Teamsters, UPS come to terms on all noneconomic issues

Union says wages, benefits part of the next round of negotiations

UPS, Teamsters agree on all noneconomic issues. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

The Teamsters and UPS Inc. came to terms on all noneconomic issues during national contract negotiations on Tuesday, the union said.

“We have reached tentative agreement on well over 40 noneconomic issues that affect all our members at UPS, and we did it as a team. The Teamsters haven’t sacrificed a single concession in these negotiations,” said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman in a statement on the union’s Facebook page. 

“Very soon we will review the language, changes and improvements in all articles with the entire membership. Plus, the fun part now begins to fight for significant wage increases for everyone — full-timers, part-timers, long-timers, everyone,” he said.

Zuckerman and Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien will review and discuss all noneconomic tentative agreements live with members during a webinar on Wednesday. Other union representatives and UPS Teamster rank-and-filers will also share their thoughts during the call, the Teamsters said. 

The Teamsters National Negotiating Committee expects to exchange its full economic package with UPS negotiators on Wednesday morning. All remaining top issues affecting a tentative new contract, protecting more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters, are economic. These are the highest-profile issues and ones that are historically the most contentious.

The two sides are negotiating a new master contract to replace the existing 5-year pact, which expires July 31. The union has warned it will pull the 340,000 UPS Teamsters off their jobs if an agreement isn’t reached by Aug. 1.

The biggest issues left include full- and part-time wage increases for all; health and welfare benefit protections and enhancements; pension increases; rewards for longtime UPS Teamsters across classifications; elimination of personal vehicle drivers; and more conversion of part-time jobs to full time.

The elimination of a two-tier “22.4” job classification, which the Teamsters said penalizes junior workers who perform the same functions as senior workers, will be dealt with as part of the Teamsters’ economic package, the union said. The 22.4 refers to the number of the language in the master contract.

“Putting an end to this 22.4 classification is one of our biggest strike issues at UPS, and it will be eradicated during our economic negotiations. The Teamsters’ entire committee and our full membership are committed to making this happen,” O’Brien said. “It’s thrilling to announce that our team — representing so many hardworking Teamsters at UPS and their families — have reached tentative agreement on all of our noneconomic issues.

“Not only did we achieve this without concessions, we negotiated each of these issues favorably and to their finality for our members. Big money issues will be tackled next, so keep those chin straps buckled tight,” he said.

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14 Comments

  1. Jose Sarmiento

    As long as the Article 22.3 combo employees are included in the Full-time wage increases. We were the ones that were on Strike in 1997. Hope we aren’t thrown under the bus

  2. Harris Nelson

    Wow, the highest paid delivery company, with huge healthcare and retirement benefits. If the public only knew! Be grateful and not greedy….

  3. Jon

    Doesn’t it seem a bit suspect that ups agreed to so many things. AC on all cars purchased after 2024. It’s almost like UPS knows they aren’t going to agree to the rest and if they go on strike they prob going to sell off to Amazon who has been waiting to move to being a shipping company since before the pandemic. Feel confident this has been the whole plan since Carol first became ceo. Like an article here stated so perfectly, she seems to be “burning the furniture to stay warm”

  4. john lemos

    thank you Mr Obrien and Mr Zuckerman and all union members of the negotiation committee for all your hard work. You have my total support at a member of local 631 out of Las Vegas,NV.

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Mark Solomon

Formerly the Executive Editor at DC Velocity, Mark Solomon joined FreightWaves as Managing Editor of Freight Markets. Solomon began his journalistic career in 1982 at Traffic World magazine, ran his own public relations firm (Media Based Solutions) from 1994 to 2008, and has been at DC Velocity since then. Over the course of his career, Solomon has covered nearly the whole gamut of the transportation and logistics industry, including trucking, railroads, maritime, 3PLs, and regulatory issues. Solomon witnessed and narrated the rise of Amazon and XPO Logistics and the shift of the U.S. Postal Service from a mail-focused service to parcel, as well as the exponential, e-commerce-driven growth of warehouse square footage and omnichannel fulfillment.