Michael Hiltzik: A Teamsters strike against UPS could remake the union movement for the better
Over the last year, unionization drives by Starbucks baristas and Amazon warehouse workers have all but monopolized the attention of the labor organizing world.
That may be why the most important development in the field has operated under the radar until very recently. We're talking about the contract talks between United Parcel Service and about 340,000 members of the Teamsters union.
The negotiations have already yielded an overwhelming vote by the members to strike if no deal is reached by July 31, when the current contract expires. Hand-wringing about the impact of a UPS strike has intensified lately, since the shutdown of a company that handles an estimated 6% of the nation's gross domestic product (according to UPS) could have dire economic consequences.
What's more important, however, is the impact that a successful negotiation or a strike could have on the health of American organized labor.
