This Thursday on CNN This Morning, anchor Victor Blackwell interviewed Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who plan to strike if UPS does not meet their demands in a contract negotiation. Pointing out that UPS already heads the industry in pay, Blackwell pressed O’Brien on why the strike was necessary and how it could hurt UPS drivers, which included members of his family.
The Teamsters Union includes 340,000 UPS employees, and UPS delivers six percent of the United States’ GDP. The strike would halt a large portion of the economy.
UPS pays its workers more than anyone else in the industry, with $93,000 starting salaries and $95,000 average salaries. Blackwell asked O’Brien why the union threatened to strike when they already made above average wages:
I have several truck drivers in my family, so I know the work. Let me ask you about this. You talked about they're being well compensated. You acknowledged in your Senate testimony that the starting salary for some of those drivers -- $93,000 a year -- at the top of the industry. So people who are at home hearing that UPS might be -- the workers might be going on strike, and they're already at the top of the heap starting for this, they question why. You tell those folks who are going to be inconvenienced what?
“UPS didn't give $93,000 a year out of the kindness of their heart. We've been fighting for decades and decades. We didn't -- we didn't get anything from UPS. We had to fight for it,” O’Brien qualified. “UPS is making record profits -- $100 billion. They doubled their profits. They need to take care of those people and stop worrying about Wall Street and focus on the people at Main Street.”
In its quest for a more significant share of the pie, the Teamers risked decreasing the total pie. Analysts estimated the strike could cost UPS 30 percent of its business as customers shift to more reliable shipping, resulting in fewer jobs and less revenue.
Blackwell asked O’Brien if such a decline in business would hurt the Teamsters’ profitability instead of helping them:
Does this, in some way, hurt the drivers and those pre-loaders ultimately? We know after the last strike there was a loss of some of the business that was not reclaimed. There are some experts and analysts in the field who say that maybe UPS will get 70 percent back of its business but maybe not all of it. And, of course, that would require potentially fewer pre-loaders, fewer drivers, and then that comes back to your Teamsters members.
O’Brien acknowledged that the strike would result in a lose-lose situation for UPS and the Teamsters but insisted the blame belonged on UPS alone. “Well, UPS, whatever they choose to do -- if they choose to do the right thing and concede to the demands, we'll be fine. But if they don't, that's a self-inflicted wound that they're going to have to shoulder the burden of that,” he said.
O’Brien speculated that business would return and continued to threaten the economy with a delivery strike should the Union’s demands go unfulfilled.
CNN neglected UPS’s perspective, which was displayed on the company’s website. UPS listed its worker’s benefits and all the ways they already addressed the Union’s ultimatums, including safety concerns, heat exposure, pay, and more union jobs. UPS denied O’Brien’s allegations that it left the negotiation table and asked Teamsters to return to the table to reach an agreement.
The Teamsters repeatedly insisted that UPS deliver more of Wall Street’s profits to Main Street, but depending on the halted negotiations, UPS may not deliver much in the near future.
Trivago sponsored CNN’s coverage.
The Transcript is below, click "expand" to read.
CNN This Morning
7/6/2023
7:35 AM Eastern
VICTOR BLACKWELL: Three hundred forty thousand UPS workers are closer to walking off their jobs. The Teamsters Union and UPS walked away without a deal this week after marathon contract negotiations to avoid a strike -- they went nowhere. And if an agreement is not reached by the end of the month, those distinctive brown trucks could be in their tracks -- stopped in their tracks, I should say. A strike could have major economic consequences since about six percent of GDP moves on UPS trucks. Here's the Teamsters president before talks broke down.
[BEGIN CLIP]
SEAN O'BRIEN: Concede to our demands and give us what we deserve and we will go out there and ratify this agreement, or they can take the other road where they don't concede to our demands. They stay loyal to Wall Street and forget about Main Street.
[END CLIP]
BLACKWELL: Teamsters president Sean O'Brien is with us now. Sir, good to have you. First, how far apart are you two?
