Growing Concerns About UPS Union Workers May Reject New Labor Contract

In June, UPS and the union that represents package delivery drivers, handlers, and workers at UPS announced a tentative deal on a new 5-year contract.

READ MORE: UPS and Teamsters Avoid Strike – Agree on New Five Year Deal

And in July it was announced that UPS also reached a tentative new labor contract with its freight division drivers.

READ MORE: UPS and Teamsters Extend Contract – Reach Deal With Freight Division

In the meantime, supplemental local contracts have been agreed to as well and the entire package of national and local contract is currently up for a vote by the membership.

The deadline for voting is October 5th 8:00 PM EST, and the results will be announced that evening.

Pushback From Local Leaders

But stories have emerged over the last month suggestion there is significant pushback from local membership on the details of the tentative agreements.

Specially, one of the most contentious issue is a new classification of parcel driver that would allow UPS to hire drivers at a lower rate.

While the national leadership is still pushing for a Yes vote, the voices from local leadership are very different.

• Teamsters Local 79 UPS workers are voting no on tentative agreement
• Vote No Sentiment Escalating at UPS
• Will UPS Teamsters Vote No?
• Louisville union tells workers to vote ‘No’ on UPS contract

What If No?

The big question appears to be what happens if the membership votes No on the contract.

Besides escalating the internal conflict between national and local leadership, could there be a late-year strike that impacts the holiday season? This all seems unclear at the moment.

For now, small business owners that rely on UPS for shipments should at least know that there is a potential complication brewing.

If there is a No Vote on Friday, next week might be a good time to consider shipping alternatives should a strike be called.

A No vote does not mean an automatic strike, but considering the troubled relationship between national and local union leadership, small business owners should be prepared.

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Richard Meldner

Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.

To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.