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The head of the Teamsters said Sunday that he has asked the White House not to intervene if unionized UPS workers end up going on strike.
Negotiations between the delivery company and the union representing 340,000 of its workers have been at a standstill for more than a week with a July 31 deadline for a new contract approaching fast.
The union has threatened a strike if a deal is not reached by the time the collective bargaining agreement expires. Asked during a webcast with members Sunday on whether the White House could force a contract on the union, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said he has asked the White House on numerous occasions to stay away.
“My neighborhood where I grew up in Boston, if two people had a disagreement and you had nothing to do with it–you just kept walking,” O’Brien said.
“We don’t need anybody getting involved in this fight,” he said.
The Teamsters represent more than half of the Atlanta-based company’s workforce in the largest private-sector contract in North America. If a strike does happen, it would be the first since a 15-day walkout by 185,000 workers crippled the company a quarter-century ago.
Before contract talks broke down, both sides had reached tentative agreements on several issues, including installing air conditioning in more trucks and getting rid of a two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money. A sticking point in negotiations is wage increases for part-time workers, who make a minimum of $16.20 an hour, according to UPS.
Last week, UPS said it will temporarily begin training nonunion employees in the U.S. to step in should there be a strike.
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Let them strike. Most of the workers want to work and hope they will cross picket lines. O’Brien gets paid, either way, so he doesn’t care. Ask any driver, they don’t care about A/C as their doors are always open. They want vents in the back of the truck to get rid of the heat. Listen to the drivers, not Union reps.
Sources? You don’t appear to know how the process works? The DRIVERS voted–overwhelmingly–to strike. I guess we’ll see if many cross picket lines, but I highly doubt it.
David it’d be best if you knew whereof you speak, before you post.
“My neighborhood where I grew up in Boston, if two people had a disagreement and you had nothing to do with it–you just kept walking,” O’Brien said. “We don’t need anybody getting involved in this fight,” he said.
Ignorant comment. The White House does have a dog in the fight. Its called the American people and the economy.
David G.
+1
A strike by UPS will have very negative consequences for far more people
than most people realize. It could shut down the country’s commerce
within 48 hours.
I don’t think the strike will be quite as destructive and impactful as the UPS strike
as the 1996 one. FedEx is much larger now and you now have Amazon also.
But make no mistake, the strike will take its toll.
O’Brien doesn’t need the Whitehouse to weigh in. The Whitehouse is supporting
the Teamtesters regardless.