|
Teamsters may walk again
|
 |
August 19, 1997: 1:22 p.m. ET
Pilots backed union during strike, and Teamsters says it will return the favor
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Teamsters union has made a written agreement to walk again in the fall if the United Parcel Service does not reach an agreement with its pilots union, the Independent Pilots Association said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the IPA, the union which represents 2,000 UPS pilots, said that Teamsters President Ron Carey had made a written commitment to honor the IPA picket line if it came to that. The letter was written to UPS chief James Kelly with a copy sent to the IPA, said Bob Ziegler of the IPA.
Calls to UPS and the Teamsters were not returned.
The pilots union, which participated in the Teamsters' strike against UPS, says that none of its members crossed the picket lines.
The IPA has been working without a contract since talks reached a stalemate in late 1995. The union claims that its pilots are paid at least 25 percent less than pilots at competitors' services.
A first attempt at federal mediation failed, and both sides have been in a mandated recess since June. Negotiations are planned to resume in September, but IPA President Miller said last week that if talks were not fruitful, another labor action could occur around the busy Christmas package delivery season.
The IPA is confident that the Teamsters' strike has helped its own chances for a favorable settlement.
"I think it definitely increases those chances, particularly in light of the fact that we've fully supported the Teamsters in that action," said the IPA's Ziegler. "It showed tremendous unity on the part of the independent pilots and I think that was recognized by the company."
-- Randy Schultz
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
