Why thousands of UPS workers could launch one of the largest strikes in American history

The world’s largest package delivery company and the union representing tens of thousands of its employees are entering a critical countdown towards the expiration of the current union contract in 2023.

Workers at UPS are demanding better wages and workplace protections, following a summer of demands for better equipment against heat-related death and illness inside the ubiquitous brown trucks. But union organisers and labour leaders are also preparing for the possibility of a strike, which could be the largest ever against a single company in the US.

Roughly 350,000 members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union work as drivers and package sorters at the company, which has a global workforce of more than 530,000 people.

UPS also posted record earnings in 2021, with operating income topping $13bn last year with projected 2022 revenue expected to reach more than $100bn, despite the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent supply chain chaos that has magnified wealth inequality and risks for front-line workers.

Last month, one year before the contract’s expiration date, the union kicked off its contract fight with a nationwide call to action, “sending a message to UPS that the days of concessions and walking all over our members are over,” according to a statement from newly elected Teamsters president Sean O’Brien, whose vow to put pressure on the shipping giant has been central to his campaign.

“UPS would not have its billion-dollar profits without hardworking Teamster members,” he added. “Our message to UPS is that it’s time our contract reflects the essential work of our members.”

In response, the company said in a statement that it wants a contract “that provides wins for our employees and that provides UPS the flexibility to stay competitive in a rapidly changing industry.”

“UPS and the Teamsters have worked cooperatively for almost 100 years to meet the needs of UPS employees, customers, and the communities where we live and work,” according to the statement. “We believe we’ll continue to find common ground with the Teamsters and reach an agreement that’s good for everyone involved.”

Mr O’Brien told CNN Business that “whether or not there is a strike, that’s totally up to the company. We’re going to utilize as much leverage as we can to get our members the contract they deserve.”

Several points of contention in contract negotiations – from overtime protections to higher starting wages – are the most likely indicators of a strike.

But the lack of air-conditioning in delivery vehicles – and the heat-related death of a 24-year-old driver in Los Angeles – has brought workplace protections to the forefront, including demands that UPS share its plans for preventing heat-related injuries and that the company increase its delivery staff to prevent drivers from being stuck in sweltering conditions for 12 to 15 hours a day.

In June, 24-year-old driver Esteban Chavez Jr collapsed in the Los Angeles area while delivering packages.

Later that same month, a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona shared footage from his doorbell camera showing a UPS driver collapsing at his front door. The temperature was 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

Workers also posted thermometer readings from inside their trucks on social media, with some temperatures surging well above 100 degrees and higher, underscoring the growing climate crisis-fuelled labour battles ahead.

Since 2015, at least 270 drivers with UPS and the US Postal Service have reported heat-related illnesses or hospitalisations, according to the US Department of Labor.

Teamsters demanded that the company produce a heat illness and injury prevention plan, hazard assessments for all jobs, training materials provided to management, and policies outlining the company’s response to National Weather Service advisories.

The union also demanded that UPS provide workers with “badly needed” equipment to cool them down, including fans in all trucks, neck towels, supplies of water and ice, and more breathable uniforms.

The latest high-profile contract battle also comes as unions see historic support across the US, with high-profile union campaigns at retail coffee giant Starbucks and Amazon warehouses.

A recent Gallup poll shows 71 per cent of Americans support labor unions, the highest since the firm began polling on the issue in the mid-1960s.

Unions prevailed in 641 elections within the first half of 2022, organising more than 43,000 workers and marking the largest number of union victories in nearly 20 years, according to an analysis from Bloomberg Law.

Starbucks elections accounted for 31 per cent of those victories.

Brewing contract negotiations with UPS are also likely to focus on the elimination of a “tiered” delivery driver system in which some workers are paid less and provided with fewer protections despite doing the same work, according to the union.

Union organisers also are pushing to eliminate what Teamsters call “outsourcing” work to personal vehicle drivers, in which temporary workers supplement full-time workers with their own cars. The union argues that all workers should be treated and paid as actual employees, not contract workers.

Workers are also fighting for higher starting hourly wages, at $20, in addition to “catch-up” raises for part-time package handlers and warehouse workers.

Reports of retaliation and intimidation against workers have also “ramped up” as workers and management butt heads ahead of a loooming contract deadline with increasingly volatile results, workers told The Guardian.

“In the lead up to the contract fight, management has a strategy of trying to scare the workforce so people aren’t fully prepared to fight against accepting a subpar contract,” driver Ben Douglass told the newspaper.

If workers strike, it will be the first time that the company has faced a widespread labour action since 1997, when more than 187,000 workers went on strike for two weeks.

That strike impacted roughly 80 per cent of shipments, hitting the company with tens of millions of dollars in losses but securing stronger wages and better job security for UPS workers.

Mr O’Brien said he intends the latest round of contract negotiations to “reset the standards for wages and benefits in this industry” no later than 1 August, 2023.

“We won’t extend negotiations by a single day,” he said in a statement. “We’ll either have a signed agreement that day or be hitting the pavement.”