LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Rank-and-file UPS workers overwhelmingly approved a five-year labor contract that delivers substantial raises and other benefits, according to the Teamsters union.
The union said its 340,000 package handlers, delivery drivers and other rank-and-file workers voted 86% to approve the contract deal that union and company leaders reached late last month.
The approval removes any chance of a strike of UPS, which the Teamsters had threatened for months before the deal was reached in late July. The union has struck the delivery giant only once, in 1997.
"Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry," Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a news release. "This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention."
The agreement calls for wage increases worth at least $7.50 per hour over the five-year term. It also sets a new floor of $21 per hour, up from the current starting wage of $16 per hour, for the part-time workers who make up the bulk of UPS' workforce.
At the high end, senior delivery drivers will earn a base rate of $49 per hour by the end of the contract.
Figures released by the Teamsters showed 58% of eligible union members cast ballots in the ratification vote. That's up substantially from when 2018, when turnout of 45% of eligible voters led previous union leaders to approve the proposed contract over the objection of those members who did cast ballots.
UPS is Louisville's largest employer, with about 26,000 jobs overall, including about 12,000 related to the company's global air cargo hub.
Ashley Gaddie, a nine-year part-time worker at the Worldport hub, said she voted yes because she thought the contract was "fair" and she values the job, especially the company-paid health insurance.
"I stay because I can take my kids to school and pick them up daily with amazing healthcare and also a decent wage," she told WDRB News.
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