UPS workers vote to strike nationally if no agreement is reached with the company

the Unionized UPS workers voted overwhelmingly on Friday to allow the strike, It sets the stage for a potential work stoppage if the company and the Teamsters union fail to reach an agreement before his current contract expires in July.

Union leaders encouraged their members to greenlight a potential strike in order to gain more bargaining space with the company. 97% of them supported this procedure. But this vote authorizing today’s strike does not mean that there will be an imminent strike.

“This vote shows that hundreds of thousands of team members are united and determined to win the best contract in our history at UPS,” union president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “If this multi-billion dollar company fails to accept the contract our hard workers deserve, UPS will strike on its own,” he added.

the Union Teamsters represent approximately 340,000 UPS employees, more than half of the company’s workforce. About 25 years ago, 185,000 UPS workers were furloughed for 15 days amid a contract dispute that affected the company’s performance.

Since then, UPS has grown larger and its operations more important to the US economy. The company supplies the equivalent of 6% of the products that make up the local economy (or GDP), according to company data.

if achieved, It will be one of the largest labor strikes in the history of the country. With a broad impact on the economy.

UBS said in a statement that the vote to authorize the strike “does not in any way affect current operations.” “These voices are common steps in the labor negotiations. We continue to make progress on key issues and are confident we will reach an agreement in the interest of our employees, (members of) Teamsters, our company and our customers,” he said.