Teamsters' Ultimatum: Union will return to the table, but wants agreement by July 5th
“This will be the defining moment, not only for the Teamsters union but also organized labor throughout this country.” — Teamsters President Sean O’Brien
WASHINGTON, DC–With negotiations between United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at a seeming standstill earlier this week, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien took to the steps of the union’s headquarters on Saturday for a press conference to explain the union’s position in negotiations with United Parcel Service (UPS) and to give an ultimatum.
The press conference follows the union walking away from the bargaining table earlier in the week and O’Brien stating that a strike ‘appears inevitable.’
After reminding reporters about the sacrifices UPS employees made during the pandemic, O’Brien went on to state that employees should be rewarded for their sacrifices.
“This will be the defining moment, not only for the Teamsters union but also organized labor throughout this country.” — Teamsters President Sean O’Brien
“We want to make certain that UPS rewards not only the part-timers but also the full timers…everybody that works as a Teamster at United Parcel Service,” O’Brien stated.
O’Brien then went on to state that UPS made over $100 billion last year.
“Now, it’s time for UPS to reward the people that made them the success they are,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien then went on to explain how 42 our of 44 local supplements were completed before the national negotiations began in May.
At the national bargaining table, O’Brien stated, the union has made progress on 54 changes within the contract.
“I want to remind the general public, I want to remind the politicians, and I want to remind the media…this is the largest collective bargaining agreement of any private-sector union,” O’Brien stated. “We have the opportunity, because of the courage and conviction of our rank-and-file members that go to work every single day, to set the tone and set the standard high for labor–not just for Teamsters, but the entire labor movement.”
O’Brien further went on to state that, after walking away from the negotiating table earlier in the week, UPS made some changes to their offer, and that the union would return to the bargaining table. However, O’Brien then gave an ultimatum.
“We have to come to an agreement by July 5th in order to get that thing ratified by the expiration date,” O’Brien stated.
“So, UPS has two choices to make,” O’Brien said, “they can either go down one road where they want to reward our members who have made them the success they are today, concede to our demands and give us what we deserve and we will go out there and ratify this agreement.”
“Or, they can take the other road where they don’t concede to our demands, they stay loyal to Wall Street and forget about Main Street and, if they do that,” O’Brien warned, “they are making a choice…a choice to strike themselves, where we will put 340,000 strong Teamsters on the streets until we get what we want and then UPS will be responsible for stopping supply-chain solutions through this company.”
In a separate video, O’Brien provided a similar update to Teamster members.