If there is to be Teamsters Union strike at United Parcel Service
UPS
UPS Airlines operates a fleet of about 280 aircraft, staffed by 3,300 pilots and 111 dispatchers, primarily out of its Louisville hub. TWU represents the dispatchers while the Independent Pilots Association represents the pilots.
“This is an exciting moment, one that can reinvigorate the U.S. trade movement,” Samuelsen said Tuesday. “If there is going to be a strike against UPS, the entire labor movement has to be in it, and we are going to relish our role in it. “
IPA spokesman Brian Gaudet said, “The 3,300 UPS pilots represented by the Independent Pilots Association will honor the Teamster picket lines if the IBT strikes the company. We did the same for them for 16-days during their strike of UPS in 1997.”
With the strike deadline of August 1 still nearly two weeks away, a UPS spokeswoman said Tuesday that the Teamsters should return to the table to negotiate.
“The Teamsters have stopped negotiating despite historic proposals that build on our industry-leading pay,” the company said in a statement. “We still have two weeks left to negotiate. We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table.
“Refusing to negotiate, especially when the finish line is in sight, creates significant unease among employees and customers and threatens to disrupt the U.S. economy,” the company said. “Only our non-union competitors benefit from the Teamsters’ actions.”
If there is no strike, Samuelsen said, “It’s because the Teamsters have done a good job of strike preparation. UPS settling would be a direct result of being fearful of a successful strike.”
Samuelsen applauded IBT President Sean O’Brien, saying “I’m enjoying watching the energy of this and watching Sean O’Brien lead this fight. I admire his leadership of the situation and the strike preparation.” Teamsters represent more than 325,000 of the company’s nearly 450,000 employees.
Meanwhile, Sito Pantoja, formerly general vice president of the International Association of the Machinists, said IBT needs to recover from its 2018 contract with UPS, when former IBT President James Hoffa “gave away the store.”
The contract included wage increases but also set up a two-tier system with a new class of lower-paid full-time drivers to do weekend deliveries. The contract was rejected by 54% of voters, but fewer than half of eligible members voted, not enough for rejection under the IBT constitution.
“In my 40 plus years as a union rep I made it a point to never pass judgement on other leader’s negotiation methods or question their intent,” Pantoja said. “However, I have to make an exception with Hoffa. He had a 90% membership strike vote. His action not only undermined the good will of his membership, it gave the rest of the unionized workforce a legitimate reason to distrust their leaders and question union democracy.”
Samuelsen said that ever since he became president of TWU Local 100, which represents New York subway workers, in 2009, “I’ve fought against the scourge of part-timers. Once you inherit a workforce with part-timers, efforts to turn back the tide on wages are extremely difficult.”
IBT spokeswoman Kara Deniz said Tuesday that O’Brien “has been quoted many times talking about the 2018 contract that was imposed on our members by the prior administration and the need for the best possible contract, which we are fighting for right now. “
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