Coordinated strike threats by UPS Teamsters in the Central Region and Chicago Local 705 won grievance settlements in the Central Region and a first contract for UPS admins and specialists in Chicago. How did it happen?
Most union contracts, including all UPS supplements with the exception of the Central Region Supplement, prohibit strikes during the life of the contract.
But the UPS Central Region Supplement allows the union to strike over grievances that deadlock at the Central Region Joint Area Committee – the highest grievance panel in the Central Region.
To trigger the right to strike, the deadlocked grievance must be over Central Region language, not national language.
A Powerful Tool
The right to strike over deadlocked grievances is a powerful tool. But it has never been used until Sean O’Brien pulled the trigger this week.
When UPS deadlocked a series of grievances, the IBT issued 72-hour strike notices in Denver, Toledo, and Louisville.
Members from the affected locals were dispatched to California, Pennsylvania, and other states to prepare to extend picket lines.
Extensions were targeted at key chokepoints in the UPS network like the air hub in Ontario, Calif.
Within hours, UPS management settled the previously deadlocked grievances on safety, seniority, and subcontracting in the union's favor.
Chicago Local 705 Strike Threat
At the same time that the IBT threatened UPS with a strike over deadlocked Central Region grievances, Chicago Local 705 issued a 72-hour strike notice to win a first contract for UPS admins and specialists.
Local 705 has its own contract with UPS that is independent of the National Master Agreement.
Like the Central Region Teamsters, Local 705 was ready to extend picket lines.
By Tuesday night, admins and specialists in 705 had a contract that immediately put them at top rate.
The fight isn’t over. UPS management is still fighting a legal battle to exclude some admins and specialists from the union. But the tide has turned, and Local 705 can use the strike weapon again in the future if necessary.
Restoring the Strike Weapon
The company is playing hardball with UPS Teamsters. Excessive overtime, supervisors working, harassment and unfair discipline are rampant.
Management is stonewalling in the grievance process by deadlocking cases to strong-arm members into accepting unfair discipline.
The company is violating contractual obligations to create full-time jobs and install air conditioning.
The right to strike over grievances deadlocked in the Central Region Supplement, and extending picket lines to UPS operations nationally, is a powerful weapon in our union’s arsenal to fight back – one that has never been used before.
The next Central Region JAC meeting is in November.