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September 1, 2006 9:00 AM, EDT

UPS Inc. and the Teamsters union will begin negotiations on a new contract Sept. 19, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

The talks, which the two sides agreed earlier this year to start well in advance of their current work agreement’s July 2008 expiration, will begin in Washington at union spokesman told Bloomberg.

The Teamsters requested an early start to the talks in June, saying the union couldn’t wait until late 2007 or 2008 to negotiate major issues like pensions and health care.

Bloomberg said the two sides are hoping to avoid a repeat of 2002 when they reached a contract agreement just two weeks before a strike deadline.

Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell also told Bloomberg that the union would start talks on Sept. 6 in Indianapolis to begin unionizing the former Overnite Transportation, which UPS acquired last year and rebranded as UPS Freight.