Portside

The Teamsters said Wednesday that high-stakes talks with UPS over a new contract for more than 340,000 workers have fallen apart after the company presented an offer that union negotiators deemed badly inadequate.

Following a marathon negotiating session that ran into the early hours of Wednesday morning, "UPS walked away from the bargaining table after presenting an unacceptable offer to the Teamsters that did not address members' needs," the Teamsters announced on social media.

"The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee unanimously rejected the package," the union said. "UPS refused to give the Teamsters a last, best, and final offer, telling the union the company had nothing more to give."

Teamsters president Sean O'Briencountered that "this multibillion-dollar corporation has plenty to give American workers—they just don't want to."

"UPS had a choice to make, and they have clearly chosen to go down the wrong road," said O'Brien.

Wednesday's development comes just weeks before the July 31 expiration of the current UPS-Teamsters contract. Last month, 97% of UPS workers represented by the Teamsters voted to authorize the largest single-employer strike in U.S. history if there's no acceptable contract deal in place by the end of July.

The Teamsters have touted significant tentative victories at the bargaining table in recent days, such as a deal with UPS to end a two-tiered wage system that left part-time workers earning significantly less than full-time employees.

But the union said late Tuesday that disputes remained over key economic issues, including wage increases.

"The UPS Teamsters contract covering more than 340,000 full- and part-time workers expires July 31. No additional negotiations are scheduled," the union emphasized on Wednesday. "The Teamsters have repeatedly made clear that UPS members will not work beyond the expiration of the current contract."

Jake Johnson is a staff writer for Common Dreams.