UPDATE: Wednesday, July 5, 10 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
While progress has been made as the below article details, a lengthy negotiating session between United Parcel Service and union representatives for UPS delivery drivers and logistics workers concluded Wednesday morning without a final contract being reached for the workers. Both sides then accused the other of breaking off negotiations. As of this writing, further talks weren’t scheduled but that could change. A strike, if one were to proceed, would not commence until Aug. 1. UPS and its union workforce are expected to lose business if a deal isn’t inked soon, CNN reported.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and United Parcel Service (UPS) have reached a tentative agreement that will end a dual-wage system for delivery drivers in the unionized workers’ next contract – a key point of progress in ongoing negotiations that could ultimately help avoid a nationwide strike.

Some 340,000 UPS delivery drivers and logistics employees have authorized a strike to begin on Aug. 1 if a new contract for them isn’t reached by July 31 – the end of the current deal. Strike authorizations are a common tactic used to gain leverage in negotiations and don’t mean a strike is guaranteed.

Even so, things took a turn for the worse last week when Teamster negotiators walked away from the bargaining table demanding a “final best offer” from UPS. UPS came with a proposal and talks resumed over the weekend, with progress being made, according to various reports.

Per the Teamsters, a deal that’s been tentatively agreed to will end a two-tier system in which part-time workers get lower pay than full-time ones. Other key agreements included the end of forced overtime work on drivers’ days off and establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday.

Despite the progress, as of the morning of July 3, a final full contract had not yet been agreed to by the parties. Negotiations were continuing early in the week on important issues like wages and benefits.

“Make no mistake – we are not done,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said over the July 1 weekend. “UPS knows we must reach full agreement on other economic issues, including higher wages, within the next few days.”

Should the UPS Teamsters stop working, it would be the largest strike against a single employer in American history. The strike would cripple the operations of an essential delivery service provider that promotional products companies – and the U.S. economy more broadly – rely upon. UPS has remained emphatic throughout talks that a full contract will be agreed to before August and a strike averted.