An Update on UPS-Teamsters Contract Negotiations

The Teamsters Continue to Get Concessions from UPS in Contract Talks

 

Our workers compensation law firm gives legal counsel to many warehouse workers and truck drivers who are members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the largest labor unions in the United States.

 

And United Parcel Service (UPS) is the country’s single-largest employer of Teamsters members, with approximately 340,000 UPS package delivery drivers and warehouse logistics workers represented by the union. This number equals roughly 1/3 of all Teamsters in America.

 

So, we have been following the negotiations between the UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee and UPS to agree to a new contract by July 31, 2023, when the National Master Agreement expires. That contract is the largest private-sector contract on the continent.

 

This article provides an update on the Teamsters-UPS contract talks, which began in mid-April 2023. 

 

What Do the Teamsters Want from UPS?

 

The Teamsters want a new five-year agreement that provides the following:

 

• Pay increases for all members.

 

• More paid time off (sick days and holidays)

 

• Increased heat protection, as well as protection from other workplace hazards

 

• An end to forced overtime

 

• Better grievance procedures

 

• Stronger language prohibiting subcontracting

 

• Elimination of a two-tier wage system between full-time and part-time delivery drivers

 

• And other items

 

Have Teamsters Members Authorized a Strike at UPS?

 

Yes.

 

On June 16, 2023, 97 percent of UPS Teamsters voted to strike if the labor union does not have a new deal with UPS by August 1, 2023. 

 

A strike authorization vote is a standard part of the collective bargaining process between labor and management. It gives the union additional leverage at the bargaining table with UPS. 

 

Have the Teamsters and UPS Reached Any Agreements?

 

UPS and the Teamsters have agreed on non-economic items and have turned their attention to economic disagreements. 

 

Areas of agreement include the following:  

 

• UPS Teamsters stewards will get paid when attending orientation meetings.

 

• The national grievance committee will hear any complaints about discrepancies related to new equipment.

 

• UPS will open more job vacancies to existing Teamster members before hiring external workers (those who do not work for UPS currently).

 

• Improvements to the trailer repair shop

 

• Workplace safety improvements: This item includes in-cab air conditioning systems in all large delivery vehicles, small sprinter vans, and UPS brown package cars bought after Jan. 1, 2024, two fans in the cab of all package cars, and exhaust heat shields in UPS package cars and vans.

 

• Establishing Martin Luther King Day as a paid holiday

 

• Ending forced overtime on drivers’ days off

 

• Part-time drivers will move to a Tuesday through Saturday shift to accommodate weekend delivery.

 

What Happens Next in the Teamsters-UPS Talks?

 

The Teamsters and UPS continue to negotiate a new agreement. 

 

However, the Teamsters have given UPS a deadline of July 5 to present a reasonable counterproposal or the Teamsters will strike. 

 

A Workers Comp Lawyer’s Take on the UPS-Teamsters Negotiators

 

The importance of a collective bargaining agreement that addresses the needs of unionized employees is widely known and accepted. 

 

What needs to be understood is how important a solid CBA is for injured labor union members trying to negotiate a workers compensation settlement or apply for disability after a catastrophic injury (such as a back injury requiring spinal fusion or head trauma causing post-concussion syndrome). Indeed, CBA terms have given me the leverage to negotiate work injury settlements for UPS employees, Teamsters, and other labor union members and put money in their pockets from multiple sources. 

 

Therefore, we hope the Teamsters continue to gain economic concessions from UPS that match the non-economic wins.

 

And we will continue to monitor contract negotiations for Teamsters members in Virginia and Maryland, including those belonging to Local Union Numbers 592 (Richmond), 101 (Hopewell), 95 (Williamsburg), 822 (Norfolk), 22 (Collinsville/Martinsville), 171 (Salem/Roanoke), 29 (Verona/Staunton), 922 (Bowie), 639 (Washington, DC), 992 (Hagerstown), 355 (Baltimore), and 570 (Baltimore)