Damian Dovarganes/File/AP
The Teamsters union ratified a five-year contract with UPS on Tuesday, officially ending the threat of a strike and ensuring wage increases for all unionized workers.
Last month, the two parties reached a preliminary agreement, which promised to raise all workers’ wages by $2.75 per hour in 2023 and by $7.50 over the next five years. The union began voting on August 3, and the contract was ultimately approved by 86.3 percent of voters, according to the Teamsters.
The contract makes Martin Luther King Jr. Day a paid holiday and eliminates a two-tier wage system that kept some workers paid less than others for the same amount of work. It also includes safety improvements like air conditioning in new trucks.
“Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement. “This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention.”
