Strike Settlement: On Monday night of August 18th, 1997 the U.P.S. and the Teamsters five day marathon negotiation ended in a contract agreement. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman said, "Today, my faith in the collective bargaining process has been reaffirmed." Understanding the implication of this strike and what the Teamsters received from the negotiation, Ron Carey, the Teamsters President said, "This is not just a victory for Teamsters, it is a victory for all working people."

In the new contract, the Teamsters received increase in pension to $3000 per month for retired employees after working for 30 years. The pension fund will remain under the control of the union. Part time workers' salary will increase from $11 to $15 per hour and U.P.S. has agreed to create 10,000 full time jobs in the next five years duration of the contract.

The 15 day old Teamsters strike which paralyzed many small businesses across the nation had larger public support than anticipated. Earlier President Clinton resisted calls from businesses to intervene, however some labor leaders praised President Clinton's effort to stay out of the dispute. The President refused to intervene saying that the strike did not threaten national security, or health and therefore was unnecessary for him to get involved. He believes that the solution to such labor dispute lies on the bargaining table. However his Labor Secretary, Alexis Herman was involved in the entire process of the negotiation.

Although it seems to be a victory for organized labor, but the U.P.S. may decide to layoff close to 15,000 employees due to loss of business during the strike claiming that the company already lost 650 million dollars in revenue. James Kelly the company's C.E.O. said at the news conference in Washington where the agreement was announced, "The settlement could have been reached without a strike."

Strike Implications The strike may have national implications and a strong message to big businesses to watch out. An interesting observation about this settlement indicated that U.P.S. might have been forced back to the bargaining table because they were not winning much public support. As high as 60 percent of the nation supported the Teamsters strike which may be a red alert for many corporations across the country. Some people claimed that the labor power for collective bargaining will be regained and many companies with poor labor relations with their employees may need to re-evaluate their positions. The factor driving the public opinion may in part (if not majorly) be due to the extreme measures taken by many companies to down-size.This is forcing employees to do more with less staffing, and reduced benefits while creating the atmosphere of job insecurity and dangerously stressful job environments.

Psychologists have indicated that when workers are pushed too hard, they leave work over-stressed and usually ventilate their frustrations on their family members and in most cases children are on the receiving ends. Job stress is the number one complaint of workers across the nation because we are in a race with computers which are faster than humans. Therefore, the driving force for profit is higher than human endurance can withstand. As the job pressure builds up, many workers are reaching emotional breaking point before retirement. Who is nurturing the children when both the working parents are stretched to their limits by the time they get home? We may already be seeing the effects on our children as the rate of violent crimes by teenagers continues to rise across the nation.

Stiffening our heads as political conservatives and ignoring warning signs may set a pathway for dangerous social upheavals ahead. Money has never created a single evil, but the obsession with money (and power) --- called the excessive love for money has created many calamities. Sacrificing the emotional welfare of workers and that of their family members for huge profits may lead us into a disastrous future as a society. Job is meant to help us make a living, and not to help kill us! The historical pride of America is retained by those adherent qualities and values in maintaining the nuclear family, and not to tear it apart, just for the sake of money.

Nothing is wrong with a group of over-ambitious C.E.O.s wanting to make profits in a capitalistic society. But, how far do we go to achieve huge gains, and at what cost to society? Hopefully, we may avert future labor unrest if the chief executive officers of corporations will re-evaluate their positions on how far they are willing to push their employees before these laborers start cracking from inside.

'Yinka Vidal --- reporting for OUTCRY magazine, Lara Pub. St. Louis, MO.

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