust their ass every day for this greedy company, keeping supply chains moving and generating historic, multibillion-dollar profits for UPS," said Teamsters Local 804 President Vinnie Perrone. "Those record profits are unpaid wages. UPS Teamsters are done with the company's disrespect."
Sean O'Brien, general president of the Teamsters, said Saturday that the union "will take on this corporate bully for as long as it takes to get what we've earned."
"UPS has a choice," said O'Brien. "They can respect and do right by working people, they can pay the wages that part-time and full-time workers deserve, and they can agree to terms on a strong new contract. Or UPS can wait until August 1 and regret turning its back on the hardworking people who make it a success. We are not backing down."
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'Get Back to the Negotiating Table,' Says Teamsters as UPS Trains Scabs for Strike
"UPS is making clear it doesn't view its workforce as a priority," the union said. "UPS should stop wasting time and money on training strikebreakers."
Jul 14, 2023
After negotiations between the United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters broke down last week, UPS on Friday announced "business continuity training" to prepare for a potential strike by 340,000 union members next month.
"We remain focused on reaching an agreement with the Teamsters that is a win for UPS employees, our customers, our union, and our company," the shipping giant said. "While we have made great progress and are close to reaching an agreement, we have a responsibility as an essential service provider to take steps to help ensure we can deliver our customers' packages if the Teamsters choose to strike."
"Over the coming weeks, many of our U.S. employees will participate in training that would help them safely serve our customers if there is a labor disruption. This temporary plan has no effect on current operations and the industry-leading service our people continue to provide for our customers," UPS added, claiming that such activities "will not take away from our ongoing efforts to finalize a new contract" with union workers.
"UPS is not ready for the fury of 340,000 Teamsters."
Meanwhile, the Teamsters told The Associated Press on Friday that "UPS is making clear it doesn't view its workforce as a priority."
"Corporate executives are quick to brag about industry-leading service and even more quickly forget the Teamster members who perform that service," the union said. "UPS should stop wasting time and money on training strikebreakers and get back to the negotiating table with a real economic offer."
As the Teamsters
explained earlier this month, the union is fighting for a deal that "guarantees better pay for all workers, eliminates a two-tier wage system, increases full-time jobs, resolves safety and health concerns, and provides stronger protections against managerial harassment."
Last month, 97% of UPS workers represented by the Teamsters voted to strike if there is no deal by July 31. The union has been holding practice pickets, including one in Brooklyn, New York on Friday that was joined by Sean O'Brien, the Teamsters general president.
"For too long, this multibillion-dollar corporation has padded its bottom line with the unpaid wages of our members who sacrificed themselves and their families during the pandemic," O'Brien said at the event, according to the union. "UPS is not ready for the fury of 340,000 Teamsters."
After the Friday rally, O'Brien made clear that the union is still prepared to negotiate with UPS, telling Reuters that "the clock is on our side, not theirs. I assume at some point they'll be reaching out looking to try and get a deal."
The last strike by UPS workers represented by the union was in 1997 and is considered a major labor win in U.S. history. As Labor Notes recalled in 2017: "For 15 days, Teamsters shut down UPS nationwide. Managers struggled to make even a tiny fraction of deliveries... Out of options and running out of time, management surrendered on every key demand."
If the looming strike happens, "things could be a lot worse this time around, putting even more pressure on companies, consumers, and UPS. That's because the economy a quarter-century ago is entirely different than now—one where package delivery is more important than it's ever been," Vox reported Friday. "While competitors like FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service could pick up some of the deliveries, experts said logistics networks are too strained to fill many of the gaps that would be created."
"A 10-day strike would cost the economy more than $7 billion and be the costliest work stoppage in at least a century, according to a new
study by Anderson Economic Group, which researches labor disruptions," Vox noted. "That includes $4.6 billion in losses to consumers and businesses that rely on UPS, as well as more than a billion in lost wages and $800 million in company losses."
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Teamsters Say Contract Talks Have Collapsed After UPS Made 'Unacceptable Offer'
“This multibillion-dollar corporation has plenty to give American workers—they just don't want to," said Teamsters president Sean O'Brien.
Jul 05, 2023
The Teamsters said Wednesday that high-stakes talks with UPS over a new contract for more than 340,000 workers have fallen apart after the company presented an offer that union negotiators deemed badly inadequate.
Following a marathon negotiating session that ran into the early hours of Wednesday morning, "UPS walked away from the bargaining table after presenting an unacceptable offer to the Teamsters that did not address members' needs," the Teamsters announced on social media.
"The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee unanimously rejected the package," the union said. "UPS refused to give the Teamsters a last, best, and final offer, telling the union the company had nothing more to give."
