United Parcel Service workers and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, averting a strike that could have had major impacts on the shipping industry.
Both sides went back to the negotiating table on Tuesday before the deadline to strike a new deal.
As many as 340,000 UPS workers were preparing to hit the picket lines, demanding better wages and working conditions in addition to doing away with the “two-tier wage system” and ending “forced overtime on drivers’ days off.”
An agreement on safety issues, including a mandate requiring UPS to install air conditioning to all small package delivery vehicles nationwide, was reached in June.
Representatives with the Teamsters Union called the deal “historic” and “lucrative.”
“Together we reached a win-win-win agreement on the issues that are important to Teamsters leadership, our employees and to UPS and our customers,” said UPS CEO Carol Tomé. “This agreement continues to reward UPS’ full- and part-time employees with industry-leading pay and benefits while retaining the flexibility we need to stay competitive, serve out customers and keep our business going.”
The tentative deal comes as writers and actors, along with hotel workers, continue to strike.
