Global Courant
A United Parcel Service (UPS) driver pushes a cart of packages to a delivery truck on a New York street.
Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
UPS and the Teamsters union, which represents 340,000 workers at the parcel carrier, said on Tuesday they have reached a preliminary labor agreement that includes wage increases for both full-time and part-time workers and narrowly avoids a possible strike that could have started next week.
“Together, we have reached a win-win-win agreement on the issues that matter to Teamsters leadership, our employees, and to UPS and our customers,” UPS CEO Carol Tome. “This agreement continues to reward UPS’s full and part-time employees with industry-leading compensation and benefits while maintaining the flexibility we need to remain competitive, serve our customers and keep our business strong.”
It was the latest in a series of labor agreements where workers, from pilots to aerospace workers, have pushed for and received higher wages.
Existing part-time workers will earn a minimum of $21 an hour if workers approve the new contract, the union said. Full-time employees will cost an average of $49 per hour. It would also end mandatory overtime on drivers’ days off, according to an outline of the Teamsters’ contract. UPS did not immediately confirm the potential new wage.
The tentative deal is subject to employee approval. The union could have launched a massive strike after July 31 if the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
“The union took this fight to win for our members. We demanded the best contract in UPS history, and we got it,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations.”
Some recent labor negotiations have yielded no deals. On Monday, pilots at UPS are rivals FedEx rejected a preliminary employment contract, with 57% voting against the agreement.
