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The first nation-wide strike against UPS started on August 4, 1997. This strike was started by a particular union called the Teamsters. The Teamsters amassed in approximate numbers of 185,000 and cost the UPS company nearly fifty million dollars a day. Some fifty-seven percent of the UPS workers involved in the strike were part-time workers who wished to be treated as full-time employees. In addition to that, the strike cost the union around ten million a week in strike benefits. The main demand for the strikers was for ten thousand full-time jobs. Teamster president Ron Carey claimed that the union was "drawing the line on part-time work." But Teamsters union leadership agreed to a two-tier wage system and unlimited use of part-time workers, as far back as 1982. Over 110,000 of the strikers were part-time employees and making less than half pay. Since 1993 to 1997, UPS added 46,000 union jobs. Only 8,000 were full-time. If the Carey leadership was serious about fighting the exploitation of part-timers, they would demand equal pay and benefits for part-timers.
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