The UPS union recently threatened to strike for better working conditions and improved wages. If the union had gone through with the strike, it would have been one of the largest delivery system disruptions in U.S. history.
“The last nationwide walkout at UPS, in 1997, lasted 15 days and cost the company $850 million. A strike this year would have disrupted package deliveries for millions of customers across the U.S. It could have cost the U.S. economy more than $7 billion, according to economic estimates,” according to KCRW.
On July 25, 2023, UPS and the union announced an agreement on a five-year labor deal. The contract included wage raises for all workers, including part-time. The success of the deal became contingent upon whether the majority of workers voted to ratify it.
“UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations,” Teamsters‘ General President Sean O’Brien said in a July 25 press release. “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.”
Prior to promises made in the deal, part-time union employees made an average of $20 per hour after 30 days on the job.
“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,” 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.”
On Aug. 22, 2023, Teamsters voted to ratify the proposed labor deal with an 86.3% majority. This contract will benefit more than 340,000 UPS union workers, not only in regards to higher wages but also improved working conditions.
“This is the richest national contract I’ve seen in my more than 40 years of representing Teamsters at UPS,” Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said. “There are more gains in this contract than in any other UPS agreement and with no givebacks to the company. But the hard work doesn’t end here. We will continue to fight like hell to enforce this contract and make sure UPS lives up to every word of it over the next five years.”
