Teamsters to begin process to authorize leaders to strike UPS

Vote doesn’t result in a strike

· Wednesday, June 07, 2023

UPS-Teamster talks collapse (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

UPS Teamsters will begin in-person voting this week to authorize the union’s leaders to call a strike in the event that the rank and file believe that the company refuses to negotiate a fair agreement before the current five-year contract expires July 31.

The strike authorization vote will be conducted at local union halls or at UPS (NYSE: UPS) locations designated by a specific local.

Voting must be completed by June 16.

A yes vote does not result in a strike. It only authorizes union leaders to call a strike if deemed necessary.

According to the dissident group Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a yes vote gives the union more leverage at the bargaining table, while a no vote would destroy its ability to win a fair contract because the company will feel there will be no opposition to a contract proposal.

Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.