O'BRIEN: We made significant progress since January. We were down to economics, and we thought we would have a deal around 4:15 a.m. yesterday morning, but UPS quite boldly told us there was no more to give. We were focused on the part-time portion of the UPS workers who work -- you know, their part-time poverty doesn't work for us in the Teamsters anymore. So, we are fighting hard to take care of the part- timers, and UPS said we don't have any more to give, and that was it.
BLACKWELL: You made some progress on the MLK holiday. You made some progress on air conditioning for new vehicles and other things as well. But when you say the economics, what are you asking for, and what won't they give? Give me more about what the gap is here.
O'BRIEN: Look, there's a -- there's a gap. There's no doubt that the UPS full-timers make good wages, good benefits. But what people don't know -- in the neighborhoods, they see their UPS driver and they love them -- love him or her, and they're happy. But they don't see the unsung heroes -- the single mothers that go to work at four in the morning. Those trucks don't go out unless they are loaded.
And our part-timers are the unsung heroes. They are working for poverty wages, and we need to drive up the starting rates of pay and reward those people that made the supply chain solution happen during the pandemic. And UPS made record profits -- $100 billion. They need to share some of that. They're focused on rewarding Wall Street. They should focus on rewarding Main Street. Those are the men and women who make them a success -- 340,000 of them.
BLACKWELL: You're talking about those drivers and the pre-loaders. I have several truck drivers in my family, so I know the work. Let me ask you about this. You talked about they're being well compensated. You acknowledged in your Senate testimony that the starting salary for some of those drivers -- $93,000 a year -- at the top of the industry. So people who are at home hearing that UPS might be -- the workers might be going on strike, and they're already at the top of the heap starting for this, they question why. You tell those folks who are going to be inconvenienced what?
O'BRIEN: Well look, I'd tell them this, simply. UPS didn't give $93,000 a year out of the kindness of their heart. We've been fighting for decades and decades. We didn't -- we didn't get anything from UPS. We had to fight for it.
UPS drivers, and pre-loaders, and all part-timers provide a tremendous amount of service. UPS is making record profits -- $100 billion. They doubled their profits. They need to take care of those people and stop worrying about Wall Street and focus on the people at Main Street.
BLACKWELL: Let me read this to you from UPS. They put out a statement. "The Teamsters have stopped negotiating despite historic proposals that build on our industry-leading pay. Refusing to negotiate creates significant unease among employees and customers and threatens to disrupt the U.S. economy."
You say to that what?
O'BRIEN: That statement is compelling but highly inaccurate. UPS chose to walk away. And if there is a strike, it's going to be UPS striking themselves.
BLACKWELL: Does this, in some way, hurt the drivers and those pre-loaders ultimately? We know after the last strike there was a loss of some of the business that was not reclaimed. There are some experts and analysts in the field who say that maybe UPS will get 70 percent back of its business but maybe not all of it. And, of course, that would require potentially fewer pre-loaders, fewer drivers, and then that comes back to your Teamsters members.
O'BRIEN: Well, UPS, whatever they choose to do -- if they choose to do the right thing and concede to the demands, we'll be fine. But if they don't, that's a self-inflicted wound that they're going to have to shoulder the burden of that.
And look, like anything else, UPS has good times and bad times. This volume will come back. They'll be needing to hire more people. So any negative impact on this is going to be self-inflicted by UPS.
BLACKWELL: And it won't impact your members.
O'BRIEN: It could, but it's going to be a short-term impact.
BLACKWELL: Last question for you. You think a strike is more likely now than not?
O'BRIEN: I didn't think so as of 4:15 yesterday morning. But again, UPS, if they choose not to do the right thing, they'll be striking themselves.
BLACKWELL: All right, Sean O'Brien. Thank you so much.
O'BRIEN: Thank you.
HARLOW: So, really fascinating interview because it affects everyone.
BLACKWELL: It affects industry. It affects the individual. Six percent of GDP. And 340,000 might be on the picket line soon.
HARLOW: Yes, and you know. You said you have truck drivers in your family.
BLACKWELL: Yeah, I have truck drivers in my family –
HARLOW: Yeah.
BLACKWELL: -- that's impacted.
HARLOW: We'll see where this goes. We promise to stay on it.
