Informal discussions may have resumed Thursday between warring Teamsters Union and United Parcel Service officials. But a settlement in the 11-day-old strike remained problematic.
After indicating some flexibility in its position early in the day, UPS late in the day denied its negotiating position had changed.
“Any report stating that we have changed our offer is false,” the Atlanta-based company said in a statement. “UPS continues to believe that the quickest way to resolve the strike is for Teamsters officials to let our people vote on our generous existing offer that was presented to the union on July 30th.”
In Washington, Teamsters President Ron Carey and UPS chief negotiator David MacMurray, along with representatives of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, were holed up in a hotel, hoping to find a blueprint for the resumption of formal negotiations.
At the center of the impasse, which began late on Aug. 3, is the company’s extensive use of part-time workers. The union wants UPS to add 10,000 full-time employees from the ranks of the part-time work force, and the company has rejected the demand.
The privately held company wants the union to allow members to vote on its July 30 proposal, but union officials have rejected that proposal.
Sixty percent of the company’s 185,000 Teamsters only hold part-time positions. Part-time workers are paid $8 an hour to start, while full-time employees earn $20 a hour.
Meanwhile, the Independent Pilots Association, which represents 2,000 UPS pilots, warned that it might strike later this year unless its members receive what it considers to be a satisfactory contract. The pilots union has honored Teamsters picket lines, refusing to fly the company’s 500-plane fleet, all but stalling UPS’ air service nationwide.
“The day may soon come when we go out on strike and they (the Teamsters) honor us,” said pilots union President Bob Miller.
Teamsters spokesman Rand Wilson in Washington said, “I think we’ve forged a very strong relationship with the pilots union. They’ve been behind us 100 percent, and we’ll do everything we can to support them.”
The pilots’ support has crippled UPS, according to some labor experts.
