Ups Standoff Hasn’t Ended In Chicago

United Parcel Service of America Inc. and a striking Teamsters local broke off talks temporarily Thursday, continuing the disruption of UPS ground service in the Chicago area.

More than 11,000 Teamsters represented by Local 705 continue to picket, two days after 190,000 workers nationwide agreed to a master contract and began returning to work. Chicago-area Locals 705 and 710, representing 21,000 Teamsters, historically work out separate contracts following consensus on the national pact.

Negotiations that began Wednesday at 1 p.m. were suspended around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, a local UPS spokesman said. Both sides confirmed talks are scheduled to resume today at 10 a.m.

Local 705 is attempting to reach an agreement patterned after the national contract but with differences on the transition from part-time to full-time work, work rules, health and safety issues, and pensions, the union said.