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BOURBON - While the United Parcel Service strike is affecting the rest of the country, packages in most parts of northern Indiana are still getting delivered - while they last.
As of Thursday, the UPS delivery center in Bourbon still had about five drivers working, and no picketers, said Gary Langston, district quality manager for Indiana.
That's because the Bourbon center is under the jurisdiction of Teamsters Local 710 out of Chicago, he said. They are still Teamsters, but they negotiated their own contract with the company earlier. When the international union called the strike, Langston said, Local 710 decided not to strike.
Still, 87 people in Bourbon have been laid off, and the remaining five may not have jobs if the packages they're delivering stop coming.
"The packages are dwindling, that's for sure," Langston said.
Langston neither confirmed nor denied reports of the UPS drivers being harassed by other truck drivers and by customers who belong to unions. "I have not heard anything directly," he said.
There are 12 delivery centers in Indiana besides Bourbon that fall under the jurisdiction of Local 710, including facilities in Westville, Elkhart, South Bend, Waterloo and Fort Wayne.
National reports of the strike said the Teamsters and the company were negotiating, but no accord had been reached. UPS customers are using alternative methods of shipping boxes, and there is some speculation on whether UPS's business will be as strong after the strike as it was before.
