WE ARE TWO WEEKS OUT FROM THE DEADLINE FOR A DEAL ON A NEW CONTRACT TO BE REACHED BETWEEN U-P-S — AND THE UNION REPRESENTING 340-THOUSAND OF THE COMPANY’S WORKERS.
BEFORE CONTRACT TALKS BROKE DOWN — BOTH SIDES HAD REACHED TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS ON INSTALLING AIR CONDITIONING IN MORE TRUCKS — AND GETTING RID OF A TWO-TIER WAGE SYSTEM FOR DRIVERS WHO WORK WEEKENDS AND EARN LESS MONEY.
A STICKING POINT IN NEGOTIATIONS IS WAGE INCREASES FOR PART-TIME WORKERS — WHO CURRENTLY MAKE A MINIMUM OF 16-20 AN HOUR.
THE UNION HAS THREATENED TO STRIKE IF A DEAL ISN’T REACHED BY THE END OF THE MONTH — AND NOW BOTH SIDES ARE PREPARING FOR THAT POSSIBILITY.
SPEAKING ON A WEBCAST OVER THE WEEKEND — TEAMSTERS UNION PRESIDENT SEAN O-BRIEN WAS ASKED IF THE WHITE HOUSE COULD FORCE A CONTRACT ON THE UNION.
O-BRIEN SAID HE HAS ASKED THE WHITE HOUSE ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS TO STAY AWAY FROM THIS LABOR DISPUTE.
DESPITE STATING HIS INTENTIONS TO BE THE MOST PRO-UNION PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY — PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNED A BILL LATE LAST YEAR THAT MADE A WOULD-BE RAIL WORKER STRIKE ILLEGAL.
TAKING A LOOK AT THE MEDIA LANDSCAPE ON THIS STORY — IT’S MOSTLY BEING COVERED ON THE LEFT AND FROM THE CENTER.
ONLY TWO OF THE SOURCES COVERING IT ARE ON THE RIGHT.
FOR A MORE IN-DEPTH LOOK AT HOW THE STORIES YOU CARE ABOUT ARE BEING COVERED — CHECK OUT THE MEDIA MISS TOOL ON OUR WEBSITE — S-A-N-DOT-COM.
MEANWHILE — U-P-S IS PREPARING FOR A POTENTIAL STRIKE AS WELL.
THE COMPANY SAYS IT WILL START TRAINING NON-UNION EMPLOYEES IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE DELIVERIES OF GOODS AND MEDICATIONS ARE NOT IMPACTED BY A STRIKE.
HALF OF U-P-S’ WORKFORCE BELONGS TO THE TEAMSTERS UNION.