The Teamsters union on Monday stepped up pressure on United Parcel Service Inc for a new contract covering 230,000 workers, saying its members at UPS had agreed to repeat a 1997 strike if necessary.
The 15-day walkout five years ago by the Teamsters hobbled UPS shipments and shook the Atlanta-based company's reputation for reliability. UPS said recently some ill effects of that walkout still drag on the world's No. 1 package carrier.
Early results from weekend balloting at Teamster locals around the US had yielded a 93 percent favorable vote for a walkout if a new contract was not reached, Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell said.
An exact vote count and the turnout among members were not available, with about 75 percent of the locals tabulated so far, Caldwell said.
The current five-year contract reached after the 1997 strike runs out on July 31.
Recent talks between UPS and union officials have focused on regional and local issues, such as safety and other noneconomic matters. Wages and other compensation matters were to be taken up in a few weeks, union and company officials said.
Tentative agreements have been struck on more than half of the regional, or supplemental, issues such as disputes over whether non-Teamsters can do work claimed as union tasks, the union said. But Teamster officials said the pace of negotiating needed to quicken.
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