WASHINGTON — UPS workers overwhelmingly authorized a nationwide strike if the package carrier fails to finalize a new contract on July 31, the Teamsters union announced Friday.
The union represents roughly 340,000 UPS workers and has been negotiating a new contract with the package carrier since April 17. On Wednesday, Teamsters announced a tentative deal with UPS that secured delivery drivers with air-conditioned trucks for the first time.
The Teamsters said 97% of union members voted to strike. The overwhelming approval to strike doesn't exactly mean workers would walk off the job but instead gives union leaders more leverage in negotiation talks.
A strike from UPS workers, which could happen any time after the July 31 deadline for current contracts, would be the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history, according to NBC News.
UPS acknowledged the strike vote on Friday, saying that the "results do not mean a strike is imminent and do not impact our current business operations in any way."
The tentative agreement aimed to finally address delivery drivers' concerns with extremely hot temperatures. According to the terms announced on Wednesday, the nation's largest package carrier would be required have air conditioning in delivery vehicles purchased after Jan. 1, 2024, including its iconic brown truck, which makes up the majority of the company's 93,000-vehicle fleet.
“Air conditioning is coming to UPS, and Teamster members in these vehicles will get the relief and protection they’ve been fighting for,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in the statement. "Today’s progress was a significant step towards a stronger new reality for so many workers and their families.”
The union also negotiated to add cab fans to all package cars as well as heat shields. Already existing delivery trucks and vans will be fitted with "air induction systems," which would help relieve high temperatures in the back of the vehicles.
Heat-related concerns have been at the top of many UPS workers' complaints as temperatures continue to rise across the nation. In recent years, more than 100 UPS workers have been hospitalized for heat-related illnesses, NBC News reported.
"We have always remained open to solutions that keep our employees safe on hot days. The Teamsters raised A/C as a top priority for their members, and the new solutions we’ve agreed to will improve airflow, temperature and comfort for our employees," UPS said in a statement.
UPS said that the new air-conditioned delivery cars will come to the "hottest parts of the country first."
If a strike occurs, it would be the first since a 15-day walkout by 185,000 workers crippled the company a quarter century ago.
UPS has grown vastly since then and become even more engrained in the U.S. economy. The company says it delivers the equivalent of about 6% of nation’s gross domestic product. That means a strike would carry with it potentially far-reaching implications for the economy.
The company delivers around 25 million packages a day, representing about a quarter of all U.S. parcel volume, according to the global shipping and logistics firm Pitney Bowes. That’s about 10 million parcels more than it delivered each day in the years leading up to the pandemic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.