A potentially crippling strike against United Parcel Service, certain to disrupt package shipments nationwide, began Sunday night as tens of thousands of workers walked out after talks between the company and its largest union broke down.
Three hours of last-minute negotiations between United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Sunday night failed to head off the strike, which will hurt thousands of businesses ranging from mail-order companies to railroads.
There were no plans last night for the two sides to return to the bargaining table.
Although the economy could surely absorb the impact of a short strike, the ripple effects would quickly multiply if the work stoppage dragged on for more than a few days.
About 1.5 million companies rely on UPS's fleet of brown vans to deliver 12 million packages daily.
The union and the world's largest delivery service have been unable to agree on a new contract for 185,000 of UPS's 302,000 U.S. workers covering wages, job creation, use of contractors and health and safety issues.
UPS, which normally handles 70% of domestic packages, has not revealed its contingency plans but expects to operate during a strike, delivering packages as fast as possible.
For some competitors, such as the U.S. Postal Service and Federal Express Corp., the strike will be a windfall, as they pick up defecting customers. Other shipping companies have said they do not plan increases in capacity, concentrating on their core customers. Indeed, industry analysts say UPS's rivals could not pick up all of the slack even if they tried.
Businesses have been preparing for a strike since last week. For example, clothing retailer Lands End has been warning customers to expect delays because most of its goods are shipped via UPS.
UPS volume has dropped about 8% in recent days as the strike threat loomed, costing the company about $5 million a day in business lost and causing a furlough of several thousand workers.
Teamsters President Ron Carey said he walked out of the talks because they became a waste of time. "The company has failed to recognize the needs of our members," Carey said last night as he left the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington, D.C., where the two sides had been bargaining. "We have exhausted every possible approach to try to resolve the problem."
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