By Mark Solomon of FreightWaves

UPS Teamsters will begin in-person voting this week to authorize the union’s leaders to call a strike in the event that the rank and file believe that the company refuses to negotiate a fair agreement before the current five-year contract expires July 31.

The strike authorization vote will be conducted at local union halls or at UPS locations designated by a specific local.

Voting must be completed by June 16.

A yes vote does not result in a strike. It only authorizes union leaders to call a strike if deemed necessary.

According to the dissident group Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a yes vote gives the union more leverage at the bargaining table, while a no vote would destroy its ability to win a fair contract because the company will feel there will be no opposition to a contract proposal.