UPS and Teamsters have reached an agreement on the new contract, averting a strike.
"The union went into this fight committed to winning for our members," Teamsters general president Sean O'Brien said in a statement. "We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it. UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations. We’ve changed the game, battling it out day and night to make sure our members won an agreement that pays strong wages, rewards their labor, and doesn’t require a single concession. This contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers.”
As you may have seen in recent news, UPS and the Teamsters union, representing more than 300,000 UPS workers, are facing challenges in negotiating a new labor contract. Negotiators are meeting again today, Tuesday, July 25, in hopes of finalizing a labor deal before August 1. In the event that both parties are unable to reach a contract agreement before the deadline, UPS workers are prepared to initiate a strike at 12:01 a.m. ET on August 1st, which could result in significant disruptions to the US economy.
Many of the components of the new 5 year contract have been agreed upon and put in place, such as new heat-safety protections including installing air conditioning into the delivery trucks. However, one of the key issues yet to be resolved is pay for part-time UPS workers.
If the strike were to occur, its impact would not be limited to August 1. Packages entering the UPS network as early as today, Tuesday, July 25, could already be affected. For instance, a package with a standard 5-day transit time entering the network on July 25 might be held within UPS facilities and would not be delivered by August 1.
To offset some of the effects of a strike, many shippers are planning to redirect their shipping volume from UPS to FedEx. However, FedEx's ability to handle the surge in demand is quite uncertain. To manage the situation, FedEx is likely to impose limitations on volumes from existing customers and may not accept pickups or shipments from new customers. Even with FedEx's efforts to manage the influx of packages, it is almost certain that they will experience delays during a strike and in the weeks following. This situation happened during the pandemic when shipping hubs were overwhelmed, and packages were stuck in shipping containers for extended periods of time.
At Executive Advertising, we continue to remain optimistic, but we do recognize the potential for your promotional product orders to be affected. We are currently working with our partners and suppliers to monitor this situation and proactively transfer shipments to alternate carriers when possible to minimize any disruptions. We value your business and we are steadfast in our commitment to delivering exceptional service even amid these challenging circumstances.
We will continue to provide any important updates for you here.
{{addedComment}}
Share your thoughts on our website:
Minimum 5 characters required.