March 25, 2005 10:00 AM, EST

UPS Pilots Union to Hold Strike-Authorization Vote

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ilots at UPS Inc. said they would vote on whether to let their union call a strike if a new contract isn't reached, news services reported.

UPS and the Independent Pilots Association, representing about 2,500 UPS pilots, have been in talks since October 2002, and a federal mediator has overseen negotiations for the past eight months, Bloomberg reported. UPS air deliveries accounted for $9.2 billion, or 35%, of its U.S. package revenue last year.

UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre told Bloomberg that progress was being made between the sides. Further talks were scheduled the weeks of May 16 and May 23.

Results of the vote were not expected until mid-May, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Under the Railway Labor Act, the pilots can't strike while mediated talks are ongoing and no timetable has been set for when the talks will end, the Associated Press reported.

UPS is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies.

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