UPS pilots O.K. pay package

UPS pilots O.K. pay package    Airline pilots for UPS Thursday ratified a new labor agreement through 2011, ending the possibility of a damaging strike that could have crippled the company’s express delivery and freight service.
   According to UPS, 56.5 percent of the 2,623 participating pilots and flight engineers voted for the contract. The Independent Pilots Association, which represents UPS pilots, reached an initial deal with UPS on June 30.
   Analysts and media reports have said the deal includes an 18 percent pay increase for pilots and up to 25 percent for first officers, followed by 3 percent increases each of the next three years. The Louisville Courier-Journal, the hometown paper for UPS Airlines, reported that cockpit crews will also receive signing bonuses of $34,000 to $60,000.
   The eight-year contract includes back pay.
   It took the two sides four years to reach an agreement. A mediator suspended talks twice last year in an effort to get the company and union to re-evaluate their positions.
   Although the deal is expensive for UPS, it enables the Atlanta-based parcel and freight delivery company to hold onto customers, some of which had made plans to divert freight to other carries such as FedEx and DHL in the event of a work stoppage.
   Fortunes have switched for cargo and passenger pilots during the past few years. As passenger airlines continue to lose money and seek concessions from employees, global trade has spurred demand for cargo services and strengthened the position of cargo pilots.
   FedEx and its pilots’ union reached a tentative labor agreement last weekend.