Eric Woods
UPS STRIKE OF 1997
TEAMSTERS
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In 1991, the union held their
first elections, electing Ron
Carey, a former UPS worker,
over two ‘old guard’
candidates
Teamsters went on strike
The workers still would not
come back to work
BACKGROUND
UPS
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In 1994, UPS raised the
weight limit workers were
required to lift from 70 lb. to
150 lb., without negotiating
with the Teamsters union
UPS won an injunction in the
courts, ruling the workers
back to work
UPS forced to sign an
agreement retracting the
weight limit increase
WHAT CAUSED THE STRIKE?
In 1996, UPS approached contract negotiations
expecting all their demands to be met
 Teamsters wanted more full time jobs, & wage
increases
 UPS countered by basically saying, ‘accept our
first offer, and you will get a bonus’
 The Teamsters then called the strike
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7 POINTS OF CONTENTION
Number of Full time Jobs
 Wages of workers
 Pensions
 Subcontracting jobs
 Benefits
 Weight limit change guidelines
 Contract length
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UPS-20 POINTS
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UPS wanted more part time
workers to save on health
benefits
UPS also paid part time
workers less than full time
They were willing to concede
here if they could save
money elsewhere
TEAMSTERS- 30 POINTS
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The teamsters wanted more
full time workers, and less
part time
This was the main reason
Union members were
unhappy
Also, more full time
workers=more union
members
NUMBER OF FULL TIME WORKERS
UPS- 15 POINTS
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UPS had lower wages
compared to other
companies at the time
Keeping wages low would
help offset more full time
jobs being added
WORKER’S WAGES
TEAMSTERS-20 POINTS
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Teamster’s members wanted
higher wages, but they were
more concerned with the
increase in full time jobs
UPS-10 POINTS
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Pensions only affected fulltimers, so UPS wasn’t as
concerned with this
UPS was willing to concede
an increase in pensions as
well
PENSIONS
TEAMSTERS- 15 POINTS
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Workers wanted an increase
in pension, but this wouldn’t
matter without more full time
jobs
Pensions was fairly
important, as it affected the
older workers more and they
had more of a say than
younger one
UPS-20 POINTS
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UPS wanted to subcontract
jobs away to save money
By subcontracting they
wouldn’t have to give
workers benefits
TEAMSTERS-10 POINTS
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Teamsters were against
subcontracting, as it reduced
full time jobs
However, they were more
concerned with improving
the jobs their workers
already had
SUBCONTRACTING JOBS
UPS-5 POINTS
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UPS had previously changed
the weight limit on the
workers without telling them
UPS didn’t really care about
this point
TEAMSTERS-10 POINTS
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Teamsters wanted UPS to not
be able to change the weight
limit without the Teamster’s
approval
This was a disputed point
earlier, so the Teamsters
wanted to make sure UPS
couldn’t change the limit
WEIGHT LIMIT CHANGE GUIDELINES
UPS-5 POINTS
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UPS wasn’t concerned with
benefits, as it only applied to
full timers
BENEFITS
TEAMSTERS-10 POINTS
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The Teamsters cared about
this a little less than
pensions, as pensions
affected the older workers
more, i.e. those who had
more of a say in the union
UPS-25 POINTS
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UPS wants a longer contract
to prevent future strikes
This is very important to
them, as they lost a lot of
money from the strike
CONTRACT LENGTH
TEAMSTERS-5 POINTS
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Teamsters want a shorter
contract, but they are willing
to accept a longer contract if
it is favorable
AWP
ITEMS
Teamsters
UPS
Full Time Jobs (FTJ)
30
20
Worker’s Wages (WW)
20
15
Pensions (P)
15
10
Subcontracting Jobs (SJ)
10
20
Weight Limit Change
10
5
Benefits (B)
10
5
Contract Length (CL)
5
25
Guidelines(WLCG)
AWP
ITEMS
Teamsters
UPS
Full Time Jobs (FTJ)
30
20
Worker’s Wages (WW)
20
15
Pensions (P)
15
10
Subcontracting Jobs (SJ)
10
20
Weight Limit Change
10
5
Benefits (B)
10
5
Contract Length (CL)
5
25
Guidelines(WLCG)
AWP PT. 2
Teamsters get: FTJ (30) + WW (20) + P(15) +
WLCG (10) + B (10)=30+20+15+10+10 = 75
 UPS gets: SJ (20) + CL (25) = 45
 Using AWP: The lowest ratio is WW (20/15)
 Thus, we have:
 75-20x=45+15x
 30=35x -> x=6/7
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RESULTS
So at the end, the Teamsters would get FTJ,
1/7 of WW, P, WLCG, and B
 UPS would get 6/7 of WW, SJ, and CL
 Splitting the wages would mean there would be
a slight increase ( perhaps 1/7 of what the
Teamsters wanted)
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ACCURATE?
In reality, the Teamsters got almost all of their
demands, UPS got almost nothing
 Contract signed with UPS increased full time jobs,
increased wages, and had increases to pensions
and benefits
 Signed an agreement with UPS that said UPS
couldn’t subcontract jobs or change the weight
limit freely
 Only thing UPS really got out of the deal was a
longer contract, of 5 years
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WHY?
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Disparity between parties comes because UPS was at a
position of weakness
They were losing millions of dollars per day by not
delivering packages
Weren’t prepared for the strike, which allowed the
Teamsters to create pressure on UPS to meet their
demands
UPS tried to get the courts and government to order
their workers back to work, but the government sided
with the workers.
So UPS did not really have any bargaining power, and
was forced to make a deal that favored the Teamsters.
BIBLIO
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Parcel_Service_strike_o
f_1997
http://isreview.org/issues/55/bigbrown.shtml
http://workerscompass.org/lessons-of-the-1997-teamsterstrike-at-ups-part-1/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business-july-dec97ups_8-19a/
http://www.cnn.com/US/9708/20/ups.update.early/
“Ron Carey’s Weird Strike”, Wall Street Journal, August 1997.
Bob Herbert, “Worker’s Rebellion”, New York Times, August
7, 1997.