Teamsters announced that 90 percent of members were in favor of going on strike starting August 1 if a deal is not reached with UPS regarding their current labor contract, CNN reports.
UPS currently employs 260,000 Teamsters and has added upwards of 40,000 union members in the last five years. According to CNN, UPS shipments are 6 percent of the nation's GDP, so the strike could potentially disrupt the US economy.
Currently, the two sides are disputing over how the company will offer seven days a week delivery.
Last year UPS started offering regular Saturday delivery and hasn't yet announced plans for a Sunday service, CNN reports. However, the union reports that the company has made several proposals to expand deliveries into Sunday.
According to CNN, one proposal that has been negotiated is to create a two-tier wage system that would make part-time workers who earn $15 an hour and make them full time at the same wage. Currently, full-time drivers earn an average of $36 an hour, averaging out at $75,000 a year, according to CNN.
Teamsters are reportedly torn on the proposal. However, an opposition group within the union, UPS Teamsters United, believes that the company should pay new full time workers the same as existing employees. UPS posted a $5 billion profit in 2017, so UPS Teamsters United believes the company has the capability of paying workers equally.
The two sides luckily have time to reach a new deal before the August 1 deadline. Union members usually remain working until a new deal is reached, however, strike authorization votes almost always pass, CNN reports. With the current divide between the union members in negotiations it is more likely that a strike could happen, though.
