Holiday disaster looms as UPS workers vote to strike
Aircraft maintenance workers at United Parcel Service have overwhelmingly voted to go on strike in a decision that could paralyze shipments during the busy holiday season.
About 80% of workers who are responsible for servicing UPS's fleet of planes took part in the vote, and of those, 98% voted to authorize a strike.
The decision comes after three years of negotiations with UPS over the workers' wages and health benefits.
The union representing the workers — Teamsters Local 2727 — say the biggest issue in the negotiations is related to health care.
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According to the union, UPS is proposing a reduction in health benefits for the maintenance workers and retirees.
"Under UPS's proposal, health coverage for a retiree and his or her spouse would skyrocket to more than $19,000 per year in the first year with further increases each year thereafter," the union wrote in a release.
UPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If the workers go on strike, it could halt UPS's global shipping operation. If they do so during the holidays, when UPS is expected to ship at least 700 million packages, it could result in major shipping delays affecting millions of people.
"No one wants to go on strike, but I voted to strike because UPS mechanics and our families deserve better from UPS," Jim Kelley, a 29-year aircraft mechanic at UPS's Louisville, Kentucky, gateway said in a statement.
However, some protections under the US Railway Labor Act — which governs the maintenance workers — could delay the impending strike until after the holidays.
Under the law, the union must have government approval to go on strike. A board of officials appointed by the president would be responsible for making that decision, and that process can take up to 30 days.
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