UPS Talks Continue

WASHINGTON, D.C.: UPS trucks continued to roll after negotiations between the delivery giant and the Teamsters union continued past a strike deadline. Teamsters President Ron Carey said today that union workers would remain on the job as long as the two sides continue to talk. A federal mediator restarted the negotiations last night, averting a widespread walkout. The dispute centers on the Teamsters' insistence on a multi-employer pension pool, rather than a less-secure plan covering only UPS employees. The Teamsters are also pressing management to increase pay, limit subcontracting and create more full-time jobs. If the talks break down again, millions of parcels across the country could be stranded. Federal Express and the U.S. Postal Service are preparing to take up the slack, but say it may be difficult to handle UPS' volume of 12 million parcels and documents a day.