Unionized DHL Express workers in US approve 4-year contract

Deal includes wage hike and job protections

DHL Express delivery vans are parked at a parcel distribution center. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

DHL Express delivery and warehouse workers, represented by the Teamsters in 16 states, have ratified a new four-year contract by a 92% percent margin, the union announced on Tuesday.

Negotiators for DHL (XETRA: DHL) and the Teamsters reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement on March 29 under threat of a strike. The previous contract expired on March 31. 

The new national master agreement includes a 20% wage increase, higher health and welfare contributions and job protections. It also establishes strong safeguards against AI-controlled routing systems that the union says undermine seniority and explicitly prohibits the use of autonomous vehicles that threaten jobs, according to the Teamsters.

“DHL Teamsters were prepared to take action and hold management accountable if they failed to deliver,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, in a statement. “Our members were ready to shut this company down if it failed to live up to its obligations, and management knew it. That leverage delivered serious wage increases, locked in strong job protections, and made it clear that Teamsters will not allow technology to undermine our rights or livelihoods.”

Click here for more FreightWaves/PostalMag stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Parcel and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He was runner up for News Journalist and Supply Chain Journalist of the Year in the Seahorse Freight Association's 2024 journalism award competition. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist. He won the group's Environmental Journalist of the Year award in 2014 and was the 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com