photo credit: USDA
A UPS trucker in action.

One local teamsters union leader has something to say about what it means for Sonoma County: Michael Yates.

"So nothing's over till it's over," Yates said. "This is a huge, huge contract, largest private sector contract in the United States."

Yates is president of Teamsters Local 665 - the Northern California branch of the Teamsters union.

"We represent about 700 full-time and part-time employees throughout the North Bay," Yates said.

While everything else has been agreed upon for a new contract between UPS and the Teamsters, the dollar difference has proved too much.

"The negotiations ended Wednesday at four o'clock in the morning with both sides not agreeing with each other," Yates said.

The Teamsters have called UPS’s final offer “unacceptable”.

With no new negotiations imminent, over 300,000 UPS workers around the country are poised to go on strike when the current contract expires at the end of July - including in Sonoma County.

"There's talk about a strike, and we have done practice pickets," Yates said. "We're doing one in Petaluma next week."

97% of UPS workers nationwide have approved a strike - which would begin August 1st - and Yates said North Bay UPS workers are ready for a worst case scenario.

"I would hope that both sides are able to come to a resolution very quick and cause as little disruption to the public as possible," Yates said.

Yates said the UPS workers are ready to stand strong.

"If it ends up we don't have a strike, that will be better for everyone," Yates said. "But sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in."

Both sides have accused the other of walking away from the bargaining table, but no new negotiations have been scheduled before the end of the month - UPS has called for a return to negotiations to avoid major disruptions to the economy.