The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced on Wednesday that negotiations with the United Parcel Service (UPS) had “collapsed,” with the labor union blaming UPS for refusing its “last, best, and final offer.”
According to a statement by the union, the talks ended around 4 a.m. on Wednesday after UPS “walked away from the bargaining table after presenting an unacceptable offer to the Teamsters that did not address members’ needs” and which the union’s national committee unanimously rejected.
“This multibillion-dollar corporation has plenty to give American workers - they just don’t want to,” said IBT General President Sean M. O’Brien. “UPS had a choice to make, and they have clearly chosen to go down the wrong road.”
In response, UPS accused the Teamsters of being the ones who quit the talks.
"The Teamsters have stopped negotiating despite UPS's historic offer that builds on our industry-leading pay. We have nearly a month left to negotiate. We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table," the company said.
In mid-June, the Teamsters, which represents 340,000 UPS workers, voted 97% to approve a strike beginning on August 1, when the current contract expires, if the global shipper hasn’t agreed to a new contract by then.
Since then, the two sides have reached tentative agreements on a number of core disputes, including the union’s demand to abolish a two-tier pay system that saw drivers who work part-time in the warehouse and part-time as drivers being paid half the wages made by full-time dedicated drivers.
A strike by the Teamsters would deal a devastating blow to the US economy, 6% of which is moved by the parcel service. In 1997, the Teamsters struck after contract negotiations with UPS collapsed, and the company agreed to meet all their demands after a 15-day-long shutdown.