Online sellers were sweating it out as the potential for a UPS strike drew near, but crisis averted – UPS announced on Tuesday it had reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing hundreds of thousands of UPS employees in the US.
We began receiving questions from readers about the impact of a strike on deliveries. Just prior to the agreement, we had asked UPS what would happen to packages still in the stream if the strike took place – it turns out the company was training employees.
“We started these negotiations prepared to increase the already industry-leading pay and benefits we provide our full and part-time union employees and are committed to reaching an agreement that will do just that,” a representative said.
But, they added, “Many of our U.S. employees are participating in training that would help them safely serve our customers if there is a labor disruption. This temporary plan has no effect on current operations and the industry-leading service our people continue to provide for our customers. This training is aligned with our ongoing commitment to safety and business continuity. These activities also will not take away from our ongoing efforts to finalize a new contract that increases our employees’ already industry-leading wages and benefits, allows UPS to remain competitive and provides certainty for our customers and the U.S. economy.”
In the post announcing the tentative agreement, UPS CEO Carol Tome said, “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. This agreement continues to reward UPS’s full- and part-time employees with industry-leading pay and benefits while retaining the flexibility we need to stay competitive, serve our customers and keep our business strong.”
The five-year agreement covers U.S. Teamsters-represented employees in small-package roles and is subject to voting and ratification by union members, according to the shipping carrier’s announcement.
The union also issued an announcement in which it highlighted provisions of the agreement, which it said protected and rewarded over 340,000 UPS Teamsters nationwide. It said the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee unanimously endorsed the five-year tentative agreement. Member voting begins August 3 and concludes August 22.
Highlights of the tentative 2023-2028 UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement include:
Historic wage increases. Existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023. Over the length of the contract, wage increases will total $7.50 per hour.
Existing part-timers will be raised up to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment would still receive all new general wage increases.
General wage increases for part-time workers will be double the amount obtained in the previous UPS Teamsters contract — and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years.
Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour.
Current UPS Teamsters working part-time would receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings.
New part-time hires at UPS would start at $21 per hour and advance to $23 per hour.
All UPS Teamster drivers classified as 22.4s would be reclassified immediately to Regular Package Car Drivers and placed into seniority, ending the unfair two-tier wage system at UPS.
Safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024. All cars get two fans and air induction vents in the cargo compartments.
All UPS Teamsters would receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time.
No more forced overtime on Teamster drivers’ days off. Drivers would keep one of two workweek schedules and could not be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days.
UPS Teamster part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December.
The creation of 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work.
More than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement — more than any other time in Teamsters history — and zero concessions from the rank-and-file.
Major rate increase coming
And for all the Sellers who have complained that USPS is more expensive than UPS, should think again. Maybe UPS was cheaper than USPS because UPS didn’t pay well for their part-time employees.