Some of the operations of United Parcel Service Canada are frozen due to a strike initiated today by Teamsters Canada, which represents 3,800 employees.
On October 1, UPS and the Teamsters reached a tentative collective agreement. The agreement was subsequently rejected by the Canadian Teamster membership last Thursday, who opted to strike instead. That move that surprised UPS executives.
“Subsequent to a postal vote ordered by the Teamsters Union, the 3,800 employees…have refused the offers made by the employer in the collection of a new collective agreement,” stated Teamsters Canada in a press release.
“We are extremely disappointed that the proposal was not accepted by the membership and that the Teamster leadership has initiated this unnecessary action,” stated UPS.
“There is no [labor] impact inside the U.S. It’s a Canadian issue only— the only effect [to the U.S.] is customer shipping to Canada,” Kristi Wilson, spokesperson for Atlanta-based UPS told Fleet Owner.
The following services are suspended:
- Pickup and delivery of all UPS Canada courier shipments destined for locations within Canada, to the U.S., or to Worldwide destinations
- UPS Standard to Canada
“UPS has implemented contingency plans to deliver all shipments picked up as of Thursday, November 18, however these shipments may continue to experience some delays,” UPS said.
The package delivery company’s Worldwide Express and UPS Worldwide Expedited services into Canada may experience delays, but will continue. Delivery guarantees to and within Canada are suspended.
“UPS is open and willing to meet with the union leadership, and we have been since the beginning,” said UPS’s Wilson, noting the increasing shipping volumes associated with the holiday season. “We can’t speculate as to how long it would be before a labor agreement can be reached. However, we’re very anxious to have a labor contract resolved.”
Teamsters Canada was contacted but had no further comments at press time.
