The Package King faces an uncertain summer

The negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters are, without doubt, the most important event taking place in the labor movement today. Extensive media coverage has given way to hyperbole and exaggeration on both sides of the class struggle. Business pundits express fear of an early August breakdown of the country’s distribution system and therefore of our entire way of life. Overenthusiastic radicals speak of the “largest strike in US history”. (In fact, the 1922 railroad workers, the 1934 textile workers, the 1946 miners, and 1959 steel workers strikes all had tens of thousands more workers on strike than the total number of union members at UPS, which is about 340,000 workers.) The purpose of this article is to look at where things really stand in the UPS contract talks.

Big Brown

We don’t have to embellish the situation to recognize how important it actually is. United Parcel Service carries one-sixth of the nation’s GDP. About a quarter of all packages are delivered by UPS. The company made 11.3 billion dollars last year. Its distinctive brown package cars are a part of the daily landscape. The Teamsters are one of the largest and most active unions. The leaders of both sides have staked their careers on achieving a successful contract for their side. There is certainly a great deal riding on the talks.

Negotiations have been ongoing in Washington, DC since April 17. The two teams started by working through the easier to solve non-economic items. A number of tentative agreements (TAs) have been reached on contract clauses. Additionally, most of the supplemental (local) contracts have been negotiated. While the decks may have been somewhat cleared, the most contentious issues are still on the table. The contract itself expires at midnight on July 31, so the next six weeks will be busy.

Management

Each side is putting forward a distinctive public face. On the management side, CEO Carole Tome is presenting herself as a calm, steady hand at the wheel. One of her soundbites is, “This isn’t our first rodeo.” Tome seeks to send the message that UPS has been negotiating with the Teamsters for a century; the two sides aren’t really that far apart; she’s confident a contract will be reached in July, and that one shouldn’t get too caught up in the sound and fury at the bargaining table.

UPS has told management and supervisors to be at work in early August to handle a possible strike. So there may be some serious contingency planning behind the “win-win” veneer. Interestingly, UPS competitors, such as FedEx, are positioning themselves to sweep in and grab UPS customers if there is a strike.

The union

For its part, the union is making a full court press. New President Sean O’Brien made opposition to the previous Hoffa-imposed contract a centerpiece of his election campaign. O’Brien has frequently and forcefully stated that the union will strike if an acceptable contract is not reached by July 31. His militant and uncompromising tone is quite different from what is normally heard from labor leaders. O’Brien has made a victory at UPS a centerpiece of his presidency and will need to deliver if he is to maintain rank and file support.

The Teamsters have taken a broad range of strike preparation activities. A very large number of preparatory meetings and rallies have been held. There have been many t-shirt days, leaflet distributions, pre-shift meetings, and contract awareness trainings. A real attempt has been made to create a head of steam from the membership as the countdown to July 31 takes place.

One of the tactics used was a strike authorization vote. This gives the leadership the ability to call a strike when it wishes. The authorization vote was passed by a 97% majority. The total number of Teamsters voting nationally has not been released. However, this local example of turnout might be helpful. At Chicago Local 705 (with roughly 10,000 UPS members), the vote was 6,532 yes votes and 174 no votes, showing about two-thirds of the local’s members voted for a strike.

It’s important to point out that a strike authorization vote by no means makes a strike inevitable. Authorization votes are a standard part of the American collective bargaining process. They are used to show management the union’s strength among its members and do not necessarily signal a certain strike.

Key issues at the bargaining table

4. This is the number of the clause in the contract that covers workers who can combine inside work with driving, are on a Tuesday-Saturday schedule, and are paid on a lower schedule. Abolishing this provision is one of the union’s top priorities. Under 22.4, two workers can be doing the exact same job with one being paid less than the other. The workers’ demand is for all drivers to be placed in the Regular Package Car Driver status with the same wage scale and the same overtime rights.
Personal Vehicle Drivers(PVDs). This is a central issue. The company wishes to employ members of the public to deliver UPS packages in their own cars. It would be an “Uberization” of UPS work and represents a real attempt to erode the union policy of all bargaining unit work to be done by bargaining unit members.
It used to be that the last few weeks before Christmas would be the peak season. Now drivers joke that the whole year is the peak season. It’s not uncommon now to see UPS trucks making deliveries in the evening. The company is interested in expanding weekend deliveries. All of this is putting tremendous pressure on drivers. This issue reflects a general theme of the negotiations. Package delivery has become tremendously competitive. Amazon is seen as waiting in the wings to take away UPS business. The company wishes to take every measure to improve its competitive edge: PVDs, long hours, weekend work, cutting its own expenditure by a multi-tier wage structure, etc. The union’s need to defend the workers in this situation is obvious. The need to make weekend work voluntary is going to be an important component of the union’s response to this situation.
Part- timers. UPS employs a large number of part-time workers. There are two main issues here. First, is to make it easier for part-timers to progress to full-time jobs. Secondly, part-time wages need to be improved drastically. In some parts of the country, they are barely above the minimum wage.
The traditional union bargaining issues of wages, pension, and health care, are all still on the table.

Already resolved issues

A number of TAs have been reached.

The most important TA is on the issue of heat in package cars. Last year Pasadena UPS driver Esteban Chavez died of heat stroke . This tragedy highlighted the need for cooling equipment in UPS vehicles . Temperatures above 120° have been recorded in some of them. The June 13 TA contains a complicated progression towards full air conditioning in all vehicles. First steps will include installation of two fans, air vents, and heat shields.
Driver facing cameras. The company has withdrawn its provocative proposal to place driver facing cameras in the vehicle. This 1984 type surveillance would only have been the latest step in the company’s intensive monitoring of its workers. Its withdrawal is certainly welcome.
As of June 21, TAs have been reached on all other non-economic issues.

This, then, is the current state of play at UPS. Union militants will be carefully following the situation as it unfolds.