March 8, 2012:  Speaking at the UPS National Grievance Panel in Florida this week, Ken Hall confirmed the International Union is looking to early contract negotiations with UPS.

Hall, the head of the IBT Package Division and our union’s lead negotiator at UPS, was vague about the timeline, but mentioned October as a possible date for entering early contract negotiations.

The current contract at UPS does not expire until July 31, 2013.

Hall told Teamster local officers at the National Grievance Panel that early bargaining was the right strategy in 2007 because negotiations were completed before the economy went into recession in 2008.

But the economy is still in recession, which is a big reason UPS management wants early negotiations. UPS has the added incentive of wanting to settle the contract well before expiration so they can ensure shippers there will be no disruption of service because of a strike or contract dispute.

What do you think?  Should the International Union agree to early contract negotiations? What, if anything, should the IBT demand from management in return?

Click here to send your comments to TDU.

Rank & File Gets Ready for Contract Talks

Whenever contract negotiations get underway, working Teamsters at UPS need to be ready.

TDU’s Make UPS Deliver network brings UPS Teamsters together to mobilize to win the contract improvements we need.

Don’t be kept in the dark by the information Brownout. Click here to sign up for email updates from Make UPS Deliver or send us a message and find out more about Make UPS Deliver.