David
Paul
Morris
|
Bloomberg
|
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UPS
workers
ratified
a
massive
five-year
labor
deal
that
includes
big
wage
increases
and
other
improvements
to
work
rules
and
schedules,
the
International
Brotherhood
of
Teamsters
said
Tuesday.
The
deal
passed
with
86.3%
of
votes,
the
highest
contract
vote
in
the
history
of
Teamsters
at
UPS,
according
to
the
union.
“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,”
Teamsters
General
President
Sean
O’Brien
said
in
a
statement.
UPS
and
the
Teamsters
union,
which
represents
about
340,000
workers
at
the
delivery
giant,
reached
a
preliminary
deal
last
month,
narrowly
averting
a
strike
that
could
have
rippled
across
the
U.S.
economy
as
the
previous
contract
expiration
on
July
31
approached.
UPS
moves
$3.8
billion
worth
of
goods
a
day,
which
is
about
5%
of
the
country’s
gross
domestic
product,
according
to
the
U.S.
Chamber
of
Commerce.
The
parties
had
until
July
31,
when
the
previous
labor
contract
was
set
to
expire,
to
reach
a
deal
and
avoid
a
work
stoppage.
Workers
began
voting
on
the
new
contract
Aug.
2.
It’s
the
single-largest
collective
bargaining
agreement
reached
in
the
private
sector,
according
to
the
union.
Part-time
workers
will
make
no
less
than
$21
an
hour,
up
from
a
minimum
of
$15.50
currently,
according
to
the
union.
Part-time
pay
was
a
sticking
point
during
labor
negotiations.
Full-time
workers
will
average
$49
an
hour.
Current
workers
will
get
$2.75
more
an
hour
this
year
and
$7.50
an
hour
more
over
the
five-year
contract.
UPS
drivers
will
average
$170,000
in
pay
and
benefits
at
the
end
of
the
five-year
deal,
said
CEO
Carol
Tomé
on
an
earnings
call
earlier
this
month.
The
company
cut its
full-year
revenue
and
margin
forecasts,
citing
the
“volume
impact
from
labor
negotiations
and
the
costs
associated
with
the
tentative
agreement.”
The
union
is
the
latest
labor
organization
to
push
a
major
U.S.
company
for
better
pay,
schedules
and
other
work
rules
in
the
wake
of
the
Covid-19
pandemic
and
decades-high
inflation.
On
Monday,
American
Airlines
pilots
ratified
a
four-year
deal
that
includes
roughly
46%
increases
in
compensation,
including
401(k)
contributions,
a
deal
the
carrier
sweetened
after
rival
United
Airlines
reached
a
richer
agreement
with
its
pilots’
union.
Delta
Air
Lines‘
pilots
approved
their
deal,
which
includes
more
than
30%
raises,
earlier
this
year.
Southwest
Airlines
hasn’t
yet
gotten
to
a
deal
with
its
pilots’
union,
which
has
laid
the
groundwork
for
a
potential
strike,
though
such
stoppages
in
the
airline
industry
are
exceedingly
rare
under
U.S.
laws.
FedEx
pilots
turned
down
a
tentative
agreement
for
a
new
labor
contract
earlier
this
summer.
