1. Teamsters and UPS Reach Tentative Agreement
Within hours of returning to negotiations, UPS and the Teamsters both shared that a tentative agreement had been reached. A strike that would’ve began tomorrow, August 1 has been avoided.
Negotiations broke down in early July due to disagreements over part-time wages. It appears that significant progress was made on that front, as part-time workers would all be given raises to at least $21 per hour under the new agreement. According to Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, the new deal is worth $30 billion.
“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.
The agreement is still subject to final ratification from roughly 340,000 rank-and-file Teamsters UPS members.
Article from Leslie Josephs, CNBC
2. FedEx Pilots Vote to Reject Tentative Union Agreement
FedEx members of the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) voted to reject a tentative agreement that would’ve guaranteed a 30% pay raise and 30% increase in pension plans.
57% voted to reject the agreement. Major objections to the contract’s terms are not yet clear.
In a statement, FedEx shared they were “disappointed in these voting results,” but that they would have “no impact on our service.”
Despite the rejection, a strike is not imminent, as there are many steps they’d still need to take to strike under the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. The two sides will return to federally-mediated negotiations.
Article from Chris Isidore, CNN
3. White House, Among Others, Comment on UPS/Teamsters Agreement
Government officials and industry experts have weighed in on the UPS and Teamsters agreement, with nine prominent being featured in a compilation from Supply Chain Dive.
President Biden stated that though the deal awaits final ratification, the tentative agreement announcement “moves us closer to a better deal for workers that will also add to our economic momentum.”
Alan Amling, distinguished fellow at the University of Tennessee’s Global Supply Chain Institute said the agreement is “very promising,” and that “ratification by the rank-and-file is not assured, but it’s unlikely the Teamsters would send an agreement for a vote unless they were certain it would pass.”
U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su, Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay are among the others quoted in the article.
