By Chase Holmes, News Reporter
WASHINGTON — UPS Teamsters have voted with an overwhelming majority to go on strike should a new deal not be reached by the end of July on Friday, June 16.
97% of the union voted for the strike. With its passing, it empowers the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee to call a strike should UPS and the Teamsters fail to come to terms on a new contract by July 31. The union’s current National Master Agreement expires on that date. UPS and the Teamsters have been in negotiations for a new agreement since April 17.
In the ongoing negotiations, UPS has conceded that all future delivery vans will come equipped with air conditioning. The tentative deal will require that all delivery vans purchased after January 1, 2024 come equipped with AC.
The Teamsters represent more than 340,000 UPS package delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers across the country. If a new deal is not reached and the strike begins, it would represent the largest single employer strike in U.S. History. Suppliers and consumers can expect delays and disruptions should the strike commence.
The potential Teamsters strike comes on the heels of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike which saw almost 12,000 writers go on strike across the country arguing for better terms for streamed content and restrictions on the usage of AI for writing.