UPS workers could stage biggest strike in the U.S. since the 1950s

UPS workers are gearing up for a possible strike in what would be the biggest U.S. labor walkout since the 1950s.

The Teamsters union, which represents about 340,000 workers at the package delivery company, is set on Friday to disclose the results of a multi-week vote on whether to authorize a strike when their current contract expires on July 31. 

The union is seeking higher pay; the elimination of so-called two-tier wages, where newer workers are paid less than older employees for the same job; and the removal of surveillance cameras from delivery trucks.

Earlier this week, the Teamsters secured a major win when UPS committed to install air conditioning and two driver-facing fans in most trucks. Heat safety has been a major issue for UPS workers, with many incidents of drivers falling sick from heatstroke.

The current contract was unpopular, with a majority of UPS workforce rejecting it, but the union’s former leadership pushed it through on a technicality. The backlash led to the ouster of the union’s leadership in favor of current president Sean O’Brien, who has been vocal about his willingness to strike, including going on a national tour of union locals this year to prepare members for a walkout. 

“We’re going into these negotiations with a clear message to UPS that we’re not going past August 1,” O’Brien said at a recent gathering. 

The Teamsters union notes that UPS issued more than $8 billion in dividends to shareholders last year and is on track to do the same this year — money they say should go to the workers. The company’s profits boomed during the pandemic as package deliveries surged amid a jump in online shopping, but the earnings fell in the most recent quarter as inflation continued to weigh on household budgets.

“Huge implications”

A strike at UPS would be the biggest work stoppage in the U.S. since a 1959 steelworkers’ strike that saw half a million workers walk out for nearly four months. 

“This has just huge implications for the entire labor movement in the United States,” John Logan, director of labor and employment studies at San Francisco State University, told the Associated Press. “There’s greater assertiveness and militancy on the part of a lot of young labor activists and some sectors of the labor establishment. Sean O’Brien is representative of that.”

UPS workers last went on strike in 1997 in a 15-day walkout that crippled the company and ended in a win for the union. UPS’ workforce today is almost twice the size it was then. About 1 in 4 parcels shipped in the U.S. is handled by the company, with the company handling 24 million packages on an average day. 

With millions of Americans relying on package delivery for basics like food, clothing and furniture, a strike would bring a large portion of the economy to a standstill. It also has implications for the broader labor movement, as the Teamsters try to organize Amazon workers and support high-profile union campaigns at Apple, Starbucks and Trader Joe’s.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.