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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ups Sends Managers To Spokane To Help Clear Logjam

Hannelore Sudermann Staff Writer

Though negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters Union are again under way, the local outposts for both groups are preparing to weather the strike.

Starting Wednesday evening, the UPS center in Spokane welcomed more than a dozen managers and supervisors who came from the Seattle area to help unload the trailers and make deliveries.

“We’re trying to even out the service,” said Al Rapp, a spokesman for the company in Seattle.

“Spokane is a big operation in our state and it needed a little bit of assistance.”

The west-siders who have come over to work are either from the area or had at one time worked in Spokane, Rapp said. “It’s like coming home for them.”

Statewide, delivery volume is up, Rapp said.

Meanwhile, the pickets are sweating through the hot August days on the streets in front of the Spokane center and at the plants in North Idaho.

Since the strike began, they’ve added beach umbrellas and tents for shade. Few are complaining, though. They say it’s cooler outside than inside the brown UPS delivery trucks.

Those at the Teamsters Local 690 spent Thursday distributing a comparison of the UPS-offered pensions with the Teamsters plan. They are also working on letters to UPS customers discouraging them from using UPS during the strike.

, DataTimes