Teamsters, UPS Back At The Table

Poll: Public supports workers over management by a 55-27 percent margin

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Aug. 14) -- As Teamster leaders and United Parcel Service negotiators resumed informal talks today, a new poll suggests most people believe President Bill Clinton should stay on the sidelines, and that public sympathy is with the striking UPS workers.

A new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll found that by a 55-27 percent margin, the public supports striking workers over UPS in the dispute. At the same time, though, nearly two-thirds of people surveyed agreed with UPS that striking workers should get a chance to vote on the current contract offer.

Only 21 percent believe Clinton should intervene and order strikers back to work, and only 28 percent said they had personally been affected by the strike. The poll numbers are based on interviews with 819 adults Aug. 12-13 and the survey has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.

At the urging of Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, the two sides met at a Washington hotel for what they called informal discussion, not negotiations. There was little obvious movement toward a settlement of the 11-day-old strike.

But UPS Chief Executive Officer James P. Kelly said if the informal talks move forward, the company was willing to begin negotiations on a new proposal different from what had been its "last, best and final offer."

"There are dozens of important, very serious issues that have not been resolved," Kelly told The Associated Press. "And if they're all resolved, we all recognize that some of them would change."

On Wednesday, Herman spoke by phone with leaders of both sides and convinced them to return to the bargaining table.

"I am pleased that both sides have agreed to go back to the bargaining table," Herman said in a statement, "and I urge them to stay at the table until they reach a settlement."

Herman and a federal mediator, John Wells, sat in on the session.

Like Herman, Teamsters President Ron Carey also issued a written statement on the latest development.

"While there is no reason for optimism at this point, we will be there, ready to negotiate a reasonable agreement that provides the good jobs that American families need," Carey said.

At a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday afternoon, UPS spokeswoman Gina Ellrich again called on the union to allow its members to vote up or down on the contract the company has proposed.

"The union's refusal to put our offer out for a vote blocks better benefits for our people and robs them of their right to vote on their future," Ellrich said.

Carey said his membership gave him 95 percent support last month when they authorized a strike, but Ellrich said that vote was taken before the UPS plan was on the table and most Teamsters did not get to vote.

The Teamsters got moral support this morning from AFL-CIO chief John Sweeney, whose organization already has pledged financial backing to the Teamsters during the strike.

Sweeney told CNN's "Early Edition," "This is a very crucial strike ... The issues in this particular strike are issues that American workers are concerned about all across the country. I think that it's important that we lend as much support as we possibly can. And all of the unions of the AFL-CIO have committed themselves to this. We're hopeful that the contract will be resolved soon for these courageous workers, but we're going to be there for the Teamsters for as long as that takes."