UPS reaches tentative deal with union, possibly averting strike – National & International News – TUE 25Jul2023

UPS, Teamsters reach tentative union deal, possibly averting strike.

Judge blocks Biden’s new asylum restrictions.

N. Korea stonewalling on condition of US soldier.

NATIONAL NEWS

UPS, Teamsters reach tentative union deal, possibly averting strike

Today’s talks between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters – the union that represents 340,000 UPS workers – has produced a tentative deal that will avert a strike that would have begun when the current contract expires on July 31. UPS union members must still vote to approve the deal with voting beginning on August 3 and concludes August 22. 

UPS’ profits soared 140% during the pandemic with workers bearing up under ever-growing workloads. Teamsters’ leader Sean O’Brien warned yesterday that his members were “fired up” to strike if their demands weren’t met. Initial reporting suggests that Teamsters negotiators succeeded in securing most of their demands from UPS management. The proposed contract will:

• End an unfair and unpopular two-tiered employee compensation system.
• Increase hourly pay significantly, especially for part-time workers who get a 48% increase over the life of the 5-year contract.
• End forced overtime on employees’ off days.
• Make Martin Luther King Day a paid holiday for all UPS workers.
• Install air conditioning on delivery vehicles purchased after Jan. 1, 2024 and install fans and air vents on existing trucks.

O’Brien said in a statement that UPS put another $30 billion towards their workforce as a result of the negotiations. The terms of the contract represent a much-needed victory for organized labor in the US. Over the last two years, many “essential workers” in service and logistics sectors who worked through the pandemic under difficult conditions have sought better pay and work, with only limited success. 

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Judge blocks Biden’s new asylum restrictions

US District Judge Jon Tigar in Oakland, CA, has struck down two key asylum restrictions that the Biden administration put into effect in May. These restrictions prevent migrants from seeking asylum in the US if they: (1) cross the border illegally or (2) come to the US through a third country like Mexico without seeking asylum there first. Tigar ruled that these new conditions are unlawful since they penalize asylum-seekers in a way that Congress did not intend.

The Department of Justice asked Judge Tigar for a 14-day stay before his new ruling went into effect, which Tigar granted. Administration officials credit the new rules with a dramatic drop in illegal border crossings in the last two months. The restrictions are meant to push migrants to make appointments for asylum interviews at regular border checkpoints.

To make appointments, migrants have to download a Department of Homeland Security mobile app called CBP1, which has been plagued with problems since its roll-out. Despite the fact that the app being more of a hindrance to migrants than a help, the administration is facing another lawsuit over it from immigration hawks.

Hardliners argue that the app and another application process that that encourages migrants to seek asylum from their home countries make it too easy for migrants to come to the US. Like the restrictions struck down by Tigar, opponents of these new asylum pathways say the White House exceeded its authority by creating them.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

N. Korea stonewalling on condition of US soldier

State Department officials and UN Command have reached out to North Korea to learn the status of Private Second Class Travis King who crossed into North Korean territory last week. PV2 King was due to return to the US but instead booked a tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. During the tour, he sprinted over the border and into North Korean custody. King’s family say he was under mental and emotional strain for several months before the incident.

US officials say the North Koreans haven’t been forthcoming about King’s condition. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said yesterday, “We have not even learned about [King’s] whereabouts, about his status, about his safety”. The assumption is that North Korea may want something in exchange for his release, but there’s no word on what those demands might be.

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