Teamsters president Sean O'Brien countered that "this multibillion-dollar corporation has plenty to give American workers—they just don't want to."
"UPS had a choice to make, and they have clearly chosen to go down the wrong road," said O'Brien.
Wednesday's development comes just weeks before the July 31 expiration of the current UPS-Teamsters contract. Last month, 97% of UPS workers represented by the Teamsters voted to authorize the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history if there's no acceptable contract deal in place by the end of July.
The Teamsters have touted significant tentative victories at the bargaining table in recent days, such as a deal with UPS to end a two-tiered wage system that left part-time workers earning significantly less than full-time employees.
But the union said late Tuesday that disputes remained over key economic issues, including wage increases.
"The UPS Teamsters contract covering more than 340,000 full- and part-time workers expires July 31. No additional negotiations are scheduled," the union emphasized on Wednesday. "The Teamsters have repeatedly made clear that UPS members will not work beyond the expiration of the current contract."
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Teamsters Say UPS Has Simple Choice Ahead of July 5 Deadline: 'New Contract or Nationwide Strike'
"When UPS Teamsters say we're strike-ready, we mean it."
Jul 04, 2023
The largest single-employer strike in U.S. history could soon be set in motion if United Parcel Service management does not quickly agree to a new contract that is acceptable to the shipping giant's unionized workforce, which is represented by the Teamsters.
The union reiterated Tuesday that it is fully prepared to call a nationwide strike as the Teamsters' national committee returned to the bargaining table in the hopes of reaching a deal with UPS—whose CEO made $19 million last year—and ending contract negotiations that have dragged on for months.
"When UPS Teamsters say we're strike-ready, we mean it," the union tweeted Tuesday. "July 4 has arrived. And UPS has less than 24 hours to reach a tentative agreement for a new contract. The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee is prepared to work all day, through the night, and into the early morning hours to ensure UPS acts accordingly and a deal is done."
"Will UPS respect and reward more than 340,000 full- and part-time Teamsters, or put itself on the street?" the Teamsters asked.
The union said last week that UPS management agreed to put forth a contract offer by July 5, giving workers over three weeks to vote on any tentative deal.
Last month, 97% of UPS workers represented by the Teamsters voted to authorize a strike if a new contract isn't secured by July 31—the day the current contract expires.
With the threat of a nationwide strike overhanging the talks, Teamsters negotiators have tentatively secured a number of significant victories in recent days, including an end to the two-tiered wage system under which part-time drivers earn $5 an hour less than full-time drivers.
The union also announced over the weekend that it reached a deal with UPS to scrap "forced overtime on drivers' days off." UPS workers have said the company's overtime policy is highly abusive and exposes employees to dangerous heat-related illnesses.
"Whether it's overtime our members don't want to take, holidays they know they deserve, or equal pay for equal work, if we stay united and commit to protect each other to the bitter end, there is no chance in hell we lose this fight," Fred Zuckerman, the Teamsters' secretary-treasurer, said Saturday.
"The extraordinary gains, each of which have been key issues for Teamsters throughout the yearlong contract campaign, came on the heels of an aggressive public warning from the Teamsters National Negotiating Committee that UPS was running out of time to get a deal," the union tweeted on Saturday.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday expressed solidarity with UPS Teamsters as they continue their fight for a just contract.
"These dedicated workers put their lives at risk to deliver goods to homes so the rest of us could stay safe during the pandemic," Bowman wrote on Twitter. "They deserve a fair contract now."
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'A Clear Message': 97% of UPS Teamsters Vote to Authorize Nationwide Strike
"The strongest leverage our members have is their labor," said Teamsters president Sean O'Brien, "and they are prepared to withhold it to ensure UPS acts accordingly."
Jun 16, 2023
In a landslide vote on Friday, United Parcel Service workers represented by the Teamsters authorized a nationwide strike as part of their effort to win a strong contract in ongoing negotiations.
The Teamsters said in a statement that 97% of UPS workers represented by the union voted in support of a strike if there's no acceptable deal with management by July 31, when the current contract—the biggest of its kind in North America—expires.
The union represents more than 340,000 UPS package delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers across the U.S.
"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."
HuffPost's Dave Jamieson noted that if the strike takes place, it would be "the largest U.S. strike ever against a single employer, based on the number of workers involved."
Sean O'Brien, the union's president, said Friday's 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."
The strike authorization vote came days after the Teamsters reached a tentative agreement with UPS to require air conditioning in new delivery trucks purchased after January 1, 2024.
But a number of key issues remain unresolved.
The Teamsters said Friday that UPS workers are pushing 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."
Fred Zuckerman, the Teamsters' secretary-treasurer, said Friday that "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."
"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," Zuckerman added. "It's time for UPS to pay up."
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