Current:Home > StocksUPS workers edge closer to strike as union negotiations stall -WealthRoots Academy
UPS workers edge closer to strike as union negotiations stall
PredictIQ View
Date:2025-04-06 13:00:19
The Teamsters Union and UPS on Wednesday accused each other of abandoning labor negotiations aimed at averting what would be the largest strike in the U.S. since the 1950s.
The union, which represents roughly 340,000 full- and part-time drivers, loaders and package handlers, said UPS presented an "unacceptable offer" that "did not address members' needs."
"UPS had a choice to make, and they have clearly chosen to go down the wrong road," Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien said in a statement.
UPS denied that it ended negotiations. "We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table," the delivery giant said in a statement. "Refusing to negotiate, especially when the finish line is in sight, creates significant unease among employees and customers and threatens to disrupt the U.S. economy."
The labor contract covering unionized UPS workers is due to expire at the end of the month. Employees at the company have authorized a work stoppage should the parties fail to strike a deal.
The Teamsters union last week gave UPS a deadline of June 30 to bring its "last, best and final" deal to the table, warning that a strike would be "imminent" if the company didn't significantly sweeten its offer by then.
- UPS workers vote to strike, setting stage for biggest walkout since 1959
- Here's what the potential UPS strike could mean for your packages
- UPS strike "imminent" if pay agreement not reached by Friday, Teamsters warn
Failure to finalize the contract could precipitate the largest U.S. labor strike since 1959, jeopardizing millions of daily deliveries.
The union is trying to secure higher pay and more full-time jobs for UPS employees. It has also requested delivery trucks' surveillance cameras be removed and that employees, regardless of their tenure, be paid the same wages for working the same job. UPS told CBS MoneyWatch the technology used to monitor their drivers' movements is for their safety, describing the devices as a "sensor" rather than a camera.
Workers are unhappy with their current contract, which the union's former leaders secured on a technicality. Discontent over the contract inspired union members to push out their former leaders and install the group's current president, O'Brien, who has embraced the possibility of a strike.
UPS maintains that its latest contract offer is "historic" and that its drivers are the "best-paid in the industry."
Workers at UPS last went on strike for 15 days in 1997, in a walkout that led to $850 million in company losses, Reuters reported. Since then, the company has grown significantly in size as e-commerce has driven demand for expedited delivery.
UPS says it delivers the equivalent of about 6% of the nation's gross domestic product, meaning a work stoppage could lead to frustrations for U.S. consumers and disrupt the many businesses that depend on speedy shipping.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- In:
- Labor Union
- Strike
- UPS
veryGood! (28321)
Related
- Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
- Julián Figueroa, Singer-Songwriter and Telenovela Actor, Dead at 27
- London Boy, Bye: Let's Look Back on All of Taylor Swift's Songs Inspired By Joe Alwyn
- India pledges net-zero emissions by 2070 — but also wants to expand coal mining
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- A biodiesel boom (and conundrum)
- The Sun Belt is making a big play for the hot electric vehicle market
- Love Is Blind Star Bartise Bowden Welcomes First Baby
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Russia hits western Ukraine city of Lviv with deadly strike as nuclear plant threat frays nerves in the east
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Clueless Star Alicia Silverstone Reveals If Paul Rudd Is a Good Kisser
- Climate pledges don't stop countries from exporting huge amounts of fossil fuels
- In Beijing, Yellen raises concerns over Chinese actions against U.S. businesses
- How to watch new prequel series 'Dexter: Original Sin': Premiere date, cast, streaming
- Olivia Culpo and NFL Player Christian McCaffrey Are Engaged
- The exact link between tornadoes and climate change is hard to draw. Here's why
- That boom you heard in Pittsburgh on New Year's Day? It was probably a meteor
Recommendation
2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
The U.N. says climate impacts are getting worse faster than the world is adapting
Attack on kindergarten in China leaves six dead, authorities say
Shoppers Have Compared Results From These TikTok-Famous Wrinkle Patches to Botox
Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
Monsoon rains inundate northern India, with floods and landslides blamed for almost two dozen deaths
After a year of deadly weather, cities look to private forecasters to save lives
Latest climate pledges could limit global temperature rise, a new report says