Workers OK strike against UPS Inc.

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Teamsters voted overwhelmingly to strike if contract negotiations fail with United Parcel Service Inc.

Preliminary results show 93 percent of the UPS Teamsters who voted during weekend balloting support a walkout if an agreement is not reached this summer after the current contract expires, union spokesman Bret Caldwell said. About 75 percent of locals had reported by Monday. The union would not provide turnout numbers or a vote count.

"It is time that we break the logjam at the negotiating table," said Teamsters President James Hoffa. "Our members deserve a contract that reflects the success of UPS over the past five years."

The current five-year contract expires July 31. Final strike vote results are expected in about a week. UPS is the largest single Teamsters employer.

UPS spokesman Norman Black cautioned that the vote is a normal part of the negotiating process and should not be taken as a barometer of the progress.

"This is not a vote that says there is going to be a strike," Black said. "This is not a vote that in any way represents what’s going on at the negotiating table."

Teamsters working for UPS voted at 196 local unions during the weekend. The union represents about 230,000 UPS drivers, loaders, sorters and clerks. Contract talks are continuing this week in Chicago.

A two-week strike by 185,000 Teamsters in 1997 cost the Atlanta-based package delivery company millions of dollars. The union’s major demand had been that UPS convert more part-time jobs into full-time work. It won 10,000 new full-time jobs over five years.

This time, the Teamsters want a three-year contract and even more new full-time jobs — 3,000 per year.

"That was a big issue in ‘97. It’s still an issue," said Ken Hall, co-chairman of the Teamsters’ negotiating committee.

About 130,000 of the Teamsters 230,000 jobs are part-time jobs, Black said. The average part-time hourly wage is $10.72 an hour.

"There is always going to be a little bit of tension between us and the union on how many full-time jobs we can create given the way the business works," he said. "The key to it all is that we remain competitive and keep growing."

The union also wants increased pay and pension benefits and improved health care coverage.

Last month, the Teamsters approved a dues increase to finance a strike fund that will raise strike benefits from $55 per week to 10 times a member’s hourly wage per week.

"I think it’s fair to say the company wants to avoid a strike and frankly, so does the Teamsters," Hall said. But negotiations are progressing slowly, he added.

UPS says its business volume has not kept up with nonunion competitor FedEx, and the company has taken an overall hit in the recession. First-quarter net income at UPS was almost flat, and it anticipates more difficult times ahead in a still-struggling economy.

"We are confident that we will negotiate a new agreement that rewards employees and avoids any disruption of service to our customers," Black said.

UPS says it offers the best wages and benefits in the industry. Its average hourly pay for a full-time driver is $23.11. The average hourly rate for a U.S. Postal Service driver is $19.19.