Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said he doesn’t want the White House to intervene in contract negotiations with UPS Inc., saying, “We don’t need anyone getting involved in this fight.”
In a Teamsters webinar on Sunday, O’Brien also said that it would take about three weeks for a tentative agreement to be reviewed and voted on by its 340,000 UPS employee members. If so, that would take the agreement, should Teamsters leadership agree to recommend it to its members, beyond the July 31 contract expiration date. That could mean that UPS’ unionized employees could be working into August as members review and either ratify or reject the contract proposal.
The White House has no formal authority under the National Labor Relations Act, which governs relations between the two sides, to intervene in the dispute. However, the Biden administration got involved in helping to resolve the contract dispute along the West Coast ports system even though it had no formal authority to do so.
In addition, because UPS handles the equivalent of 6% of U.S. gross domestic product, there are concerns that some type of federal intervention might be needed to head off a major disruption in the nation’s supply chain should a work stoppage occur.
O’Brien used an analogy about growing up in Boston, where if two people were involved in a disagreement and a third party had no skin in the game, the third party “just kept on walking.”
Talks between the Teamsters and UPS stalled July 5 due to what O’Brien has called a significant gap in part-time wage proposals.
In a related development, the Teamsters have circulated a resolution, which they are asking all Congressional lawmakers to endorse, pledging that they will not intervene in negotiations or in anything that may follow.
Ron Morze
Guys grow a pair of balls UPS could care less about their drivers and inside workers management pulls every thing in the book to screw all their workers to save money. It’s about time O Brien took the union in the right direction Hoffa Jr ruined the Teamsters. I put 34 years in the Teamsters and proud of it
Freight Zippy
Looks the the Teamsters are using the same tactics with UPS as they are doing with Yellow.
Some industry experts predict IF there is a UPS strike they will lose about 30% of their volume forever.
With 340,000 teamster members that about 125,000 jobs lost.
I am willing to pay the teamster to never negotiate for me…
Joseph Bannon
I agree withEugene. Remember back in 97 there was only USPS and RPS AKA FedEx Ground was just getting off the ground. Yes volume is down here and abroad. UPS is not going to give part time non union workers full time pay. I hate to say this it’s a good time to sell your UPS stocks and buy FedEx.
Brian
Eugene. You obviously are spineless!! Why do you think you have a pension? It’s not because UPS is so great, but because of the union collectively bargaining for you! They would pay nothing with no benefits if they could. And it is because of the younger new members paying those dues that you and I will continue to get pension checks! I am a current feeder driver and let me ask you if I’m your day UPS forced you to work holidays? They do now and don’t pay what they are supposed to according to the contract. If you think this is acceptable then you are obviously not a good union man! Also Carol Tome has scrapped every department and manager in the US and sent them packing all in the name of profits while also cutting pensions for middle management! Great company huh? The only department she has emboldened is her labor managers who job is to look for loopholes in contract and screw the hard working people who are responsible for her record profits by saying we don’t see the contract saying this so just grieve it and then get it deadlocked permanently! I have never worked at or seen a place with such low morale as hodgkins il Cach terminal. What they UPS managers don’t realize is this upcoming strike is not about money but how you get talked to and treated as a person! Hopefully someday they figure it out!!!!
Eugene
I’m a retired ups pkg car driver, After driving for 36 years. It was a great career, I never thought I’d ever be able to gross over 100k a year with only a high school diploma. I started at ups as a pkg car driver making 9.50 an hour in the 80s and retired making around 40. Per hour, wow! And now I have a great penson. I went through the strike of 97( which I opposed) it was for more fultime positions. At my center we gained 1full time position. What Obrien is not telling you low senior drivers is some of you will be layed off because of low volume when the strike is over. Some of you will be hired back but it will take some time and some will not be hired back. We only had the post office for competition in 97 and now thier are several means of competition so it will take longer to get volumes back. I’m sure ups is offering a good contract pkg so you Teamsters better go for it, you already have better wages and benefits than any other del company. Obrien doesn’t loose on a strike only you guys do! He makes more money after the strike because your dues will go up according to how much your pay raise is. If you guys don’t stop this strike I only hope the white house does like they did on the railroad posable strike.