UPS workers are threatening to strike. If they do it will be on of the biggest strikes in U.S history. Business Insider, which noted that “drivers are documenting extreme heat conditions in their automobiles by posting shots of thermometers clocking 150 degrees and frying steaks and baking cookies on their dashboards.”
In the trucks, food other than cookies and steaks are also baking. Extreme heat is causing drivers to pass out and die.
Before their current contract expires at the end of July 2023, contract negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters Union are scheduled to start in the spring. Labor analysts foresee that the drivers and package handlers will strike before the discussions have even begun. Teamsters and UPS employees are preparing for a contract dispute and fight over labor conditions.
The Guardian reported, “Rob Becker worked as a delivery driver for UPS in Queens, New York. About five years ago, he was terminated. He got involved in his local union, Teamsters Local 804, and fought, successfully, to get reinstated.” Becker told The Guardian, “We are constantly harassed and intimidated by our management.”
UPS workers are looking for higher overtime protections, the removal of a second class of delivery drivers who are paid less and given fewer rights for performing the same work, better compensation for part-time employees, and heat protection are among the demands made by workers. The Teamsters Union reports, “Four years ago, to add Saturday service, UPS created a new class of drivers who work Tuesday through Saturday. They start at $20.50 per hour and top out at $30.64, while regular drivers can reach $40.”
UPS workers also concerned about how surveillance cameras are being used in their trucks. Teamsters union leader in Boston Sean O’Brien is concerned about the invasion of privacy,
The current contract between UPS and its 360,000 unionized employees expires in July of next year, and work has already started on the new one. Early in the following year, negotiations will begin, and much is at stake.
Sean O’Brien, a longtime local union leader in Boston, is the president of the Teamsters union, which represents UPS drivers, package handlers, and warehouse employees. O’Brien is upsetting the negotiation by inviting members of the rank and file to the table, cutting the duration of the negotiations short, and proposing a strike.
