2023-07-20 05:04:57 ET
Teamsters Union will resume contract talks with United Parcel Service ( NYSE: UPS ) next week to prevent a strike when the current contract expires at the end of the month.
Both sides are expected to work out the timing of the talks soon. The union represents roughly 340K UPS ( UPS ) drivers, package handlers, and loaders.
Teamsters said the parcel shipping giant reached out with an offer to resume talks after thousands of UPS ( UPS ) workers were preparing to go on strike.
The decision to resume talks ends a two-week standstill after negotiations broke down, with both parties accusing the other of stalling the process.
The two sides tentatively agreed on certain issues before talks broke down, including installing air conditioning in more UPS ( UPS ) trucks and removing a two-tier wage system for drivers who work weekends.
A major point of contention has been the demand for wage hikes for part-time workers, who make a minimum of $16.20/hour.
Teamsters represent more than half of UPS' ( UPS ) workforce in the largest private-sector contract in North America. If negotiations are not successful and a strike does happen, it would be the first since a two-week walkout by 185K workers in 1997 that cost UPS ( UPS ) millions of dollars.
"We are prepared to increase our industry-leading pay and benefits, but need to work quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, employees, and businesses," UPS said in a statement .
Last weekend, Teamsters head Sean O'Brien said he'd asked the White House not to intervene in the event of a strike, as it did with rail workers last year .
UPS ( UPS ) plans to temporarily begin training nonunion employees in the U.S., should there be a strike.
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UPS, Teamsters will return to negotiating table next week as threat of strike looms