WASHINGTON (AP) -- After nine weeks of bargaining, Teamsters union and United Parcel Service Inc. officials shook hands on a new contract 16 days before the current one expires.þþTeamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell confirmed the two parties had an agreement. ``We're cleaning up the paperwork,'' he said Monday night, without providing details.þþUPS spokesman Norman Black also said the two parties had reached a tentative agreement.þþTeamsters President James P. Hoffa and UPS Chief Executive Officer Michael Eskew were to announce the tentative pact at a Washington hotel on Tuesday.þþCaldwell said he expects results from a union ratification vote on the proposed contract by mid-August.þþA two-week strike in 1997 cost UPS $750 million, and both sides said they wanted to avoid a repeat. The company, which controlled about 80 percent of the small package delivery market then, was virtually crippled when 185,000 Teamsters went on strike with the support of UPS's 2,000 unionized pilots.þþThe walkout revolved around the union's demand that more part-time workers be given full-time jobs. That again was a big issue this time around, and the Teamsters sought even more full-time jobs in this contract.þþUPS customers, fearing another strike after the contract expired July 31, already had started defecting to rival companies. The Atlanta-based company said its second-quarter profits fell slightly. Package volume was down 2 percent in April and May from last year's levels, and fell 4 percent in June.þþThe Teamsters now represent about 230,000 workers at UPS. It is the largest private-sector labor contract being negotiated this year. Labor analysts say the outcome will set the tone for the strength of unions for years to come.þþThe negotiations also represented Hoffa's biggest leadership test as he tried to win sizable concessions that topped the previous contract negotiated by his predecessor and bitter rival, Ron Carey. Hoffa secured a $100 million line of credit and pushed through a dues increase to build a strike fund in preparation.þ
Source: NY Times
