UPS has put $30 billion in new money on the table as a direct result of these negotiations. We’ve changed the game, battling it out day and night to make sure our members won an agreement that pays strong wages, rewards their labor, and doesn’t require a single concession. This contract sets a new standard in the labor movement and raises the bar for all workers.

Highlights of the tentative 2023-2028 UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement include:

  • Historic wage increases. Existing full- and part-time UPS Teamsters will get $2.75 more per hour in 2023, and $7.50 more per hour over the length of the contract.

  • Existing part-timers will be raised up to no less than $21 per hour immediately, and part-time seniority workers earning more under a market rate adjustment would still receive all new general wage increases.

  • General wage increases for part-time workers will be double the amount obtained in the previous UPS Teamsters contract — and existing part-time workers will receive a 48 percent average total wage increase over the next five years.

  • Wage increases for full-timers will keep UPS Teamsters the highest paid delivery drivers in the nation, improving their average top rate to $49 per hour.

  • Current UPS Teamsters working part-time would receive longevity wage increases of up to $1.50 per hour on top of new hourly raises, compounding their earnings.

  • New part-time hires at UPS would start at $21 per hour and advance to $23 per hour.

  • All UPS Teamster drivers classified as 22.4s would be reclassified immediately to Regular Package Car Drivers and placed into seniority, ending the unfair two-tier wage system at UPS.

  • Safety and health protections, including vehicle air conditioning and cargo ventilation. UPS will equip in-cab A/C in all larger delivery vehicles, sprinter vans, and package cars purchased after Jan. 1, 2024. All cars get two fans and air induction vents in the cargo compartments.

  • All UPS Teamsters would receive Martin Luther King Day as a full holiday for the first time.

  • No more forced overtime on Teamster drivers’ days off. Drivers would keep one of two workweek schedules and could not be forced into overtime on scheduled off-days.

  • UPS Teamster part-timers will have priority to perform all seasonal support work using their own vehicles with a locked-in eight-hour guarantee. For the first time, seasonal work will be contained to five weeks only from November-December.

  • The creation of 7,500 new full-time Teamster jobs at UPS and the fulfillment of 22,500 open positions, establishing more opportunities through the life of the agreement for part-timers to transition to full-time work.

  • More than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement — more than any other time in Teamsters history — and zero concessions from the rank-and-file.

  • Infamousblt [any]
    ·
    11 months ago

    I'm sad they didn't go on strike because I love chaos, but this is awesome for the workers. They didn't even have to strike; the mere threat of shutting half the country down is enough for them to get anything they want. Continued proof that when we fight, we win. Hopefully other places take note.

    • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
      ·
      11 months ago

      Not having to fight is actually a good thing for other unions and labor as a whole. Most people don't love chaos and the fact that just a threat was enough to get them to roll over will give more people confidence to try this more often.

      Eventually it will come to a head and a serious strike action will be needed, but until then winning contracts is the goal.

      • Nagarjuna [he/him]
        ·
        11 months ago

        They put a lot into the threat. First TDU campaigned for 40 years to elect OBrien. Then reps and stewsrds spent 3 years coaching people to save up. Then they had to mobilize a strike pledge and an authorization vote. Then they had to practice picket.

        This was a lot of work and a lot of money to pull off.

        • Theblarglereflargle [any]
          ·
          11 months ago

          Slowly building solidarity and infrastructure instead of being doomer is actually good and needs to be implemented elsewhere

          • Fuckass
            ·
            edit-2
            10 months ago

            deleted by creator

      • wild_dog [they/them]
        ·
        11 months ago

        I'm in a union, so I'd say the Teamsters are "having to fight" even if they aren't going on strike. unionizing is a struggle. the rest of your post is right though

            • newmou [he/him]
              ·
              11 months ago

              I think saying “the rest of your post is right though” with the implied part being “that part of your post was wrong” is a little toxic. Over-enunciation for the sake of itself doesn’t add to the convo, and it puts him in the position of having to extra clarify himself about something he never discounted in the first place, because it’s implied as a baseline that unions do have to fight outside of strikes. Mine is just a little comment to say hey, I think we can do better here and not put people on the defensive for not explicitly saying what is extremely well understood already. Responses like that have big “AHA SIR but you didn’t add a comma so that sentence is wrong!” Reddit energy to it

        • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
          ·
          11 months ago

          Yeah, I should have clarified by saying "having to live on strike fund rate" for the duration of the strike which would have really hurt a lot of people.

          This is a good outcome because there isn't a period of poverty wages that they have to endure

      • Infamousblt [any]
        ·
        11 months ago

        It's definitely good for everyone they didn't have to go on strike, agreed. For this cohort and for all future union actions.

        I just wanted to see UPS try to operate with this entire unit on Strike. For the chaos factor alone dumpster-fire

        • horse_called_proletariat
          ·
          edit-2
          11 months ago

          I just wanted to see UPS try to operate with this entire unit on Strike. For the chaos factor alone

          for the sake of building class consciousness and propelling workers into a more militant position and practice is what I would say. that is far more important than chaos, imo, which even bourg, petit bourg and lumpens can do with the flick of a dynamite stick or by paying security guards and cops and military to destroy the working class. organized, militant working class struggle is much more rare and precious, even and especially when it has its destructive and sometimes necessarily illegal aspects, because it propels class consciousness forward.

