Both UPS and Yellow Corporation averted a strike this past weekend by reaching a tentative deal with the Teamsters (a union representing workers in both companies). Two big companies that are vastly different in that one is making record profits and one is struggling to stay in business. Here are my thoughts about what happened.
First, UPS delivery people deserve air conditioning in their trucks. I live in Texas and the fact that they haven’t told me all that I need to know about how UPS is run and how they treat their workers. Yellow is struggling to meet pension obligations. A corporation needs to be mindful of what promises are made and can they be kept in certain business conditions.
Lastly, the Teamsters have new leadership in Sean O’Brien. He seems to work hard for his members to get the best deal at the time of contract negotiations. The fact that he averted a strike in these two instances and forced major concessions seems on the face to be a win for the Teamsters. Let’s hope that this can last into the future for more permanent contracts to protect workers.