Teamsters Local 804 warns UPS workers on layoffs and union rights

UPS is imposing layoffs, and Teamsters Local 804 has already named the first three affected buildings: Suffolk, Foster and Laurelton. For package handlers, part-time hub workers, drivers and mechanics, the immediate issue is not rumor control, it is whether management is following the contract and whether you are preserving every right tied to seniority, recall and pay.

What Local 804 says the contract protects

The local is pointing workers to Article 13, Section 9 on Reduction of Staff, and says no regular package car drivers can be laid off as long as 22.4 drivers are working. Layoffs at UPS rarely stop with the people sent home first; they can alter overtime, reshape bid lists and slow the path from part-time work to full-time driving.

For 22.4 workers, Local 804 says seniority still gives you options. You can use seniority to work out of another building where there are trainees, work two inside shifts at your 22.4 rate of pay, or take a layoff. The key is to know which bucket you fall into before management treats a temporary reduction as if it were a permanent downgrade.

The first moves to make when your hours or building assignment change

1. Put the change in writing as fast as you can

If a supervisor says your shift is shortened, your building is losing work, or your route is being cut, write down the date, time, location, the name of the person who told you, and exactly what was said. In a UPS operation, a verbal announcement can turn into a lasting schedule change very quickly, and the difference between a temporary cut and a formal layoff can determine whether you keep priority for work or lose ground.

Keep copies of schedules, bid sheets, time records, texts and any bulletin that mentions the change. If your building is Suffolk, Foster or Laurelton, note that explicitly, because the contract fight is going to turn on where management tried to reduce staff and whether it did so under Article 13, Section 9.

2. Get a steward involved immediately

Do not wait until the week is over or the schedule resets. A steward can help you frame the issue as a contract problem, not just a staffing decision, and can push management on whether a layoff is temporary, permanent or improperly assigned under seniority rules.

This is especially important for part-time hub workers and anyone trying to move into a driving slot, because a bad layoff decision can ripple into overtime opportunities, full-time progression and future bids. If you are a supervisor inside a Teamsters-organized operation, the same document trail matters, because a bad reduction of staff can become a grievance fast.

3. Ask the right questions before you accept the change

The first question is whether the layoff is temporary or permanent. The second is whether seniority is being honored. The third is whether the company is treating 22.4 rights the way the contract requires.

If management tells you there is no work, that does not answer the contract question. The real issue is whether UPS is applying the reduction correctly, whether you are being offered the options you are entitled to, and whether the building is being cut in a way that shifts work onto the people who stay.

Why the 2023 contract fight still matters

UPS and the Teamsters reached a tentative five-year labor deal on July 25, 2023, averting a strike before the July 31 deadline, and the national agreement covers August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2028.

The regional pieces were still unsettled as the deadline approached. On April 12, 2023, the Teamsters said only 10 of 40 regional supplements had been resolved at that point. So when workers are told to accept a staffing cut as a simple business choice, the better question is whether the move fits the national agreement and the local supplement that governs that building.

Why workers are skeptical of “just business” explanations

On January 30, 2024, UPS said it would cut 12,000 jobs after forecasting 2024 revenue below expectations, and that it was exploring options for its Coyote business. In the same winter period, Local 804 said, "With peak season over and volume down, the company wants payback. They are going to get fightback instead..." and pointed to UPS making "only" $9.9 billion in profit in 2023.

In February 2023, UPS was cutting back some jobs as Teamster labor talks loomed. In December 2023, the Teamsters said UPS fired about 35 newly organized U.S. workers.

What the broader UPS pattern means now

In January 2026, UPS planned to eliminate 30,000 more jobs as Amazon volume cuts reshaped its workforce strategy, and in February 2026 the Teamsters urged a judge to block UPS from offering $150,000 buyouts to drivers.