Teamsters rally in Atlanta ahead of UPS negotiations

Mark Solomon
Sat, July 22, 2023 

The Teamsters gathered for a rally Saturday in Atlanta. (Photo: Teamsters)

Teamsters President Sean O’ Brien lashed out Saturday at critics who say the union’s hard line in contract negotiations with UPS Inc. will push the economy into a recession, saying the burden of keeping the country out of a downturn falls on UPS, not the Teamsters.

At a raucous, ear-splitting rally in UPS’ hometown of Atlanta, O’Brien acknowledged concerns that a strike against UPS (NYSE: UPS), which delivers the equivalent of 7% of the U.S.’ gross domestic product per day, could be devastating to the economy. “But that’s on UPS, not us.”

By not agreeing to a fair contract with the Teamsters, “UPS is going to throw this country into recession,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien also acknowledged that the two sides are very close to an agreement. “We are at the 5-yard line,” he said, adding that we “have one more round to go.”

Bargaining resumes Tuesday in Washington after a 20-day hiatus. Talks stalled July 5 after UPS, according to the Teamsters, failed to meet the union’s demands on wage and benefit increases for part-time workers.

The current five-year contract expires July 31. The Teamsters have threatened to strike Aug. 1 if a tentative contract is not agreed to by its negotiating committee by July 31. It is expected to take about three weeks for the 340,000 rank-and-file members to review and either ratify or reject the tentative agreement.

Read more: 5 things to know with the UPS-Teamsters clock ticking

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