|
UPS strikers expected back to work soon
But company warns lost business means job cuts
Latest developments:
August 19, 1997
- Teamster leaders meet to vote on deal
- Some UPS service may resume Tuesday night
- UPS predicts layoffs
- Contract basics
- Herman: Deal not inflationary
- Related stories and sites
Web posted at: 1:03 p.m. EDT (1303 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- United Parcel Service said it might begin serving some of its customers as early as Tuesday evening, following an "affordable" contract settlement with the Teamsters union. But the company also said thousands of jobs could be lost as a result of a nationwide strike that technically was still in effect Tuesday, its 16th day.
A L S O :
Key players react to UPS strike settlement Strikers Respond UPS, workers deliver pact
Clinton lauds UPS settlement
UPS strike deal: What's next? The tentative deal announced early Tuesday morning must be approved by the Teamsters' national bargaining committee and hundreds of local union leaders who represent UPS workers.
Both groups were considering the agreement and approval could come by Tuesday night, the Teamsters said.
Normal UPS service could begin "as early as tomorrow (Wednesday), maybe even late this (Tuesday) evening," said company spokesman Ken Sternad. It would still take "a couple of days" to completely restore operations, he said.
UPS predicts layoffs
Company officials said they were working to win back lost customers but the strike will still mean layoffs, Sternad said, because of customers who've taken their business elsewhere for good.
UPS STRIKE: 5-year contract
JOBS AND WAGES10,000 new full-time jobs Part-time wages go from $11 to $15+ over 5 years
PENSION PLANFunds stay with Teamsters Benefits increase to $3000 per month for 30-year employees "Some of our good customers have signed long-term contracts with competitors ... When we start up there will definitely be fewer jobs to come back to," he told CNN in a live interview.
The company said as many as 15,000 jobs could be lost. Teamsters President Ron Carey admitted there might be some short-term job losses but called the 15,000 number a "scare tactic" left over from the intense hours of bargaining.
Carey called the settlement a great victory for working people. "In virtually every area this agreement is much, much better than the last offer before the strike," he said after the two sides reached agreement late Monday night.
But UPS Chairman and CEO James Kelly said Tuesday that the agreement "could have been achieved without a strike."
" It seems this strike was planned and orchestrated ... and negotiations should have begun five months ago," he told reporters.
Contract basics
The Teamsters had wanted a two- or three-year deal, but agreed to a five-year contract.
The agreement also calls for UPS to create 10,000 full-time jobs from existing part-time positions over the life of the contract. Originally, the company had proposed creating 1,000 full-time jobs.
The $8 an hour base pay goes up 50 cents. The average pay of a UPS driver -- $19.95 an hour -- will increase by $3.10 an hour over the life of the contract. The pay for a part-time worker will go up by $4.10 an hour.
UPS had wanted to withdraw from the Teamsters' multi-employer pension plan and to create a new retirement plan solely for UPS workers. However, under the agreement, UPS withdrew its proposal and agreed to keep the existing system.
Asked if UPS had "caved in," Sternad didn't give a direct reply but called the contract "the first five-year agreement we've ever had with the union."
"It gives us some stability to look forward to. And it falls within the financial parameters that we had set for ourselves when we started negotiations," he said.
Kelly described the deal as "affordable" and said it would allow UPS to remain competitive.
Herman: Deal not inflationary
Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, who announced the tentative settlement at a 12:30 a.m. EDT news conference in Washington, said she did not believe the UPS-Teamsters contract would be inflationary.
"I don't believe they would have signed on to an agreement that they didn't believe would be in the best interest of their company and their workers," she later told CNN.
Herman had coaxed the two sides back to the negotiating table Thursday and sat in on several meetings. Under direct pressure, and with some prodding from President Clinton, the agreement was hashed out during five days of virtually nonstop talks.
President Clinton complimented both sides for resolving the dispute. Asked by a reporter if the tentative deal is "an outright victory for the labor movement," Clinton said the pact should not be viewed as a defeat for UPS. "I wouldn't characterize it that way," he said in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where the first family is vacationing.
Correspondent Brian Cabell contributed to this report.
- Message Board: UPS, Teamsters strike deal
- Newsmaker Profile: Ron Carey -- Union Leader, Teamsters
- Newsmaker Profile: James P. Kelly -- CEO, UPS
Related stories:
- Strike deal, but UPS says jobs will be lost - August 19, 1997
- Tentative agreement reached to end UPS strike - August 19, 1997
- UPS, Teamsters resume negotiations - August 18, 1997
- UPS overseas: business as usual - August 18, 1997
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
|
Sound off on our message boards You said it... |
|
© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.