Atlanta based shipping giant UPS, Teamsters union agree to earlier contract talks

ATLANTA - United Parcel Service Inc. and the Teamsters union said Tuesday they have agreed to open talks this month on a new contract. The current, five-year contract expires July 31. <br> <br> UPS hopes the early talks will help avoid the sort of crippling strike that hobbled the package-delivery giant for 15 days in August 1997. The two sides started negotiating their last contract in March. <br> <br> The Teamsters and UPS will swap proposals Jan. 30 in Washington. <br> <br> &#34;We know our employees and customers want to see a new agreement negotiated as soon as practical,&#34; said Chris Mahoney, UPS senior vice president of transportation. <br> <br> The Teamsters&#39; contract with UPS is the largest collective bargaining agreement in the nation, covering 230,000 union workers. Atlanta-based UPS is the nation&#39;s largest freight hauler, with about 370,000 employees. <br> <br> UPS shares rose 11 cents to close at $57.22 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. <br> <br>