The vote will be taking place in person at members’ local union halls as opposed to the online voting used for the original offer. Many observers believe that by having in-person voting, the negotiating committee is hoping turnout will be low enough to allow them to ratify the contract using the “2/3rds” article of the Teamsters constitution. The same article was used to impose the unpopular UPS contract last month.

The last offer from UPS has seen nominal improvements from the original offer and is still lacking. Little or no improvements have been made to wage, subcontracting, pension and vacation language. The Teamsters negotiating committee has not endorsed ratification.

UPS Freight is the fifth largest less-than-load (LTL) shipper in the United States. Since only a handful of companies offer a majority of LTL services, a work stoppage at UPS Freight will affect the entire industry. It is predicted cargo shipments across the industry will be slowed down 5 to 10 percent, and customers could see price increases into next year.

As UPS enters peak season, and along with a tight LTL market, conditions are favorable for a strike at UPS Freight. Teamsters across the country are making plans for strike support in the event UPS Freight strikes.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #strike #strikeVote #Strikes #UPSFreight

Chicago, IL – From Jan. 15 to Jan. 23, hundreds of clerical and administrative workers at UIC (University of Illinois – Chicago) turned out for a strike authorization vote. 94% of them supported the call from their elected bargaining committee to walk out of work if negotiations fail to reach an agreement.

The workers, members of Local 73 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) have gone without a contract raise for over two years. Sirlena Perry, a member of the bargaining committee as well as Local 73’s executive board, said, “We’ve never had a strike at UIC, but we can’t accept what’s on the table. There is no raise for the first year, no retro pay back to the August start date of this contract year and no language to give us job security.”

Another major issue is the disparity in wages between the Chicago campus and the sites in Rockford and Peoria. For many years, Chicago workers had been paid less than those at the campus in downstate Urbana. After a decade long fight to win parity for Chicago, the workers at the other sites are striving for this goal as well.

Responding to a call for an emergency picket, 40 members of Local 73 SEIU marched outside the College of Dentistry, Jan. 14. The action was held to protest retaliation against an employee for union activity. The workers’ protest hit this attack, as well as the fact that 1900 clerical, administrative and technical workers have gone two years without a contract. Regina Russell, a member of the clerical and administrative bargaining committee, had only a light jacket, but said, “We have to come out to defend each other. An injury to one is an injury to all.” Temperatures that day were in the low 20s and the wind was gusting to 30 miles an hour, but the picket line was maintained for two hours.

Bargaining is scheduled with a federal mediator on Feb. 6. If this fails to bring the two sides together, the union will go forward with their plans. To show their determination, many of the voting workers wore on their lapels a sticker that read, “UIC won’t work without us!”

#ChicagoIL #News #SEIULocal73 #UniversityOfIllinoisChicago #strikeVote