Dive Brief:
- Airplane maintenance workers at UPS approved a potential strike as contract talks over healthcare benefits extend into their third year, Reuters reported Monday.
- "It’s important to understand that the vote does not give Local 2727 the right to strike under U.S. labor law," UPS said in a statement. Workers have also pledged to continue working until after peak season.
- The Teamster-affiliated workers are protesting UPS' practice of continuing to demand healthcare concessions from workers despite another blockbuster year for the company.
Dive Insight:
For now, there is little reason to worry over an impending strike: 60 days of ongoing effort are still ahead of both the company and its plane maintenance staff before the reality of a true strike begins. Since union approval occurred on the 15th, that means that UPS has through mid-January before the government steps in to attempt a final resolution.
While service during the holidays will remain undisrupted, if a strike does occur, the backlash from growing ecommerce could cripple UPS.
In its statement, UPS acknowledged the vote to strike is a routine, but necessary show of solidarity among union workers. Such a vote increases their leverage as contract talks extend, and their affiliation with the Teamsters should remind UPS of the strike 20 years ago that grew to 185,000 Teamster-affiliated workers, affecting up to 80% of all package deliveries.
