Teamsters Ratify New Five-Year Contract With UPS

Facts

• The Teamsters ratified Tuesday a new five-year deal with UPS, removing the threat of a strike that could have caused major supply chain disruptions across the US.¹
• The union reported that a record 58% of its rank-and-file members turned out to vote, with 86% backing the contract that will be in effect retroactive to Aug. 1 — the largest margin in favor of a deal ever at the company.²
• According to the National Master Agreement, both full- and part-time workers will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023 and a total of $7.50 by 2028. UPS will also recognize Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time and equip all delivery vehicles bought after Jan. 1, 2024, with air conditioning.³
• The union further stated that all 40 supplemental agreements were also ratified, except for one that covers about 170 members in Florida. Once this supplement is renegotiated and ratified, the national deal will come into effect.⁴
• This new contract comes as UPS and union leaders agreed last month to a deal covering about 330K package-delivery drivers and package sorters as the previous contract expired on July 31.⁵
• A 10-day UPS walkout, which would have been America's biggest strike in 60 years and caused significant economic harm, had been projected to cost the US more than $7B.⁶

Sources: ¹Forbes, ²CNN, ³FOX News, ⁴Associated Press, ⁵Wall Street Journal, and ⁶CBS.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Los Angeles Times. This settlement between the Teamsters and UPS underscores what can be achieved when labor fights are carried out fairly on a balanced playing field, and will likely teach a lesson to anti-union companies who may believe they have the upper hand over workers. Given that failed negotiations cause enduring damages to both sides, it's unwise for bosses to play chicken with unions. This settlement could have a positive ripple effect on labor issues nationwide.
• Right narrative, as provided by FEE. Another decade, another Teamsters-UPS deal mistakenly being touted as a resurgence of the American union movement. Just like in 1997, when UPS capitulated to pressures from this cartel and again sought to crush competition among labor sellers despite the company losing market shares. It's competition and entrepreneurship, rather than unions, that provide prosperity for workers.