By HARRY R. WEBER
Thursday, March 24, 2005 10:05 PM EST
ATLANTA - The executive board of the pilot union at UPS, the world's largest shipping carrier, has approved holding a strike authorization vote after protracted contract talks between the two sides broke down, the union said Thursday. <snip>
The two sides have been in federal mediated talks since last June but have not been able to reach agreement on issues involving scheduling, scope, compensation, pension and benefits.
A strike authorization vote allows the union to call a strike without polling its members again, but does not mean that a walkout is imminent.
Under the Railway Labor Act, the pilots can't strike while mediated talks are ongoing and no timetable has been set for when the talks will end. <snip>
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