INDIANA – Members of the Teamsters union have ratified a five-year deal with UPS, putting an end to the threat of a strike that could have involved around 340,000 UPS workers.
“This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement Tuesday. “Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry. This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention.”
The union said 86% of members voted for the five-year contract, which includes across-the-board pay raises.
The new agreement eliminates a widely criticized two-tiered wage system and institutes raises across UPS’ workforce. Current full- and part-time union workers are guaranteed a $2.75 hourly pay increase this year, the Teamsters said, amounting to a $7.50 hourly increase through the duration of the contract. Pay for existing and starting part-time workers will be raised to at least $21 an hour immediately, advancing to $23 per hour.
Current part-timers also won longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 an hour. Wage increases for full-time drivers would bring their average top rate to $49 an hour, the union said.
The company also agreed to address the complaints that 95,000 delivery vans in its US fleet do not have air conditioning. Although UPS did not agree to retrofit the existing vans with air conditioning, it did agree to purchase only air-conditioned vehicles starting next year.
