UPS Avoids Major Strike In New Deal With Union

The labor union giant Internal Brotherhood of Teamsters has reached a tentative deal in negotiations with the United Parcel Service (UPS), avoiding a costly strike of 340,000 delivery drivers.

Teamsters, a union that traditionally covers drivers and boasts 1.2 million members, has reached a tentative deal with UPS in heated negotiations that have been ongoing since August of last year, narrowly beating the expiration of the current contract on July 31, according to a Teamsters press release. The tentative deal boasts higher wages, more jobs, equal pay, air conditioning for drivers and Martin Luther King Jr. Day off.

“We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in the press release. “UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations. 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. This contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers.”

The deal delivers an immediate $2.75 per hour pay increase for full and part-time workers and an eventual $7.50 increase over the term of the 5-year contract, according to the press release. In-cab air conditioning on all larger vehicles, sprinter vans and package cars will be required for vehicles purchased after Jan. 1, 2024, and all cars will get two fans and air induction vents for cargo compartments.