UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing around 330,000 delivery drivers, have reached agreement on a new five-year labor contract, preventing a strike that had been threatened to begin when the current contract expires at the end of July (see “UPS – Teamsters Talks Break Down”).  Both sides expressed satisfaction with the new agreement, which includes pay increases that keep UPS drivers the highest-paid in the industry, including improved compensation for part-time workers; vehicle air conditioning; and Martin Luther King Day as a holiday for the first time.

“We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said of the agreement.  “UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations.”

“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,” UPS CEO Carol Tomé said.  “This agreement continues to reward UPS’s full- and part-time employees with industry-leading pay and benefits while retaining the flexibility we need to stay competitive, serve our customers and keep our business strong.”

Members of the Teamster union will vote on the new agreement between August 3 and August 22.  The UPS Teamsters National Negotiating Committee unanimously endorsed the new contract.