UPS and Teamsters reach agreement

Avoid strike at Centennial Hub facility in Louisville

UPS and Teamsters in Louisville have reached an agreement that has prevented a strike at the Centennial Hub facility, 8100 Air Commerce Drive.

Late Thursday, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing 340,000 UPS workers nationwide, made an announcement that UPS workers in Louisville were considering go on strike Monday, claiming the company had committed unfair labor practices.

Avral Thompson, president of Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville, previously told the Courier Journal the issue that led to the strike threat was that the union worked to unionize a group of employees who had previously been non-union workers at UPS. After going through arbitration, these workers were deemed union eligible, and the workers voted to join the Teamsters.

Shortly after voting to join the union, 35 specialist and administrative workers at Centennial Hub were laid off. Those workers have since been reinstated. Jim Mayer, a spokesperson for UPS, previously told the Courier Journal, “We regularly align our staffing with the needs of our business, and as a result a small number of employees are being laid off at our Louisville Centennial Hub. UPS respects our employees’ rights to organize and we have not committed any unfair labor practices. Our ratified National Master Agreement with the Teamsters remains intact and we are committed to working with the Teamsters to resolve this separate matter with a small number of employees at Centennial. We do not expect disruptions to our Louisville operations and will continue to provide reliable service to our customers.”

The strike threat in Louisville came just four months after UPS and Teamsters avoided a nationwide strike during contract negotiations, eventually ratifying a contract that provided historic wage increases, air conditioning in vehicles and some 60 other improvements for union members.

“The union achieved a great result for our UPS members in Louisville, and we couldn’t be happier to see them clock back in as Teamsters,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a tweet

announcing there would be no strike. “Both sides immediately came together and were able to resolve the situation on the ground. This is the outcome we were looking for. Now it’s time to do what the Teamsters do best, and that’s get back to work.”

At Centennial Hub, Teamsters Local 89 represents roughly 2,000 members. The local union barn represents about 10,000 UPS workers total, including the workers at UPS Worldport, the shipping and logistics company’s global air hub and UPS Airlines headquarters.