Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien tells «Your World with Neil Cavuto» that UPS may be delaying reporting its profits in order to have a better negotiating position with the union.
United Parcel Service (UPS) says it will head back to the bargaining table with the Teamsters next week and is ready to up its offer to avoid a strike that could occur as early as the end of the month.
«We are prepared to increase our industry-leading pay and benefits, but need to work quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country,» UPS Vice President of Communication Glenn Zaccara said in a statement.
Contract negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters are set to resume next week. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images / File / Getty Images)
Ticker Security Last Change Change % UPS UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC. 186.52 +2.13 +1.16%
Talks between UPS and the labor union that represents some 340,000 of the shipping giant’s employees have paused for two weeks after they broke down on July 5, with each side accusing the other of walking away from the negotiations.
The current contract for UPS Teamsters expires July 31, and the workers have already authorized a strike if a deal is not reached by the deadline.
UPS workers could go on strike by the end of July if a new contract agreement is not reached in time between the company and the Teamsters union. (Timothy A. Clary / AFP via Getty Images / File / Getty Images)
If a work stoppage does occur, it could be the largest single-employer strike in history and the most expensive in a century, costing economic losses of more than $7 billion in just 10 days.
The two sides made progress in earlier negotiations and have come to an agreement on most points, according to UPS, but they remain at odds over part-time worker pay, which the Teamsters have referred to as «poverty» wages in some parts of the country.
The UPS union president called on workers to be prepared for a strike as the Teamsters push for higher part-time wages, the last major sticking point for renewing a five-year labor agreement that expires on July 31. (Jeff Kowalsky / Bloomberg via Getty Images / File / Getty Images)
UPS told FOX Business in an earlier statement that part-time employees at the company currently make an average of $20 an hour after their first 30 days of employment and receive the same health benefits as full-time workers. The minimum starting wage of a UPS worker is $16.20 an hour.
