Fed up with information brownouts and contract givebacks, UPS Teamsters in Philadelphia have voted for sweeping reforms in the Local 623 bylaws to give members more power in contract negotiations.

International Union Vice President Avral Thompson has issued a letter calling on President Hoffa and the General Executive Board (GEB) to honor the contract votes by UPSers in Detroit and Western Pennsylvania.

UPS Teamsters—and all Teamsters—stand to lose rights and bargaining power unless the General Executive Board of our union honors the overwhelming rejections of the Metro Detroit and Western Pennsylvania UPS Supplements. 

UPS Teamsters in Western Pennsylvania and Detroit Local 243 voted No by 96% and 88% to reject their supplements. But the Hoffa administration is moving to impose the rejected contracts anyway.

UPS Teamsters voted to reject contract supplements in Detroit Local 243, Central Pennsylvania and Western Pennsylvania today.

UPDATED: Sixty-five percent of UPSers in Upstate and Western New York voted No to reject their supplement for the second time today. The Hoffa administration promptly used the Two-Thirds loophole in the Teamster Constitution to impose the agreement.

Wall Street celebrated and UPS stock prices soared after the company announced peak season profits that were even higher than expected.

UPS Teamsters got sold out when the Hoffa administration stood with the company against the members and imposed the contract.

After members Voted No, UPS issued a statement that the contract was rejected and the company would return to the bargaining table. But in a new letter, Hoffa's legal counsel claims the contract had to be ratified and that the union plans “future discussions with the company” to negotiate “additional provisions” in the national UPS agreement.

Local 705, representing over 10,000 UPS Teamsters in the Chicago area, continues to demand a contract with UPS which does not have concessions, and which makes gains for part-timers and retirees. It is possible that the union could give a 30-day notice to the company to cancel the contract extension, which would cause an open contract—and potential strike—in early December.