'This contract is about respect,' he said. Despite the financial risks, he still thinks it's worth pushing for higher pay long-term. For him, that would provide a weekly check of about $350, just under half his usual earnings. In the even of a work stoppage, workers would get strike pay totaling five times their union membership dues, Negrete said. If we do strike, we need to be prepared.' 'I've been telling members to save as well. 'Probably around September, I said, you know what, if I need to take out money for an emergency I will, but I'm not going to touch it,' he told CBS MoneyWatch. Jose Francisco Negrete, a part-time package sorter and 25-year veteran at UPS in Anaheim, California, said he started saving last year, putting away $55 with every paycheck. The Teamsters have been holding practice pickets for months in preparation for a strike and, since last fall, have encouraged members to put money aside so they have a financial cushion in case of a walkout. Strikes up 50% in 2022, with workers exerting leverage in tight labor market.UPS workers vote to strike, setting stage for biggest walkout since 1959.Day a paid holiday and installing air conditioning and heat shields in delivery trucks, where summer temperatures often shoot above 110 degrees. The labor talks, while fitful, have succeeded in resolving some issues, including making Martin Luther King, Jr. 'We are prepared to increase our industry-leading pay and benefits, but need to work quickly to finalize a fair deal that provides certainty for our customers, our employees and businesses across the country,' UPS said in a statement on Wednesday. CEO Carol Tomé made $18.9 million that year, down from $27 million the year before. The median UPS employee made $52,000 last year, according to the company's securities filings. UPS workers hold a practice picket on July 19, 2023, in Los Angeles ahead of an August 1 deadline for an agreement on a labor contract and to avert a strike that could lead to billions of dollars in economic losses.įull-time workers at UPS, most of whom are delivery truck drivers, can make $95,000 a year or more, but they represent a minority of the workforce and face their own challenges, such as often brutal heat on the job. 'I don't think it's asking anything crazy to have equal pay, doing the same jobs as full-timers inside the building,' Flynn said. While neither the union nor UPS have disclosed the latest pay proposals on the bargaining table, some workers are pushing for starting pay of $25 an hour - the same amount they were making in 1983 when adjusting for inflation. However, many part-timers say that their starting pay is far below what full-time UPS workers make for doing the same job.

(However, under a recent executive order addressing federal contractors, UPS must pay at least $16.20.) The company notes that part-timers make an average of $20 an hour after 30 days on the job, while enjoying the same health care and pension benefits as full-time workers.

Under the current contract, part-time workers at UPS start at $15.50 an hour.

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