Just a few days ago we reported on UPS removing their two-tier wage system that would pay part-time drivers $5 an hour less than full-time drivers.
A few days later it was announced that the UPS Teamster National Negotiating Committee unanimously rejected UPS’s latest proposal.
The UPS Teamster contract covers more than 340,000 full- and part-time UPS workers and is set to expire July 31.
The union group has made it clear that once the contract expires the members will not work. Last month the members authorized a strike by 97%.
“The Teamsters have stopped negotiating despite UPS’s historic offer that builds on our industry-leading pay,” the carrier said in a statement Wednesday morning. “We have nearly a month left to negotiate. We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table.”
Union General President Sean M. O’Brien on June 27 demanded UPS present “a powerful tentative agreement within the next week — or the union will demand UPS present its last, best, and final offer.”
UPS did meet their one week deadline for presenting a proposal, however it was rejected by the union due to it not being the last, best, and final offer, “telling the union the company had nothing more to give.”
“This multibillion-dollar corporation has plenty to give American workers — they just don’t want to,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “UPS had a choice to make, and they have clearly chosen to go down the wrong road.”
UPS said Wednesday it is “proud of our offer,” and chastised the union for “refusing to negotiate, especially when the finish line is in sight,” adding that the union’s failure to engage in negotiation “creates significant unease among employees and customers and threatens to disrupt the U.S. economy. Only our non-union competitors benefit from the Teamsters’ actions. It delivers wins for our people. The Teamsters should return to the table to finalize this deal.”
On June 19 the two groups reached a conclusion on 55 non-economic-based issues, but remained split on health and welfare and pension benefits.
