UPS says it will return to negotiating table with Teamsters next week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters will return to the negotiating table next week.

The union has pledged to strike starting Aug. 1 unless UPS agrees to a contract that the union's leadership endorses. They're holding out for a base wage of more than $20 per hour for the 330,000 rank-and-file UPS workers it represents across the country.

In a statement Wednesday, UPS said negotiations would continue next week "to resolve the few remaining open issues."

"We are prepared to increase our industry-leading pay and benefits, but need to work quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country," the company said in a statement.

Fred Zuckerman, the secretary-treasurer of the international union, said Tuesday that package handlers and other part-time workers represented by the union "deserve" a wage "north of $20" per hour, which is not out of line with similar sorts of work.

"McDonald’s is going north of $20. DHL is at $24 at Cincinnati airport. Everywhere you go, corporate America knows that if they want to have quality employees, they've got to raise that rate up," Zuckerman said. "And UPS has got a responsibility to do the same thing for their employees."

Zuckerman declined to comment when asked Tuesday about some Teamsters’ desire for a base rate of $25, saying "that’s still being negotiated."

Wages for UPS’ lowest-ranking are a key sticking point in talks between the union and the Atlanta-based shipping giant as the Teamsters’ current five-year contract nears expiration at the end of the month.

Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville rallied with workers Tuesday morning outside UPS' Worldport air hub, where Zuckerman told dozens of union workers that 90% of the contract is negotiated, and a strike is not inevitable.

"We have an obligation in society to take care of other people, and I firmly believe this," he said Tuesday. "I believe UPS has got an obligation to take care of their employees — the ones that are making them the money — and they need to come and take care of these people. If they believe in that, we'll get the deal done."

Union officials said talks broke down on July 5. The union and UPS haven't communicated since, but another meeting later this month will be a good indicator of the possibility of a strike.

The Teamsters hope to reach an agreement with UPS by the end of July. Its labor contract covers 330,000 employees, including package handlers, delivery drivers and other rank-and-file workers across the country.

One big sticking point is the large part-time workforce at UPS and the salary increases those workers will receive.

The Teamsters have walked out on UPS once before, for 15 days in August 1997. During that strike, UPS kept packages moving at a reduced pace.

This story may be updated.

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