July 26, 2023
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.
UPS CEO Carol Tomé on Tuesday after the company reached a tentative contract with its unionized workers. The conditions still need to be approved by the 340,000 union members.
What to Know: UPS workers’ contracts are about to expire, and union and company negotiators have been working to reach an agreement before August 1 to avoid a strike. The most recent conditions leading up to the tentative agreement revolve around employees' pay, with pay increases over the course of the next five years for both full- and part-time union workers. Prior to the tentative agreements on pay, UPS also agreed to add air conditioning to more UPS vehicles.
Why It Matters: The tentative agreement means that UPS is one step closer to avoiding what would have been one of the largest strikes in American history. Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien applauded the tentative agreement, and said "sets a new standard in the labor market." Voting to ratify the agreement by Union members will take a little more than three weeks to conclude; CNN reports, "A no vote by membership could still trigger a strike, but that walkout would now take place in late August, not the original August 1 strike deadline."
Important To Note: UPS handles about 25% of daily packages in the U.S., and if workers were to go on strike, there could be major ripple effects throughout the American economy.
UPS reaches tentative contract with 340,000 unionized workers, potentially dodging calamitous strike
by Jenna Lee,
