Local UPS employees prepare to strike as negotiations stall
UPS employees and the Teamsters Local 764 practice picket in front of the UPS facility on Wahoo Drive in Williamsport on Wednesday morning. Contract negotiations between the union and UPS are at a stalemate. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
UPS trucks sit at the UPS facility on Whahoo Drive in Williamsport on Wednesday morning. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
UPS employees and the Teamsters Local 764 practice picket in front of the UPS facility on Wahoo Drive in Williamsport on Wednesday morning. Contract negotiations between the union and UPS are at a stalemate. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
UPS trucks sit at the UPS facility on Whahoo Drive in Williamsport on Wednesday morning. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
Trending
United Parcel Service employees in Greater Williamsport belonging to the Teamsters Local 764 prepared to join their brown-clad brethren nationwide in a strike over stalled contract negotiations.
"We're not looking for confrontation," said Eric Kime, secretary-treasurer of Local 764.
The local employees practiced walking the picket line outside the Wahoo Drive UPS Wednesday morning.
As early as 8:30 a.m., the employees began to stage how they will walk the picket line.
Before what could be described as a preparatory strike, the Sun-Gazette was informed the primary sticking point where they've reached a stalemate is part-time wages leading to "part-time poverty," as Kime described the situation.
Talks about upping part-time wages have collapsed, he said.
The Teamsters staging the preparatory strike were joined by United Auto Workers (UAW), Millwrights union representatives as a show of solidarity.
Negotiations had appeared to be progressing in recent weeks, with tentative agreements on a number of issues since national contract talks began in April.
The sides agreed to scrap the two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money, which was a major sticking point.
The union also said it reached a tentative agreement to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a full holiday for the first time and end unwanted overtime on drivers' days off.
Last month, the union and the company reached another tentative agreement to equip more trucks with air conditioning equipment. Under that agreement, UPS said it would add air conditioning to U.S. small delivery vehicles purchased after Jan. 1, 2024.
Existing vehicle wouldn't get the upgrade, but the union said they will have other additions like two fans and air vents.
Contract negotiations between UPS and the union representing 340,000 of the company's workers broke down soon after Independence Day, where each side blamed each other for walking away from the talks, according to a story by Matt Ott, The Associated Press business writer.
In recent days, the Teamsters imposed several deadlines for United Parcel Service negotiators to make their "last, best and final" offer to its unionized workers.
However, union officials said that UPS "walked away from the bargaining table after presenting an unacceptable offer."
UPS told a different story to the AP.
The package delivery company said it was the Teamsters who abandoned negotiations, "despite UPS's historic offer that builds on our industry-leading pay."
"We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table," the Atlanta-based company said in a prepared statement.
Teamster-represented UPS workers voted for a strike authorization last month and union chief Sean O'Brien said last week that a strike is imminent.
The end of the contract is midnight on July 31.
The union says any tentative agreement would need to be endorsed by its national committee before being distributed and voted on by membership. The union said it will not negotiate past the expiration of the current contract.
Shares of United Parcel Service Inc. fell more than 2%. Shares of rival FedEx rose slightly.
The Teamsters represent more than half of the company's workforce in the largest private-sector contract in North America.
If a strike occurs, it would be the first since a 15-day walkout by 185,000 workers crippled the company a quarter century ago.
UPS has grown vastly since then and became an even more integral piece of the U.S. economy, with consumers relying on swift delivery of most essential home items. Small businesses who rely on UPS could also be left looking for alternative shipping options if the company's remaining workforce wasn't able to meet demand during a strike.
The company says it delivers the equivalent of about 6% of the nation's gross domestic product. That means a strike would carry with it potentially far-reaching implications for the economy, particularly the supply chain, which has just begun to recover from pandemic-related entanglements.