The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a feels closer than ever.

Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half of the companyB次元官网网址檚 workforce, with UPS on Tuesday.

That leaves less than a week to come to an agreement before the current contract expires on Monday, July 31. The union has authorized a strike and Sean M. OB次元官网网址橞rien, a fiery leader elected last year to lead the union, has vowed to do so if their demands arenB次元官网网址檛 met.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e sending a messageB次元官网网址� all 340,000 of our members are united and ready to fight,B次元官网网址� OB次元官网网址橞rien told The Associated Press at a practice picket Friday in Atlanta, where UPS is based.

UPSB次元官网网址檚 unionized workers still seethe about a contract they feel was forced on them in 2018, and say that the company delivers millions more packages every day than it did just five years ago. The Teamsters are calling for better pay, particularly for part-time employees, and improved working conditions.

UPS has maintained that it already offers B次元官网网址渋ndustry-leading pay and benefits,B次元官网网址� but says itB次元官网网址檚 prepared to increase that compensation. In a Friday update, the company said it aimed B次元官网网址渜uickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country.B次元官网网址�

If negotiations are unsuccessful the deliveries that Americans have come to rely on, particularly since the pandemic began in 2020, could be vastly disrupted. Such an impasse hasnB次元官网网址檛 been seen since 1997, well before delivery of everyday items from dog food to prescription drugs became the norm, when a walkout by 185,000 workers crippled UPS. HereB次元官网网址檚 what you need to know.

WHAT ARE THE TEAMSTERS ASKING FOR?

Much on the unionB次元官网网址檚 demands comes down to better pay and improved working conditions.

Annual profits at UPS in the past two years are close to three times what they were before the pandemic. The company returned about $8.6 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks in 2022, and forecast another $8.4 billion for shareholders this year.

The Teamsters say frontline UPS workers deserve some of that windfall. A sticking point in negotiations has been wage increases for part-time workers, who make a minimum of $16.20 an hour.

B次元官网网址淧eople want their packages yesterday with the emergence of the e-commerce. So itB次元官网网址檚 a very demanding job,B次元官网网址� OB次元官网网址橞rien said, pushing back on the salary statistics that UPS shares. B次元官网网址淓verybody doesnB次元官网网址檛 realize what it takes to get these packages on the truck. And a lot of our part timersB次元官网网址� work for poverty wages.B次元官网网址�

In addition to addressing part-time pay, the union wants to eliminate a contract provision that created two separate hierarchies of workers with different pay scales, hours and benefits. Driver safety, particularly the lack of air conditioning in delivery trucks, is also in the mix.

HAS UPS AGREED TO ANY DEMANDS?

Before contract talks broke down on July 5, with both sides blaming each other for walking away from the bargaining table, tentative agreements were made on several issues B次元官网网址� including installing air conditioning in more trucks. UPS said it would add air conditioning to U.S. small delivery vehicles purchased after January 1, 2024. Existing vehicles wouldnB次元官网网址檛 get that upgrade, but the union said they will have other additions like fans and air vents.

The union also said it has reached tentative agreements to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a full holiday for the first time, end unwanted overtime on driversB次元官网网址� days off and get rid of the two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends and earn less money.

COULD A STRIKE BE AVOIDED? CAN THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENE?

The strike can be avoided if UPS and the Teamsters agree to a new contract before the July 31 deadline. ThereB次元官网网址檚 also a possibility of government intervention.

OB次元官网网址橞rien said Sunday that he has asked the White House on numerous occasions if workers end up going on strike. Last year, President Joe Biden to avoid disrupting the nationB次元官网网址檚 supply chain, and workers had accept an agreement that wasnB次元官网网址檛 broadly supported by union members.

WHAT IMPACT WOULD A STRIKE HAVE?

The 24 million packages UPS ships on an average day amounts to about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. As UPS puts it, thatB次元官网网址檚 the equivalent of about 6% of nationB次元官网网址檚 gross domestic product.

Higher prices and long wait times are all but certain if there is an impasse. A strike also threatens to extend .

B次元官网网址淪omethingB次元官网网址檚 got to give,B次元官网网址� Thomas Goldsby, logistics chairman in the Supply Chain Management Department at the University of Tennessee, told The Associated Press. B次元官网网址淭he python canB次元官网网址檛 swallow the alligator, and thatB次元官网网址檚 going to be felt by all of us.B次元官网网址�

UPS said this month that it will temporarily begin training nonunion employees in the U.S. to step in should there be a strike.

Beyond shipping and supply implications, a union win at UPS could have significance for organized labor across industries. UPSB次元官网网址檚 contract talks arrive amid other prominent labor campaigns at Apple, Starbucks, Trader JoeB次元官网网址檚 and other companies B次元官网网址� as well as the current seen in Hollywood.

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The Associated Press

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