photo by McKenna Schueler
UPS Teamsters hold a practice picket outside of a UPC Customer Center in Orlando on July 13, 2023 ahead of a looming nationwide strike.
With a major strike threat by UPS workers looming over the U.S. supply chain, all Florida Democrats in U.S. Congress have sided with labor, pledging not to intervene if a strike does occur.
Twenty-eight Democratic U.S. Senators and more than 170 members of the U.S. House, including Central Florida Reps. Maxwell Frost and Darren Soto (but not a single Republican from Florida), signed letters committing their support.
“The Teamsters-UPS contract is the largest private collective bargaining agreement in North America, and given the recent increase in attacks on employees’ collective bargaining rights, it is critical that these rights are in no way undermined in the current contract negotiations between Teamsters and UPS,” House representatives wrote in a letter, dated July 17.
“We are hopeful that both sides can negotiate in good faith and reach a consensus agreement that addresses basic human needs and allows workers to do their jobs safely and with dignity,” the letter adds. “However, in the event a fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement cannot be reached, we commit to respect our constituents’ statutory and constitutional rights to withhold their labor and initiate and participate in a strike.”
UPS workers, represented by the Teamsters labor union in Orlando and across the country have voted to go on strike Aug. 1, if their union and their employer don’t reach an agreement on a new contract before then.
If an agreement isn’t reached, about 340,000 UPS workers across the country (and 16,500 in the state of Florida alone) will walk off the job. It’d be the second-largest strike against a single employer in U.S. history, behind a walkout of 400,000 General Motors employees in 1970.
The Teamsters are currently negotiating a new contract covering UPS delivery drivers and warehouse workers for the first time since 2018.
Under new leadership, the union has committed to demands for UPS to establish better pay and full-time job opportunities for part-timers, end a divisive two-tier system affecting new hires, and to commit to basic heat safety protections for UPS employees — including air conditioning in UPS trucks and warehouses, which workers currently lack.
“I think at the core of it, it’s about getting the respect and dignity from these huge corporations,” Walt Howard, president of the Teamsters Local 385 in Orlando, previously told Orlando Weekly of the union’s demands.
“Nobody wants a strike,” Howard added. “If there’s a strike, UPS is putting itself on strike.”
A strike is one of the most powerful tools workers have to fight for their collective interests, and to force concessions from corporations holding out on key demands from their employees.
UPS package car drivers (the ones in those big brown trucks) deliver more than 24 million packages in the U.S. each day. Behind the United States Postal Service, UPS is the second largest courier in the United States.
A strike by workers could be costly. Just a 10-day UPS strike could cost the U.S. economy $7.1 billion, according to one recent estimate.
Workers, nonetheless, are asking for the public’s support — largely for the sake of advocating for UPS’ part-time workers, who sometimes make barely enough to make ends meet.
UPS reported record profits during the pandemic: $13.9 billion in 2022, up from $8.2 billion in 2019. Company CEO Carol B. Tomé made $19 million in total compensation last year.
Launching the largest strike in decades — or reaching a deal with UPS prior to a strike that includes their union workers’ demands — would be a signal to workers across sectors, not just UPS employees, of the power they wield, union leaders say.
The number of major strikes in America — involving at least 1,000 workers — has dropped in recent decades, with a decline in union density. But recent years have seen an uptick in labor activity.
U.S. work stoppages (including strikes and lockouts by employers) surged in 2022, from 279 strikes in 2021 to 424 in 2022, according to a tracker by Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
Currently, union actors and screenwriters are on strike, and United Auto workers could be next.
This letter from members of U.S. Congress comes after Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien last week called on the White House to not intervene if a UPS Teamsters strike does occur.
Last year, the Biden administration intervened to head off a railroad worker strike, leaving some workers feeling betrayed.
That time, he did so under the Railway Labor Act, which exclusively covers the rail and airline industries and doesn’t apply to UPS Teamsters.
Biden, who regularly touts himself as the “most pro-union president” in U.S. history, could however potentially intervene under provisions of the Taft Hartley Act, Bloomberg reports.
But that would likely be interpreted as a betrayal by organized labor — including many major unions (not including the Teamsters) that have already endorsed Biden’s bid for reelection in 2024.
“[W]e understand that Congress has not previously intervened in recent history to implement a collective bargaining agreement between workers and their employer under the National Labor Relations Act,” the letter sent by members of Congress on Wednesday continues, “And we commit to not intervening in the collective bargaining process between Teamsters and UPS.”
The Teamsters union in response has given thanks.
A big thank you to @SenSanders, @SenSherrodBrown, and other letter signers for supporting @UPS #Teamsters’ fight for a fair contract!
Our 340,000 UPSers are glad you have their backs!💪 https://t.co/CmWv21FY6y
— Teamsters (@Teamsters) July 19, 2023
U.S. House Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, told Orlando Weekly in a statement about the letter that he firmly supports the rights of workers, especially UPS workers in Central Florida, in their fight to collectively bargain for better wages, working conditions, and benefits.
“These workers are the backbone of our community and our economy,” said Frost. “Congress cannot interfere with their right to fight for the workplace they deserve.”
Updated 7/19 /23 at 5:27 p.m. to include comment from U.S House Rep. Maxwell Frost
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