UPS Freight workers vote in favor of a new contract and avoid a strike

UPS Freight workers voted in favor of approving a new employment contract, avoiding the risk of a strike that could have affected shippers transporting their goods across the country.

The contract was approved with 77% of the votes cast, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The union said 84% of eligible members voted.

In the days leading up to Teamsters' Sunday contract countdown, UPS, based in Sandy Springs, stopped picking up shipments from freight customers to clear its freight network last Friday in the event of a strike.

UPS announced Sunday night that it would resume its normal freight business and that it would immediately start accepting the new volume of UPS Freight customers.

The Teamsters contract covers approximately 11,600 workers at UPS Freight, which delivers bulk shipments on pallets, shippers to stores and other locations.

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

The temporary disruption of service that led to the vote on the contract created some uncertainty in the freight sector.

In early October, UPS goods workers rejected a proposed labor contract, with more than 62 percent of the votes cast against it. Both parties returned to the bargaining table and concluded negotiations on October 25, with one final offer, the best and the last.

The union told its members that the offer did not deal with all the issues raised by the workers but that it was proposing to put the collective agreement to a vote without a vote for or against, as these are only the consequences of this decision. "

UPS Freight workers had previously voted in favor of a strike and the Teamsters Union told members that if the contract was rejected, a strike could begin as early as November 12.

As a result, a week and a half ago, UPS asked its freight customers to make other shipping arrangements because the service could be disrupted.

"Because we have no guarantee against a work stoppage, we can not afford to put the volume of our customers at risk of being stuck in our system," said UPS as it waited for the results of the vote by contract.

After narrowly avoiding the risk of a strike, "a customer might have the impression:" Yeah, forget that, we are no longer interested, we do not want to be your customer anymore, "said Cathy Roberson, Logistics Analyst , who founded Logistics Trends & Insights in Atlanta. "At the same time, some customers might say to themselves," Oh, great, you handled that perfectly, so take our freight. "

The work contract approved on Sunday provides for some reductions in outsourcing – a key issue for workers – and would also improve certain conditions relating to retirement and vacation benefits.

However, some splinter groups in the Teamsters Union were looking for higher salary increases and more limits on outsourcing.

"Too many jobs in this business are outsourced," said Ken Paff, Teamsters' national organizer for a Democratic Union, a dissident group within the Teamsters. "And the wage increases, especially for the drivers of the road, have been infinitesimal."

The freight agreement approved by members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is part of a series of ongoing work contracts at UPS.

A much larger contract – covering about 240,000 UPS drivers, parcel sorters, shippers and other people handling small parcels – did not get a majority vote, but was considered ratified by the Teamsters union after the low participation rate.

However, additional local agreements for this larger contract remain to be worked out. A local Chicago chapter representing more than 10,000 Teamsters UPS employees is demanding better terms, which could lead to unrest later this year if a contract is not concluded.