UPS Freight avoids strike of 11,000 drivers but not everyone is happy

UPS Freight announced Sunday night the ratification of a five-year work contract with its employees. The Teamsters represent these 11,600 UPS Freight workers.

"We will resume normal operations and immediately accept the new volume of UPS Freight customers," UPS said in a statement sent to Business Insider.

The adoption of this agreement avoids a strike that would have stopped UPS Freight shipments. The last time UPS found a work stoppage, it was in 1997.

According to the Teamsters, 84% of UPS Freight workers at the union voted. 77% voted in favor of the contract, after months of negotiations.

Most consumers do not interact with UPS Freight, which moves goods into the supply chain and is separated from the small parcel unit that makes deliveries to people's homes. It shipped 2.8 billion pounds of goods in the last quarter, reported FreightWaves.

Although UPS Freight is not coming to your home, a work stoppage in this division would still have resulted in higher prices for your vacation items, as Business Insider announced last week. Shippers would not be able to deliver the goods on time and should find more expensive and last minute solutions in the event of a strike.

Nevertheless, not all UPS Freight workers are satisfied

UPS Freight workers told Business Insider that the contract did not provide sufficient protection against the hiring of subcontracted UPS Freight workers, who are not unionized and are generally paid less than full-time employees.

They also stated that they found that their benefits decreased with each contract negotiated for workers on behalf of the Teamsters.

Curt Siekert, based in Milwaukee, who has been a UPS Freight driver for 13 years, said he and his colleagues were receiving 401 years (k), health insurance coverage during work stoppages and other provisions. . Now, their employment contracts do not cover these benefits.

This contract also includes a tiered pay structure that allows employees to start at a rate close to that of older employees. For example, junior employees receive an increase of $ 2, while those who work at UPS for 36 or 48 months receive only an increase of $ 0.50.

Read more: A day in the life of a New York Coca-Cola delivery truck driver, who gets to work at 4 am and spends his morning carrying 175-pound carts filled with bottles in Penn Station

"The contract basically concerns new employees," said Business Insider Tanya Finley, a UPS Freight employee based in Orlando, Florida.

UPS says its highway carriers are among the highest paid in the industry. According to the latest contract, a UPS Freight driver who works in the business for 48 months earns 72 cents per mile. Truckers usually earn between 28 and 40 cents per mile.

"We are delighted that the UPS Freight agreement has been ratified," UPS said in its statement by e-mail. "This agreement rewards our employees for their contribution to the success of the company, while allowing UPS to remain competitive."

Are you a UPS Freight employee with an opinion on the last contract of employment? Send an email to the reporter at the following address: [email protected].