July 21, 2008: More than three thousand Local 705 members turned out to the union hall on Sunday to participate in a vote to authorize a strike against UPS.

Five hundred members were lined up at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday when the doors opened to start the voting. Balloting continued until 5 p.m. Members voted to authorize a strike should one be necessary by an overwhelming margin of 2,993 to 232.

Bargaining will resume on Tuesday and Thursday this week. The Local 705 UPS contract is independent of the national agreement and covers more than 10,000 UPS Teamsters in the Chicago area. The contract expires at midnight on July 31.

Watch a video about the Local 705 strike vote: