Last Updated on July 2, 2023, 10:22 PM | Published: July 2, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is closing in on a tentative agreement with United Parcel Service (UPS) after receiving UPS’s new counter-proposal.
The union has won three major economic concessions from UPS:
- The abolishment of the two-tier system between 22.4s and RPCDs.
- Establishing Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday.
- Ending forced overtime on drivers’ days off.
Friday, the Teamsters also agreed not to strike for now, and keep bargaining at the negotiating table.
The new deadline for a deal is July 5th. If negotiations fail after that, then UPS workers will be on strike. The current contract expires July 31st, and the Teamsters and UPS have been bargaining since May.
Recently, UPS workers have been “practice picketing”, and that’s only picked up steam since the announcement of the concessions they won with their employer. They’ve expanded to other states such as Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, and Washington.
According to UPS, these negotiations are for the roughly 330,000 workers in the United States. Globally, UPS numbers their employees at about 500,000.
In Oklahoma City, there are about 1,400 workers represented by the Teamsters.
A statement from Friday on the UPS website about progress in negotiations said, “We are encouraged the Teamsters are ready to continue negotiations and discuss our most recent proposal. Productive discussions are critical at this stage of the process. We look forward to the union’s input so we can reach a timely agreement and provide certainty for our employees, our customers and the U.S. economy.”
National president: “At a crossroads”
Sean O’Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said, “We want to let the general public know that we are at a crossroads right now with UPS. We’re at a crossroads because through the toughest times we’ve seen through the pandemic, the one thing that was constant was our Teamsters going to work every single day making certain that the supply chain kept flowing through this country.”
O’Brien also elaborated on a shift in bargaining strategy.
“Historically, the Teamsters union would go into negotiations one year prior to the expiration date. That’s happened over the last four cycles. That didn’t work well for our members, so we decided on a different strategy. We put a deadline on these negotiations,” said OBrien.
Local OKC Teamsters speak out
Free Press spoke to two local UPS workers with Teamsters Local 886 about the recent progress in negotiations.
“The deadline puts the pressure on UPS,” said Holly Baca, package handler in OKC. “It shows the company that O’Brien is serious when he says we must have a tentative agreement in place with enough time for the membership to view and vote on it by July 31st, or we strike. We will not extend negotiations any longer!”
“The abolishment of 22.4 is a monumental win,” said Baca. “Even before the current contract was ratified, many of us knew exactly what would happen to them: they would be used as full-time drivers who get paid less and have less protection. We definitely took a step back in 2018 but united we are strong, and we are gaining that ground back and more.”
We asked if the current gains for Teamsters in negotiations were good enough to win over the workers.
“There is still a lot of material left to cover,” answered Baca. “While these wins that have already been announced are incredible and absolutely necessary, we have to be sure that the membership knows all of the details of the proposals. We must stand together and make sure every Teamster at UPS gets the contract we deserve. It’s not time to kick back and celebrate just yet – it’s crunch time now!!”
Matthew Smith, Regular Package Car Driver (RPCD) and Local 886 member, also gave his opinion on the matter.
“Yeah, it’s awesome that they’re doing away with 22.4. I have a lot of friends who are in that position. Now we can all be equal and on the same pay scale”, Smith said.
Alex Gatley covers labor activities in the state of Oklahoma.
