America's largest labor union, has given the UPS their final demand for a fair economic offer.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, expecting an agreement no later than June 30th, has approved a nationwide strike if UPS doesn't propose a satisfactory economic package. As the Teamsters state, the strike could begin as soon as August 1st.
The Teamsters and UPS have already come to agreements on 55 "non-economic issues", including an agreement to add air conditioning to UPS trucks. Current negotiations concern health, welfare, and pension benefits for members. The Teamsters described the latest economic offer from UPS as "appalling", citing miniscule raises, and cuts to necessary cost-of-living adjustments.
On June 28th, UPS claimed that the negotiations require "give-and-take from both sides."
"Their actions and insults at the bargaining table have proven they are just another corporation that wants to keep all the money at the top. Working people who bust their asses every single day do not matter, not to UPS," said O'Brien. "Executives at UPS, some of whom get tens of millions of dollars a year, do not care about the hundreds of thousands of American workers who make this company run."
Carol B. Tomé, the CEO of UPS, had a total compensation of $18,956,201 in 2022. Glassdoor users working at UPS reported an average of $20 an hour for package handlers, $23 for delivery drivers, and $21 for warehouse workers.
Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien described the impending strike as "the largest single-employer strike in American history." If this strike occurs, it could rise among the ranks of historic strikes of the 19th and 20th centuries, and surpass the UPS Workers Strike of 1997, given that they are negotiating on behalf of more than 340,000 UPS workers.
In 2022, UPS delivered an average of 24.3 million packages per day, serving over 220 countries and territories, meaning that a single-day strike has the potential to produce a significant disruption.
“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,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman.
