By Colin Kellaher


United Parcel Service on Wednesday said it hasn't walked away from contract talks with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and that it is encouraging the union to continue negotiations on a new labor deal that would avert a crippling strike.

The Teamsters earlier Wednesday said weeks-long labor talks had collapsed, and that UPS had walked away from the bargaining table after the union's negotiating committee rejected what it termed an "unacceptable offer."

However, Atlanta-based UPS said in a statement that it is the Teamsters who stopped negotiating, and that the package-delivery giant's offer "builds on our industry-leading pay."

The union, which represents more 340,000 full- and part-time UPS workers, said earlier that no further talks are scheduled, and that its members won't work beyond the July 31 expiration of the current contract, which was signed in 2018.

UPS workers who are represented by the union last month voted to authorize a strike if talks with the company don't yield a new deal.

"We have nearly a month left to negotiate," UPS said. "We have not walked away, and the union has a responsibility to remain at the table."


Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-05-23 0739ET