Strike vote underway at UPS Freight

Washington, DC – UPS Freight employees are voting on a Last, Best, and Final offer from UPS on November 9, 10 and 11. This will be the second round of voting in contract negotiations between UPS Freight and the Teamsters. If the contract is voted down a second time, over 12,000 Teamsters could be on strike as early as Monday, November 12.

The vote will be taking place in person at members’ local union halls as opposed to the online voting used for the original offer. Many observers believe that by having in-person voting, the negotiating committee is hoping turnout will be low enough to allow them to ratify the contract using the “2/3rds” article of the Teamsters constitution. The same article was used to impose the unpopular UPS contract last month.

The last offer from UPS has seen nominal improvements from the original offer and is still lacking. Little or no improvements have been made to wage, subcontracting, pension and vacation language. The Teamsters negotiating committee has not endorsed ratification.

UPS Freight is the fifth largest less-than-load (LTL) shipper in the United States. Since only a handful of companies offer a majority of LTL services, a work stoppage at UPS Freight will affect the entire industry. It is predicted cargo shipments across the industry will be slowed down 5 to 10 percent, and customers could see price increases into next year.

As UPS enters peak season, and along with a tight LTL market, conditions are favorable for a strike at UPS Freight. Teamsters across the country are making plans for strike support in the event UPS Freight strikes.