{"id":3993,"date":"2023-10-31T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=3993"},"modified":"2023-10-28T18:10:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T18:10:22","slug":"ups-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/ups-workers","title":{"rendered":"Workers in Action: UPS Workers Strike Threat Leads to Better Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ken Green
CEO & Founder
UnionTrack<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 22, 2023, 86 percent of UPS workers voted to ratify<\/a> a new five-year collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in which they made significant gains on a wide array of their most pressing issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,\u201d said Teamsters General President Sean O\u2019Brien<\/a> after the ratification. \u201cThis contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not, however, an easy win. Securing the new labor deal was a long, hard-fought battle. It took the very credible threat of strike action by workers for UPS to take their demands seriously and negotiate a worker-friendly contract before the July 31 deadline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at that journey and the concessions won for UPS workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPS Workers Voted to Strike When Contract Negotiations Broke Down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As reported by AP Reporters Haleluya Hadero and Matt Ott<\/a>, profits at UPS have soared over the past two years to almost three times what they were before the pandemic. The company now handles nearly one-fourth of the parcel volume in the U.S., with drivers delivering some 25 millions packages a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, for all that profit and growth that came on the backs of UPS employees, workers didn\u2019t see any return in the form of benefits or workplace improvements. So, when it came time to negotiate a new contract, employees were adamant and vocal about their demands and expectations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe put our lives at risk,\u201d said Viviana Gonzalez<\/a>, a UPS package car driver and a union shop steward, of working during the pandemic. \u201cWe work crazy hours, and we never saw any sort of pay from being an essential employee. We were just making the world move and they made billions of dollars off of us and we haven\u2019t seen anything to compensate us for putting ourselves at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when contract negotiations stalled in May 2023, 97 percent of the 340,000 union-member workers voted to strike if an agreement couldn\u2019t be reached by the July 31 deadline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis strike authorization vote sends a clear message to UPS that our members are damned and determined to take necessary action to secure a historic contract that respects their dedication and sacrifice,\u201d said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman<\/a> after the vote to strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facing Reality, UPS Struck a More Conciliatory Tone in Negotiations<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The economic impact of a strike by UPS workers could not be ignored by the company. Industry experts estimated that a 10-day strike at UPS would cost the U.S. economy about $5.5 billion. Shipping prices and transit times would undoubtedly have gone up and ongoing supply chain issues would certainly have been exacerbated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recognizing this as well as the determination of the employees to get what they deserved, UPS conceded on the issues most critical to workers. In the end, an agreement was reached before the old contract expired, and a new contract was ratified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although he voted against the contract for not going far enough, UPS warehouse worker Luigi Morris<\/a> conceded, \u201cThe contract has a lot of gains. There are many positive things we obtained because of the strike threat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"UPS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The New Contract is a Major Win for the Union and the Workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The union called off the strike after an agreement was reached with UPS. While workers didn\u2019t get everything they wanted, they did gain significant ground on some key issues, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n