The 340,000 employees of UPS Inc. represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have approved a new five-year labor contract with UPS.
This approval puts an end to the monthslong strike and strenuous rounds of negotiations UPS went on earlier this year.
The deal reflects the details the two parties agreed upon in July. In summary, the terms will include increased pay, and better benefits.
The IBT said on Aug. 22 that 86.3% of its members who voted were in favor of the new contract.
“Our Teamsters-represented employees have voted to overwhelmingly ratify a new five-year National Master Agreement that covers more than 300,000 full- and part-time UPS employees in the U.S. All local supplemental agreements also have been ratified except one, which will be finalized shortly. Voting results for agreements covering UPS employees under locals 705 and 710 are expected soon,” UPS said in a statement.
“Our members just ratified the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters have ever negotiated at UPS. This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said.
“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,” Carol Tomé, UPS CEO, had said when the tentative deal was announced.
The five-year agreement is valued at $30 billion including the increased wages and benefits that delivery drivers, and package handlers will receive.
A pay increase of $2.75 per hour in 2023 and an overall increase of $7.50 will apply to both full-time and part-time workers.
Existing part-timers will see pay increase to no less than $21 per hour immediately. Current part-time workers will receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly rates, while new part-time hires would start at $21 per hour and eventually advance to $23 per hour.
According to UPS, by the end of the five-year agreement, drivers will earn around $170,000 in annual pay and benefits.
The deal also put an end to a two-tier wage system for weekend delivery drivers who were added to the company’s ranks when UPS added weekend and seven-day-a-week service on Jan. 1, 2020.
