The Teamsters union on Wednesday called out UPS for not living up to the terms of their 2023 labor agreement, alleging the employer is dragging its feet on purchasing air conditioned package cars and moving part-time workers to full-time status. It also accused UPS of violating rules on overtime work.
Under a five-year contract finalized in August 2023, UPS (NYSE: UPS) committed to deliver at least 28,000 new or replacement sprinter vans and package cars with in-cab air conditioning purchased after Jan. 1, 2024, create 7,500 new full-time jobs by combining part-time hours into full time ones and fill 22,500 open jobs. The last-minute agreement averted a potentially crippling nationwide strike.
The Teamsters, which represents about 340,000 UPS warehouse and delivery workers, said it has formally asked UPS to explain by July 1 why key contract terms are unfulfilled. Information requested includes the status of air conditioning, UPS’s plans for completing the fleet upgrade and the number of full-time opportunities offered to part-time workers to date.
The demand for air conditioned vehicles comes amid a blistering heat wave in the Midwest and Northeast where temperatures have soared to record highs this week, including above 100 degrees in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. The collective bargaining agreement calls for UPS to prioritize deployment of air conditioned vehicles in the hottest southern states, such as Texas, Arizona and Nevada.
The Teamsters said it estimates that UPS has delivered only 10% of required air-conditioned vehicles.
“How does UPS expect to actually deliver 20,000 or more air-conditioned package cars and vans over the next two years, when the delivery giant is already so far behind? We want answers,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a news release. “The summer heat beating down on our members is no joke. UPS is playing a dangerous game with the lives of thousands of essential American workers.”
The union said UPS is obligated to create 7,500 more full-time jobs during the last three years of the contract.
“We are in regular contact with the Teamsters and remain committed to the agreements we reached in 2023, as part of our contract negotiations,” UPS told FreightWaves in a statement.
The Teamsters are also asking for more details on all open and settled grievances related to alleged overtime abuses. The contract protects workers who the company forces to work overtime and awards additional compensation to members who suffer repeated violations, according to the union.
“In so many ways — from the painfully slow delivery of air-conditioned vehicles to overworking our rank-and-file and failing to provide up-to-date information on new job opportunities — UPS has a lot of catching up to do to honor this agreement,” O’Brien said. “The weather is getting worse, but still our members show up every single day to ensure this company remains the best in the business. The Teamsters’ patience with UPS mismanagement is wearing thin.”
The Teamsters is one of the largest unions in the country and has regained influence under O’Brien, who spoke at the Republican convention last summer and is working to organize Amazon workers.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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