UPS employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have voted to approve a newfive-year contract negotiated earlier this fall, according to preliminary results. The UPS National
Master Agreement was approved by 65% of the voting employees, UPS announced.The master contract, which covers approximately 240,000 full- and part-time package workersin the United States, was negotiated nearly a year in advance of the current contract’s expirationon July 31, 2008, and will extend contract coverage to July 31, 2013.
Details of the agreement have not yet been made fully public but include wage rises andhigher company contributions to pensions and benefit funds. UPS will also withdraw from amulti-employer pension plan in favour of the company’s own pension arrangement, making a $6.1billion payment to enable its withdrawal.
“We are gratified to hear that our Teamster-represented employees have approved the newNational Master Agreement,” said Mike Eskew, UPS’s chairman and CEO. “Both sides now are committedto addressing any local issues as necessary. This is part of the normal process.” Five localsupplemental or rider agreements did not receive a majority vote.
