The union representing 340,000 full- and part-time
United Parcel Service
workers gave a July 5 deadline to reach a deal and avert a massive strike. Hollywood actors, meanwhile, extended contract talks with major studios.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which earlier this month set a June 30 deadline for UPS (ticker: UPS) to deliver a last, best, and final offer to avert a strike by the Aug. 1 contract expiration, said Friday that UPS delivered a counterproposal “with significant movement on wages and other economic language.”
The union said the company pledged to reach a deal no later than July 5 for delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers.
“The Teamsters will not work one minute beyond the expiration of our current agreement,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “UPS did not want to make progress on economics, but they conceded today that they will reach a deal by July 5 because they have no choice.”
UPS said in a statement it was encouraged the union was ready to continue negotiations and discuss its most recent proposal.
“We look forward to the union’s input so we can reach a timely agreement and provide certainty for our employees, our customers and the U.S. economy,” the company said.
A UPS strike would cause chaos for both the company and Americans who get packages and medicine delivered to their homes. UPS delivered an average of 24.3 million packages a day in 2022. Its revenue that year was $100.3 billion.
“It would be a headache and disruption for
Amazon
and other e-commerce players,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Barron’s.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers late Friday agreed to extend their contracts for a week to midnight on July 12 as talks continue. “The parties will continue to negotiate under a mutually agreed upon media blackout,” the parties said in a joint statement.
Deadline reported earlier this week the union was considering an extension for further talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers before calling a strike. Both sides agreed not to comment to media outlets during the negotiating process.
Members who voted were 97.91% in favor of a strike authorization, the union said on June 5. Earlier in June, hundreds of prominent actors signed a letter urging union leadership to hold out for a transformative deal, adding that they were ready to strike, Rolling Stone and other media outlets reported.
The Writers Guild of America has been striking for more than eight weeks. If it was joined on strike by film and television actors, it would represent a complete shutdown for Hollywood.
“We believe this is a potential body blow for content getting moved out into 2024 as the strikes threaten streaming content and the hearts and lungs of Hollywood,” Ives said. “If the writers strike goes past Labor Day weekend this becomes a code red. Netflix and Apple among many others watching this carefully.”
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com
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