Though negotiations between the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and United Parcel Service (UPS) started 10 months early, the expiration of the collection bargaining agreement between the two is still far off. Their original objective of reaching a tentative agreement by the end of March is highly unlikely.
The July 31st expiration is inching closer, and there is a lot of disagreement over two master labor agreements between IBT and UPS:
- The 2008-2013 UPS National Master Agreement for small parcel that covers 250,000-260,000 IBT members, and
- The 2008-2013 UPS Freight Agreement which impacts approximately 13,000 workers.
There is a laundry list of demands from each side, and initial discussions centered on non-economic issues between the two. These were said to be agreed upon, and their economically-centered negotiations are becoming more heated. Their talks started friendly and cooperative, and have moved into an argumentative tone.
This would not be the first time UPS headed into a strike. In 1997, a labor disagreement led UPS to a strike that lasted 15 days.
What are these economic disputes centered on? What are the demands from both sides? What is FedEx saying about shippers who are looking to switch if the UPS strike does occur? Find out by clicking the green button below.
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