ATLANTA, GA.—UPS and the Teamsters have reached a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract,
the union announced June 22. The proposed deal, which would cover about 260,000 workers, would create “a new classification of full-time combination driver,” who would work both handling packages and making deliveries. They would start at $20.50 an hour and have a top rate of $34.79 by the end of the contract, the Teamsters said. That’s somewhat less than what current full-time drivers get, so some members have criticized the “hybrid drivers” concept as a two-tier contract. Part-time workers, who now start at $10, would get a raise to $13 on Aug. 1 and to $15.50 four years later, and full-time drivers’ pay would go up by $4.15. The proposal, along with supplemental agreements, still needs to be approved by local unions and voted on by rank-and-file members before the July 31 strike deadline. Denis Taylor, co-chair of the Teamsters UPS National Negotiating committee, told members that he could not release more specific details until after the supplemental agreements had been settled, but he was confident they would see the deal as “among the very best ever negotiated for UPS members.” Read more
