Teamsters and UPS announced the two sides have reached a tentative deal on Tuesday, a week before their current deal is set to expire. This will potentially stave off a strike which would have started as soon as the current agreement expired.
“UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing about 330,000 UPS employees in the U.S., have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement,” UPS said in a statement announcing the agreement.
Carol Tomé, UPS’s CEO, called it “win-win-win” for the union, the carrier, and its customers. Teamsters also proclaimed it a win for the union.
According to Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters’ General President, UPS added an additional $30 billion in new money during the negotiations.
O’Brien stated, “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.”
The full terms of the agreement are not known at this time, but Teamsters released highlights of the tentative agreement, which will run into 2028. Among these highlights are:
- Wage increases of $2.75 per hour and $7.50 per hour over the length of the contract for current full- and part-time UPS Teamsters
- Increased minimum wage for current part-time employees to $21 per hour starting immediately.
- The end of the two-tier wage system at UPS.
- Added safety and health precautions for Teamsters.
- The creation of 7,500 new full-time positions for Teamsters are UPS.
This new agreement still requires ratification by Teamsters union members.
Stay tuned to Next Sights for more updates in the coming days.