Since a tentative deal between United Parcel Service (UPS) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was reached last month, many Teamsters working at UPS are being urged to reject the deal.
Claiming that the tentative agreement between the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and United Parcel Service (UPS), which was reached in early July, contains “givebacks” and “paves the way for five more years of harassment, excessive overtime, subcontracting, and low-part-time wages,” Teamsters for a Democratic Union and its allies are urging Teamster members to reject the tentative deal.
Although Teamster representatives will not be meeting with members until August 9th, the TDU has prepared a “Vote No at UPS Action Kit” that includes this:
Teamsters – UPS – 10 Reasons to Vote no on Scribd
Fight Back News, a Marxist online publication, states that the tentative deal has sparked “outrage” among UPS Teamsters, quoting several union members critical of the deal.
“This is a scam that fixes nothing and introduces a whole new set of problems,” commented Package Driver Peter Swan, Local 344. “Why not force the company to add more full-time driving jobs, strengthen 9.5 language for excessive overtime, strengthen weekend language, and add more full-time 22.3 jobs? I don’t want to work alongside other drivers making six dollars less, working the weekends that I get to see my family. It’s not good for them or me.”
In its effort to kill the deal, Fight Back News even launched a video on Youtube.
If critics’ efforts are successful and Teamster members do reject the tentative contract, three things could happen: One option would be for the Teamsters to continue working under the old contract while negotiators try to hammer out a deal; a second option would be for the Teamsters to go out on strike once the current contract expires in August; a third (though highly unlikely) option would be for UPS to declare an impasse in negotiations and implement its final offer.
