Coverage: UPS, union reach deal on new contract

A segment of United Parcel Services’ union members have reached a tentative agreement with the courier company for a new five-year contract.

Brittany De Lea of FoxBusiness.com had the news:

The new deal covers about 11,000 UPS freight employees represented by Teamsters.

The company says deals have now been reached for both the freight and small package union segments.

Details of the agreement were not immediately made public.

The current contract, which was for a five-year duration, expires at the end of July. The new contract, if ratified, would go into effect August 1.

Last month, the two parties reached a separate agreement on the national contract for the company’s 260,000 unionized employees.

Kelly Yamanouchi of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the deal takes effect Aug. 1:

The new agreement would cover about 11,000 freight workers at UPS. It is subject to a vote by union members, and if ratified would take effect Aug. 1.

UPS said the deal meets its goals of rewarding employees “while enabling the business to remain flexible to meet its customers’ needs.”

The Teamsters said local union leaders will meet to review the tentative agreement and approve it before sending it out for a vote.

Negotiations continue on supplemental and local agreements. The company said it has reached a handshake agreement covering employees in Southern and central regions and in Oregon/Idaho.

John Kingston of FreightWave.com reported that UPS’ freight division is much smaller than its package delivery business:

UPS Freight serves as a mostly LTL carrier within UPS, though it does have a truckload component as well.

Compared to its better-known package division, it is relatively small. Ground revenues in the U.S. Domestic Package division in the first quarter were $7.4 billion, out of total U.S. package revenue of $10.2 billion. By contrast, freight revenue in the first quarter was list as $777 million. It is reported in the supply chain & freight division of UPS, which in the first quarter had total revenue of $3.35 billion.

No details of the contract were announced by either UPS or the Teamsters. It covers about 11,000 members of the Teamsters. By contrast, the Teamsters says it represents approximately 250,000 members in the package division. 

“No further details will be released until leaders from Teamster local unions that represent UPS Freight members meet in the next few weeks,” the Teamsters said in its announcement of the deal.