Ups Strike

By contrast, the most important single factor distinguishing the UPS strike from most of its predecessors of the last 15 years, and one of the most important reasons why it succeeded, was that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves.

In an era in which unions have become afraid, for good reason, that strikes can lead to permanent replacement and destruction, the battle fought out at UPS shows that strikes can be successful. They are still workers' fundamental weapon to enforce their will on giant corporations.

The strike settlement made important progress on the dispute's central issue - creating full-time jobs for part timers. About 57% of UPS' 185,000 Teamster workers labor part time - in many terminals two-thirds, or even three-quarters of the employees. They make up eighty percent of new hires since 1993.

At the strike's start, the company offered to advance 10,000 part-time workers into full-time jobs as other full timers retired or quit, but would only agree to create 1,000 new full-time jobs. In the final agreement, 10,000 new full-time jobs will be created over five years. The company also agreed that five out of every six full-time openings will be filled by part-time UPS workers, instead of the previous contract's ratio of four out of five.

UPS originally demanded concessions which would have made the part-time problem worse. The company wanted to subcontract out the jobs of feeder drivers, who drive big-rigs between terminals. These are promotions for the delivery drivers in the familiar brown trucks, and are held by the most senior workers. If feeder driver jobs are contracted out, delivery drivers can't move up into them, creating