UPS is set to go on strike if a deal cannot be reached by the end of the day on July 31.
O’BRIEN ON MSNBC: LASER-FOCUSED ON GETTING BEST CONTRACT FOR MEMBERS
— Teamsters (@Teamsters) July 23, 2023
On Sunday, Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien joined Ali Velshi on MSNBC to dive into the demands on UPS to come to terms on an historic new contract in the week ahead. pic.twitter.com/cAQP7X1OU0
According to the Associated Press, union leader Sean M. O’Brien has promised to strike if demands are not met. The union has already approved a strike.
A practice picket was held Friday in Atlanta, where the UPS headquarters is located. O’Brien said, “We’re sending a message…all 340,000 of our members are united and ready to fight.”
The Teamsters are asking for better working conditions and pay rates. Lack of air conditioning in trucks and “hierarchies,” separating part-time and full-time employees, are their concerns.
This comes after UPS nearly tripled its profits in the past two years. The Teamsters are demanding better pay for part-time employees who start at $16.20 per hour.
O’Brien stated, “People want their packages yesterday with the emergence of the e-commerce. So it’s a very demanding job.”
“Everybody doesn’t realize what it takes to get these packages on the truck. And a lot of our part timers…work for poverty wages,” he added.
During previous negotiations, the UPS did agree to add air conditioning to new small delivery trucks starting in January of 2024, but the company would not upgrade existing trucks.
The union compromised with these terms on the basis that fans or better air ventilation would be added.
They also negotiated to have Martin Luther King Jr. Day recognized as a full-paid holiday, and they also agreed to end the expectation that drivers should work overtime on their days off.
The union and UPS are scheduled to meet again Tuesday in an attempt to avoid a strike, but if an agreement is not reached, Kara Deniz, a spokeswoman for the Teamsters, noted the union has a strike fund with over $300 million in it, via Market Watch.
Deniz added that “there’s also some local unions that have strike funds“ and they are receiving “a ton of support from other unions.”
In Brooklyn, Teamsters Local 804 shop steward Matt Leichenger explained despite earlier concerns about a potential strike, “we’re more united than we’ve ever been.”
He said the local is “organizing as much community support as we can,” which includes organizing food for union members on the picket lines if it comes to that.