As expected, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new five-year contract with UPS, giving the 340,000 members at the carrier higher wages for part- and full-time workers, and eliminating a hated two-tier system of driver classification. More than 86% of union members voting said yes to the new contract, the Teamsters said, a record for a UPS deal.
UPS reported a 10.9% dip in second quarter revenue, but still hit its goal of $2.9 billion in operating profit thanks to $889 million in cost reduction compared with 2022. The company also said 1 million parcels a day were diverted to competitors due to concerns about labor negotiations. UPS also lowered full-year guidance mostly due to costs associated with the new contract, the company said.
UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a five-year contract settlement today, averting a costly strike of 340,000 members that would have begun a week from today and giving part-time workers the pay increases their leadership had pushed for over the past few weeks, while handing newly energized organized labor a major victory. Starting part-time pay will be $21 per hour.
UPS has begun training nonunion workers among the manager ranks to step in as drivers and package handlers, should a contract settlement with the Teamsters fail to materialize before the July 31 deadline, a move that has angered the union as talks remain stalled with about two weeks remaining. The union president also said they don’t want or need the White House to mediate in the talks.
Can UPS and the Teamsters reach agreement in time? Should UPS meet the union’s demand for higher part-time worker pay, or leave its last offer on the table? Is there a joint realization that too much is at stake? And if it happens, how will other carriers pick up the slack? We discuss all this with Gaston Curk, CEO of postal consolidator OSM Worldwide in this MCM CommerceChat podcast.
One ultimatum deadline between UPS and the Teamsters union was passed successfully on Friday, raising hopes of a contract settlement, but another one came and went today with prospects somewhat dimmed as the two sides cut off talks. Each party blamed the other for the breakdown, with three weeks left until the July 31 expiration of the current five-year agreement and pay the main sticking point.
Stepping up its hardball tactics, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked away from the bargaining table Wednesday in the midst of contract negotiations with UPS, demanding the carrier provide its last, best offer Friday or a strike would be a likely outcome, with worker pay the key issue. UPS says it is working around the clock to reach a settlement before the July 31 deadline.
More than 80 delivery drivers and dispatchers for an Amazon contractor who just joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in April have initiated the first strike against Amazon at a hub in Palmdale, CA, saying the company needs to address wages and working conditions. Amazon begs to differ, saying it terminated the contract with the DSP, and that the Teamsters are making up facts.
A tentative contract agreement has been reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), easing concerns about a strike at 29 West Coast ports disrupting incoming freight from the Asia-Pacific region ahead of the fall and Q4. The deal ended 13 months of negotiations, but still requires ratification by both parties.
A small group of drivers for an Amazon delivery contractor in California has joined the Teamsters union, the first fruits of a concerted effort by the country’s most powerful union to organize workers at the massive ecommerce company both inside and outside its warehouses. Amazon said the DSP employing them had been terminated some time before the Teamsters announcement for performance reasons.