UPS workers approve new labor deal, ending strike risk

Investing.com -- Teamsters union said Tuesday hundreds of thousands of its members at United Parcel Service Inc have approved the recent labor five-year deal that included the biggest wage hike in decades, taking the threat of a strike off the table.     

About 86% of voting members approved the labor deal, International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The ratification of the deal averts a potential strike that could have cost the delivery package billions, and wreaked havoc on the economy. 

Under the deal, full- and part-time UPS Teamsters would receive a raise of $2.75 per hour in 2023, and $7.50 over the length of the contract. The agreement also removed the two-tier wage system for drivers, a key sticking point for union members, that paid new hires less than more experienced drivers. 

The union also scored additional paid holiday and safety and health protections, including air conditioning in vehicles and cargo ventilation.

Following the ratification, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said they would "continue to fight like hell to enforce this contract and make sure UPS lives up to every word of it over the next five years.”

United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS) was up 0.6% following the news.