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UPS, Teamsters resume negotiations
August 18, 1997
Web posted at: 1:54 p.m. EDT (1754 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Representatives for United Parcel Service and the Teamsters union resumed talks at noon Monday, after a weekend of marathon discussions.
Monday's talks followed some optimistic statements over the weekend about "progress" being made in the negotiations.
But Monday's comments underlined continuing differences. UPS Chairman James Kelly said shortly before talks resumed that the Teamsters' strike was "orchestrated."
"This was an orchestrated strike for some national issue that has nothing to do with the UPS people who are on strike," Kelly said.
At the bargaining table
CNN talks separately to UPS and the Teamsters
UPS Chairman
James Kelly
165K/13 sec. AIFF or WAV soundTeamsters Spokesperson
Gaye Williams
182K/15 sec. AIFF or WAV soundHe did not elaborate, but the Teamsters union has said that a UPS proposal to pull its workers out of a multi-employer pension fund was a "deal killer."
Kelly said some progress had been made on two of the big issues: part-time workers and the pension fund.
A L S O :
A look at core issues of UPS strike
UPS overseas: business as usual
"We are indeed closer than four days ago," said Kelly, but he added, "If we don't conclude negotiations through these discussions this week, it could certainly go on for much, much longer. And then the amount of business that we've lost to competitors would certainly increase and the amount of opportunities for people to come back to work would decrease."
Union spokeswoman Gaye Williams told CNN on Monday that "there has not been agreement on any of the major issues."
The strike by 185,000 Teamsters entered its third week on Monday.
President Clinton, arriving at Martha's Vineyard on Sunday evening for vacation, sounded an optimistic note.
"I have a gut feeling they'll settle," Clinton said. "They're that close."
On Monday, however, the White House seemed to back off from suggesting that a settlement was imminent.
UPS, which pays $1.06 billion a year to the Teamsters' pension funds, has said that benefits to retired UPS employees could go up as much as 50 percent if UPS workers are withdrawn from the Teamsters-run multi-employer plan and placed in a plan for UPS workers only.
Teamsters Union President Ron Carey has said that the Teamsters pension system is "not broke" and there is no need to "fix it."
UPS has said that it is losing as much as $300 million a week due to the strike.
The strike is costing the Teamsters Union $10 million a week in strike benefits for the 185,000 UPS workers who are the picket lines.
- Newsmaker Profile: Ron Carey -- Union Leader, Teamsters
- Newsmaker Profile: James P. Kelly -- CEO, UPS
Related stories:
- UPS overseas: business as usual - August 18, 1997
- Movement, but no agreement, in UPS talks - August 17, 1997
- UPS, Teamsters resume marathon talks - August 17, 1997
- UPS, Teamsters keep talking; no word of progress - August 16, 1997
- Big Brown grounded as Teamsters strike UPS - August 3, 1997
- Teamsters end talks; UPS strike appears imminent - August 3, 1997
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