| Our members at UPS want to know that
their pensions and health care will be safe, and we will urge UPS to
come to the table early so that we can protect our members'
interests," said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. "We
cannot afford to wait until late next year or early in 2008 to begin
tackling these crucial issues."
The National Master United Parcel Service
Agreement, which covers more than 200,000 Teamsters at UPS, expires on
August 1, 2008.
"Now that our members have spoken, we will
tell UPS that we want to start earlier than usual because we need a
permanent fix to the complex problems of pension and health security
that impact millions of American workers," said Ken Hall, Director
of the Teamsters Parcel and Small Package Division. "Our members
know that Congress is not going to fix these problems today, so we need
to be proactive and fix them at the bargaining table."
The Teamsters will now ask members to sign
petitions demanding that UPS come to the negotiating table early. The
petitions will arrive at Local Unions across the country this week.
The survey followed a scientific poll of UPS
Teamsters showing similar concerns.
"The poll and survey results confirm what
I've been hearing all over the country," Hall said. "We hope
that UPS will respond to our members' concerns and agree to negotiate
early. In the meantime, our members would remain protected by the
existing contract. It's in everyone's interests to take the extra time
to come up with creative solutions to resolve these issues." |
