At the time of the strike UPS was moving 12 million bundles and parcels a day, or theequivalent of 5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. The strike left thousands of businesses scrambling to find alternativecarriers such as Federal Express, Emery Worldwide and the U.S. Postal Service.
Local UPS strikers celebrate news of the agreement.
DDN photo by Jim Witmer. |
Pressure on both sides escalated during the strike's second week. Thecompany estimated its losses at up to $300 million in business each week andthe union owed picketers about $10 million in weekly strike benefits.
The Clinton administration had resisted calls from business groups tointervene and end the strike. The White House said the work stoppage did notpose a threat to the nation's safety and health, the standard for interventionunder the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.
But by publicly urging both sides back to the bargaining table, and byremaining in the hotel where the talks took place, Labor Secretary Alexis Herman raised the pressurefor an end to the biggest strike in more than two decades.
The apparent success of the UPS strike provoked debate on whether labor unions are making a comeback, and it also raised concerns about the trend of companies relying more on part-time workers.
The UPS strike was the most significant since 18-day walkout at two Dayton GM brakefactories in 1996, which stopped GM assembly and idled 177,000 workers. |
About two thirds of UPS's 302,000 employees were represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Their contract expired July 31.