DAYTON DAILY NEWS                   Copyright (c) 1997, Dayton Newspapers Inc.DATE: Tuesday, August 19, 1997              TAG: 9708190141EDITION: CITY          SECTION: NEWS        PAGE: 1A SOURCE: By Kevin Galvin ASSOCIATED PRESS                                     LABOR                               UPS, UNION AGREE Sources say strike near end    The Teamsters union and United Parcel Service reached a tentative agreementto end a 15-day strike that disrupted package deliveries nationwide, twosources close to the talks said.   A news conference to announce the deal was scheduled for late Monday night,said the sources, who demanded anonymity.   A weekend of virtually nonstop talks - more than 80 hours since Thursday -preceded the settlement, which was forged under direct pressure from LaborSecretary Alexis Herman and some prodding from President Clinton.   Details of the agreement were not immediately announced, but a sourcefamiliar with the details said it was for a five-year contract that increasedthe base wage for part-time workers and did not include a contentious pensionproposal made by the company.   The Teamsters, representing nearly two-thirds of UPS' 302,000 U.S.employees, went on strike Aug. 4. Their contract expired July 31.   On a normal business day, UPS moves 12 million bundles and parcels, or theequivalent of 5 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. But with thesupport of package delivery giant's 2,000 pilots, the Teamsters virtually shutthe company down, leaving business owners scrambling to find alternativecarriers.   It was not clear if the workers would return to their jobs immediately, orif they would wait for local union leaders to send the contract out to theirmembers for a vote.   During the walkout, the union insisted that the company add more full-timepositions. It also opposed UPS' plan to withdraw from the Teamsters'multi-employer pension and health funds and establish a separate benefit fundfor UPS workers.   Pressure on both sides escalated during the strike's second week. Thecompany estimated its losses at up to $300 million in business each week andthe union owed picketers about $10 million in weekly strike benefits.   The Clinton administration had resisted calls from business groups tointervene and end the strike. The White House said the work stoppage did notpose a threat to the nation's safety and health, the standard for interventionunder the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act.   But by publicly urging both sides back to the bargaining table, and byremaining in the hotel where the talks took place, Herman raised the pressurefor an end to the biggest strike in more than two decades.   This was Herman's first major test, and it was a shining moment. Organizedlabor had resisted her nomination, and her battle for confirmation to lead theLabor Department dragged on for months.   The first hint of progress came last Thursday, when UPS CEO James Kellysuggested the company was willing to modify its ``last, best and final offer''and Labor Department officials described the day's discussions ``substantiveand detailed.''   But the talks dragged on.   Another high point came Sunday, when President Clinton said the union andthe company should ``redouble their efforts and settle this strike and theyought to do it today.''   They missed his deadline by one day.   Throughout the standoff, the company had sought to bypass union negotiatorsand appeal directly to employees by distributing copies of its proposal atplant gates and through the mail, and insisting that its final offer be put toa vote.   Teamsters president Ron Carey had insisted that the union would not agreeto any offer unless it included more full-time jobs and limits onsubcontracting.   About 58 percent of UPS jobs are filled by part-time workers, and their $8an hour base salary has not increased since 1982. The company created 46,000jobs in the last year - 38,000 of them part-time.   In addition to an annual 1.5 percent wage increase for full-time workers,the company's original offer included a $3,060 bonus for full-time employees.Full-time UPS drivers earn $19.95 an hour on average.   The original package included a $1,530 bonus for part-timers, but no wageincrease.   The company proposal had included 1,000 new full-time jobs. In addition,UPS said it would favor part-time workers for the next 10,000 full-timeopenings.   The company also insisted on a controversial change in the pension plan.UPS said the average employee's pension would increase by 50 percent, but theunion had adamantly opposed the company's withdrawal from 31 regional plans inwhich UPS helped underwrite pensions for union members who worked forless-successful companies.LENGTH:   98 linesILLUSTRATION: PHOTOS:          (1) Picketers at the West Carrollton UPS branch celebrate late          Monday night.          JIM WITMER/DAYTON DAILY NEWS          (2) Workers on the picket line outside the United Parcel Service          West Carrollton complex cheer after hearing a tentative settlement          had been reached between the Teamsters and UPS management.          JIM WITMER/DAYTON DAILY NEWS          (3) James Kelly          (4) Ron CareyCATEG: BUSINESS - COMPANIES       LABOR & THE WORKPLACESUBJ: STRIKE      LABOR AGREEMENT NA: UPS    TEAMSTERS    UNITED PARCEL SERVICE ENHANCER: ref5