UPS, Teamsters Reach Tentative Agreement

United Parcel Service and the Teamsters union said late Monday they have reached a tentative deal on a six-year contract, averting a possible strike at the Atlanta-based delivery company.

The deal was struck about two weeks before the expiration of the current contract on July 31. It must still be voted on by the union's membership, with results not expected until mid-August, Bloomberg reported.

The two sides revealed some of the deal's details during a Tuesday news conference in Washington, Bloomberg reported. Among the more important points is a 22% raise for union workers. The raise totals about $5 an hour, Bloomberg said.

Part-time workers should see raises of nearly $6 per hour, and the company agreed to create 10,000 full-time positions for its part-time employees, the Wall Street Journal said. The move from part-time to full-time jobs fell short of the union’s goal to get UPS to create 3,000 new union jobs per year, the Journal reported.

Despite this, UPS did pledge to convert 10,000 positions currently held by non-union or subcontracted employees to union jobs.

In exchange, the union signed a six-year labor deal – one year longer than the current contract and double the length the union was initially seeking, the Journal said.

By reaching a deal, UPS avoided a repeat of the disastrous two-week strike in 1997.

As the deadline approached, UPS saw its cargo volumes drop as customers sought refuge in companies like FedEx Corp. and Airborne Inc. (Click here for related coverage.)

UPS in ranked No. 1 on the 2000-01 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest trucking companies in the United States. The company employs about 210,000 Teamsters.

(Click here for a press release from UPS.)