UPS Workers Have Easier Path to Tank Deal Under New Union Limits

As Sean O’Brien readied his bid for Teamsters president in 2021, he threw his support behind a change to the union constitution that made it easier for workers to kill labor agreements negotiated by leadership.

Now, as 340,000 workers begin to vote on a high-stakes deal with United Parcel Service Inc., O’Brien finds himself bound by the limits on his own power that he helped create—posing a test of his skills as a retail salesman to get the nation’s largest private-sector labor agreement across the finish line.

O’Brien is the first president in memory who will have to defer absolutely to the majority of voters, emboldening a vocal minority of opponents who look to harness the same populist fury that swept O’Brien into office.

“There is a lot of anger,” said Jennifer Hancock, a part-time UPS worker in Richmond, Va., who is organizing a “vote no” campaign through Teamsters Mobilize, an advocacy group. People feel that O’Brien’s administration “over promised and under delivered,” she added.

Before 2021, it was hard for Teamsters to override their president, who had the power to unilaterally impose an agreement if turnout was low. If turnout broke 50%, union members could reject a contract with a simple majority. But if it fell below 50%, the president could move forward with the agreement—unless two thirds of those voting turned it down.

That’s what former President James P. Hoffa did, ratifying the 2018 contract even though 54% of UPS workers voted to reject it. The decision sparked backlash to a system that to many felt underhanded, fueling O’Brien’s rise.

“It had been seen as highly undemocratic,” said Kate Bronfenbrenner, a professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “Our definition of democracy is always seen as fifty percent plus one.”

Under the 2021 change backed by O’Brien, workers can torpedo a tentative agreement with a simple majority, no questions asked.

“We cannot violate our members’ trust,” O’Brien said in a speech at the 2021 convention. “One day we can’t tell them their vote counts and then ignore it when it’s a contract vote and some leaders don’t like it.”

Early Backing

So far, the new UPS agreement appears to be on track for approval, earning support from nearly every local chapter at a meeting in Washington on Monday.

O’Brien has been working hard to shore up support, starting with an effort months ago to add rank-and-file members to the national bargaining committee, blunting potential criticism of a deal made behind closed doors.

Since the agreement was reached last week, he has been extolling its benefits on cable news shows. On Monday, O’Brien held a union-wide webinar with Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman to appeal directly to members.

“I’m certain we squeezed every single drop of juice out of this orange,” O’Brien said. “Anyone who knows me knows my word and my reputation means a whole hell of a lot to me. It’s all we’ve got at the end of the day. I stand behind this tentative agreement with my whole heart.”

“If you read information or outright lies online about this agreement, do not let it distract you,” he added later.

Some Resistance

Opposition, to the extent it exists, largely centers on the persistent wage gap between part-time and full-time workers.

While the agreement would set a $21-an-hour floor for part-timers and offer additional increases based on seniority, critics say it won’t get them close to the rates for full timers by the end of the five-year agreement.

Many opponents won’t accept anything less than $25 for part-time workers to keep up with inflation, Hancock said.

“People are angry and being told this is the best contract we’ve ever received,” Hancock said. “Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. I don’t know, but it’s not helpful. People are not feeling like this is the best contract they’ve ever seen.”

Technology is also allowing workers to share information like never before. Over the past week, at least two separate campaigns have held mass video calls and continue to spread the word through Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, and online message boards for UPS workers—a different world than when UPS workers last went on strike in 1997.

“Long distance charges would have probably eaten you alive,” Hancock said. “And trying to do that by postcard or letter? I don’t know how you would have been able to do anything like a national campaign.”