FAIRFAX, Va. — The Teamsters rallied at United Parcel Service facilities across the country Tuesday, demanding higher pay and more full-time jobs in the shadow of a July 31 deadline, a wire service reported.
“The pace has picked up, so they know we’re serious,” Teamsters President James P. Hoffa told UPS workers, wearing brown shorts and shirts, gathered in the parking lot of the UPS distribution facility in suburban Washington, D.C.
Rallies and petition drives were being held at more than 200 UPS facilities, including Louisville, Ky., Boston, Chicago and Atlanta, where the company’s headquarters is located. The union’s rhetoric has intensified in recent weeks as the July 31 expiration of the current, five-year contract grows closer. Members last month voted to strike if an agreement is not reached by then.
UPS spokesman Norman Black said the rallies are part of the negotiating process and do not reflect what’s going on at the bargaining table. The company is pleased with the talks, which are progressing ahead of schedule, he said.
“We’re absolutely more convinced than ever that we’re going to negotiate a contract without any disruption of service to our customers,” Black said.
Both sides say they want to avoid a repeat of 1997, when a two-week strike cost the company $750 million.
The Teamsters represent about 230,000 workers at UPS, which has more union workers than any other U.S. company. It is the largest Teamsters’ employer and the union’s fastest-growing segment.
The standoff has been Hoffa’s biggest leadership test, as he tries to win sizable concessions from UPS that top the previous contract negotiated by his predecessor and bitter rival, Ron Carey. Hoffa has secured a $100 million line of credit and pushed through a dues increase to build a strike fund in preparation.
UPS is the largest private-sector labor contract that will be negotiated in the country this year. Negotiations and the outcome will set the tone for the strength of organized labor.
The union wants a three-year contract this time and even more new full-time jobs — 3,000 per year. It also seeks increased pay and pension benefits, and improved health care coverage.
But UPS says its business volume has not kept up with nonunion competitor FedEx, and the company has taken an overall hit in the recession.
Talks continue this week and next in Washington. Negotiators are completing supplemental agreements and noneconomic matters, and are expected to tackle money issues next week — which will be the most contentious part of the process.