UPS and Teamsters to meet next week ahead of looming strike

Negotiations will resume next week between UPS (UPS) and the Teamsters union, which represents 340,000 UPS (UPS) workers, ahead of a looming nationwide strike.

This will be the first time the two sides have met since they walked away from the negotiating table following a marathon negotiating session over the July 4 weekend.

"As thousands of UPS Teamsters practice picket, rally, and mobilize around the country, UPS bowed today to the overwhelming show of Teamster unity and reached out to the union to resume negotiations. The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee and the company will set dates soon to resume negotiations next week," the UPS Teamsters said in a statement about the renewed negotiations Wednesday.

UPS is urging quick action to finalize the deal.

"We are pleased to be back at the negotiating table next week to resolve the few remaining open issues. 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 said in a statement Wednesday.

Both sides say about 95% of the contract has already been agreed upon. UPS agreed to put air-conditioning in new vehicles and retrofit old ones with fans. They also agreed to do away with a two-tiered wage system for those who work during the week, as opposed to those who work on weekends. UPS also said it presented the union with a "historic" economic package, but the union said that offer was not good enough, especially concerning part-time worker pay.

Part-time workers, which represent 55% of the 340,000 Teamsters, are not drivers but work exclusively as package handlers and sorters in the warehouses.

A UPS spokesperson says that part-timers receive the same benefits as full-time workers, including healthcare, a pension, and help with school tuition. However, they do make less than full-time employees who make on average $95,000 a year.

Part-timers start by earning $16.20 an hour and are eligible for a higher hourly rate after 30 days. On average, part-time workers make $20 an hour, according to a UPS spokesperson.

The union is asking for higher starting and hourly wages for part-timers but would not disclose how much they are asking for. Several part-time union workers who spoke to CNN say they believe $22-25 an hour is a livable hourly starting wage.

The union also said it can take years for part-time workers to become full-time workers. UPS says that 38,000 part-time employees became full-time employees from August 2018 to December 2022.

The two sides have until July 31 to come up with a deal.