340,00 UPS Workers Prepare For Strike

UPS workers are practicing picketing for a historic strike if the Teamsters and package delivery giant do not reach an agreement before their contract expires on July 31. Talks stalled after the company and the union failed to cut a deal.

Photo Insert: The contract applies to 340,000 full- and part-time workers who have staged symbolic pickets in Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon and California, where workers held signs that read “just practicing for a just contract.”

More than 97% of Teamsters have voted to authorize a work stoppage, Naomi LaChance reported for Truthout.

The contract applies to 340,000 full- and part-time workers who have staged symbolic pickets in Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon and California, where workers held signs that read “just practicing for a just contract.”

The Teamsters had a big win when UPS agreed to put air-conditioning in trucks, not warehouses, beginning next year, but the company has not the union’s core demands.

These demands are wage increases for all workers, The Teamsters are also demanding improved pension benefits and protections for health and welfare benefits.

In 2022, UPS reported a record $11.3 billion in profits on $100 billion worth of revenue. UPS CEO Carol Tomé told investors on an earnings call in April that the company is working to “protect in the unlikely event of a work stoppage.”

She made $19 million in total compensation in 2022. Truthout’s review of data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revealed many disturbing incidents at UPS.

Truthout looked at 219 cases in the US, open or closed, with violations, in the past five years. At least 24 of these incidents were related to working in the heat. In at least six of these cases, the workers were taken to hospitals.

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