    • DoubleShot [he/him]
      ·
      11 months ago

      I'm sad they didn't go on strike because I love chaos

      I’m not having a go here since I know you are talking about feelings here but please, no one here should ever say this to a union worker if you’re helping to organize them. Nothing will turn them against you faster if they think you’re just using them to “cause chaos”.

      • Infamousblt [any]
        ·
        11 months ago

        Yeah my partner and many of our friends are union organizers. I'd never actually wish that on anyone...striking sucks. It's not fun at all. Okay maybe it's fun for a day or two but strikes never last that long. So yes please only support striking workers. You can only say shit like this after the strike or once its been avoided

    • horse_called_proletariat
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      technically they could still strike. i think its unlikely but the TENTATIVE agreement needs to be ratified by membership for us to be sure the workers are actually cool with it. otherwise, this is an article by union leadership and in my reading it still feels like they might have accepted a lowball offer when it comes to the pay numbers for temp workers. anyway, we'll know in 3 weeks but yeah strike seems unlikely

      • Infamousblt [any]
        ·
        11 months ago

        Would love to hear from one of the Hexbears that is in this union, I feel like there are a couple. Even if it's not the perfect contract from what I as an outsider can tell it looks solid with very few compromises. Assuming that's true then it should be easy to ratify

        • horse_called_proletariat
          ·
          11 months ago

          i mean my contact said basically same thing you are assuming but one contact in one local is hardly a representative sample and may reflect the views of that person and their friends but yeah i basically agree with your assessment even if its based on incomplete data/blindspots. ultimately we'll see when the vote comes out

  • heartheartbreak [fae/faer]
    ·
    11 months ago

    A large part of this was work by communist orgs/dsa. I know frso has been working in the teamsters for like 20 years. Join an organization, get organized, and then get a union job! The fight needs people and we can win if we all fight together! bloomer soviet-heart

  • EmmaGoldman [she/her, comrade/them]
    ·
    11 months ago

    Hugely dope for the employees, and I love that this will also make the service better by adding cargo ventilation, which will improve things for food and live plant deliveries.

  • edge [he/him]
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Companies: “No one wants to work.”

    Also companies: leaves 22,500 positions open and has to be forced to fill them

  • Nagarjuna [he/him]
    ·
    11 months ago

    While a winning strike would have been great as propaganda of the deed, UPS workers would have had to live off 600/week if they'd gone on strike. For anyone paying more than like 1500 in rent, that would have been devastating. So I'm like kind of glad they averted a strike.

  • BeanBoy [she/her]
    ·
    11 months ago

    Huge that this happened with the new, militant teamsters leadership instead of the old guard. Hoping to see this energy carry thru to other teamsters efforts

    • Maoo [none/use name]
      ·
      11 months ago

      Bargaining is relatively closed, but key issues were only partially addressed, including A/C in vehicles and $25/hour starting pay

    • SuperZutsuki [they/them, any]
      ·
      11 months ago

      No, we didn't. PT pay is still too low, driver top rate raises don't keep up with inflation, aside from not being forced to work 6 days/week there are no new overtime protections, meaning I will still have regular 12 hour days and occasional 14 hour days. I'm voting it down.

  • Elon_Musk [none/use name]
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    This is great. Make sure you keep talking about it for the next month, they will want it to slide quietly under the radar.

  • Fuckass
    ·
    edit-2
    10 months ago

    deleted by creator

    • NewHexbearNewMe [they/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      The new cars thing means the rollout time is gonna be looong. They maintain their own vehicles and keep them a long time.

      Anecdotally I heard one facility got like 1 new truck a year or less.

      The added fans especially for the cargo area are good but should not even be a point of negotiation, that is the type of safety measure that should just be done even by the most ruthless capitalist because immediately killing your workers in every heat wave is not a good idea and fans cost a pittance

      I'm honestly on the fence about how to feel about this deal, (not that its any of my business, I'm not in the teamsters). it's good raises for the people who were getting like $16/hr before, but I think the average was already closer to 20. Ending two-tier for drivers seems good?

    • came_apart_at_Kmart [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      11 months ago

      maybe UPS has a tighter leash, but when old equipment becomes the thing standing between a worker and new equipment, it does not take long for the old equipment to become "mysteriously" unusable. nothing overt or actionable of course, but the daily use becomes rougher. one of the dumbest things a tightwad manager/owner can say is, "we're not getting a new one until the old one breaks." it's like an open invitation.

  • john_browns_beard [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Unbelievably based. They got everything they've asked for and didn't even have to strike for it, what a massive win for labor in this country when we desperately needed it. I'll be raising a glass to the Teamsters tonight!

    • train
      ·
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      deleted by creator

      • Fuckass
        ·
        edit-2
        10 months ago

        deleted by creator

        • silent_water [she/her]
          ·
          11 months ago

          union had asked for $25. they also didn't get AC in all vehicles, just new ones.

  • daisy
    ·
    11 months ago

    This is fantastic news. I worry that this news is going to be buried by the corporate media though. Wall Street is going to be desperate to downplay this to avoid giving workers any funny ideas about how unions, especially the Teamsters, can fight companies and win.

  • Ho_Chi_Chungus [she/her]
    ·
    11 months ago

    lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go lets-fucking-go

    THE UNION FOREVER, PROTECTING OUR RIGHTS

    DOWN WITH THE BLACKLEG, ALL WORKERS UNITE

    WITH OUR BROTHERS AND OUR SISTERS, FROM MANY FAR OFF LANDS

    THERE IS POWER IN A UNION