IPA Strike Vote Results
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPS Pilots Offer Assistance to Victims of Hurricane Katrina; IPA Delays Request for Release from Mediation Due to National Emergency
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 (Louisville, KY)- “After nearly three years of negotiations, the Independent Pilots Association (the UPS Pilots’ Union) intended to request release from mediation today. However, in light of the national tragedy following Hurricane Katrina, IPA pilots want to assist Gulf Coast residents by volunteering to fly relief missions to Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, without pay. We have also reached out to UPS to coordinate with the Company on this effort so that we can all do out part to help during this national emergency,” said Captain Tom Nicholson, President of the Independent Pilots Association.
As scheduled, the IPA has released the results of its final strike authorization vote, which was approved by a margin of 99% to 1%. Out of 2,459 IPA pilots eligible to vote, 97.7% participated in the balloting, which was held between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31.
“By any measure, this is a strong show of solidarity among our crewmembers and a crushing rejection of UPS’s best offer after thirty two months of negotiations in five key contract areas: Scope, Scheduling, Retirement, Benefits and Compensation,” said Captain Nicholson. He went on to say, “ The five pilot IPA Executive Board is now fully authorized by the membership to request relief--at a more appropriate time--and to call a strike at the end of a thirty day cooling off period. For now, our thoughts and prayers remain with hurricane victims. We hope to work closely with UPS to provide much needed aid and relief to impacted areas.
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Raw vote total --
Eligible to vote: 2459
Ballots Received: 2403
Yes Votes: 2382 / 99%
No Votes: 21 / 1%