The United Parcel Service (UPS) and the Teamsters union have announced that the two sides have struck a deal on a new contract, averting the threat of a strike.
The new contract, which Teamsters called “lucrative,” raises wages for all 340,000 or so unionized UPS workers, adopts dozens of workplace protections and improvements, and creates more full-time jobs.
“Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting profits," Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement obtained by The Epoch Times.
“We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,” O'Brien said.
The new five-year contract, which was endorsed unanimously by the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee, ensures $30 billion in additional funds from UPS.
“Together we reached a win-win-win agreement on the issues that are important to Teamsters leadership, our employees and to UPS and our customers,” Carol Tomé, UPS chief executive officer, said in a statement obtained by The Epoch Times.
The current UPS Teamsters collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on July 31 and members were set to strike on Aug. 1 if negotiations were to break down.
“UPS came dangerously close to putting itself on strike, but we kept firm on our demands," Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said in a statement.
Contract Details
Under the deal, which still needs to be ratified in an internal union vote, existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will receive $2.75 more per hour in 2023 and $7.50 more per hour over the duration of the five-year contract.Existing part-time workers will get an immediate pay increase to $21 per hour, with new part-time hires starting at $21 per hour and advancing to $23 per hour.
Overall, part-time workers will see a double increase in general wage raises compared to the previous contract, receiving an average total wage increase of 48 percent over five years.
Full-time UPS Teamsters will become the highest-paid delivery drivers in the nation, with an average top rate of $49 per hour.
“We’ve changed the game, battling it out day and night to make sure our members won an agreement that pays strong wages, rewards their labor, and doesn’t require a single concession,” O'Brien said of the wage bump and other benefits.
The contract also addresses Teamsters’ safety and health concerns, including ones related to heat safety, by equipping all larger delivery vehicles and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024 with in-cab air conditioning.
The agreement also ensures no more forced overtime on scheduled days off for Teamster drivers and prioritizes part-time UPS Teamsters for seasonal support work, providing an eight-hour guarantee and limiting seasonal work to five weeks.
The contract creates 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs and fills 22,500 open positions, offering more opportunities for part-timers to transition to full-time work.
Also, all UPS Teamsters will receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday.
“We’ve hit every goal that UPS Teamster members wanted and asked for with this agreement. It’s a ‘yes’ vote for the most historic contract we’ve ever had,” Brandy Harris, a part-time UPS Teamster with Local 174 in Seattle and a member of the Teamsters National Negotiating Committee, said in a statement.
On July 31, representatives from the 176 UPS Teamster locals in the United States and Puerto Rico will review and recommend the tentative agreement, according to the Teamsters.
Strike Threat
The deal was struck against the backdrop of a looming strike threat, after labor negotiations broke down on July 5.Talks between the Teamsters and UPS began in April over terms for extending the existing five-year contract for another period.
Earlier in July, UPS said it would temporarily start training nonunion employees in case a strike were to take place.
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) warned that major supply-chain issues would unfold if the union goes on strike and that it could cause billions of dollars in economic losses.
The association said that any disruption in UPS deliveries would have broad consequences because the company handles about a quarter of all U.S. parcel shipments, including deliveries for Amazon, prescription drugs for hospitals, and supplies for millions of small businesses.
A 10-day strike could cost the U.S. economy more than $7 billion, according to a recent estimate from Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan-based research and consulting firm.
UPS is the second-largest package delivery service in the United States—just behind the U.S. Postal Service—and delivers roughly 20 million packages per day.