Teamsters Voting Again on Side Pacts to Advance UPS National Contract

This story appears in the Dec. 9 print edition of Transport Topics.

UPS Inc. Teamsters were voting last week on the single largest remaining barrier to implementation of the union’s package contract.

A vote count is scheduled for Dec. 10 on a supplemental agreement known as the Southwest Package and Sort rider. It was rejected by 70% of the 6,137 who voted on it when the national master contract was approved in June.

Meanwhile, talks are continuing to address issues in 10 other side agreements that haven’t been approved.

The national deal, which covers more than 235,000 Teamsters and is the largest transport-industry union contract, can’t take effect until all supplements are approved.

Separately, Teamsters local union leaders were to meet Dec. 6 to discuss a contract extension proposal from YRC Worldwide Inc. The carrier seeks to add several years to the current deal ending in March 2015, saying that extension is needed to refinance debt and lower interest costs that have wiped out operating profits.

“Talks are continuing,” union spokesman Galen Munroe told Transport Topics on Dec. 4, commenting on the UPS package riders. “We are working through an internal, democratic process of listening to our members’ concerns, trying to address concerns with the company and revoting those supplements and riders.”

Andy McGowan, spokesman for Atlanta-based UPS, told TT the day before that “UPS and the Teamsters are working with an indefinite extension under the current contract and have committed to address outstanding items in the proposed agreement. It remains business as usual. We remain confident that the local contracts will be resolved.”

The UPS national contract has a $3.90 per-hour wage increase over five years. The national contract covering package workers was approved, the union announced June 26, with about 55% voting in favor.

Since the initial rejection of the supplements and riders, seven have been revoted and approved. One of those that was approved was the largest supplemental, which covered workers in 14 states, including some in the Midwest. That side agreement, known as the Central, drew more than 21,000 voters and passed by a 5-4 margin.

Two of the other supplemental deals that cover thousands of workers also need another round of voting. They are known as the Ohio and Louisville (Ky.) supplements for workers in those states.

The Ohio supplement has been rejected twice. The Louisville supplement was defeated once, with 89% of those casting ballots voting against it.

Meanwhile, there is no visible progress on a separate deal involving UPS Freight workers. The tentative agreement negotiated by union leaders was rejected by 70% of voters in June at the less-than-truckload carrier, where more than 12,000 Teamsters are employed.

Like the package workers, LTL union members are continuing to work under an extension of the agreement that originally was set to expire July 31.

Ken Paff, a spokesman for activist group Teamsters for a Democratic Union, told TT that the union made eight mailings to members, seeking to drum up support for the revised terms in the Southwest Package and Sort rider.

He said the union has chosen to fight the easier package contract battles first, before tackling locations such as Louisville, the company’s air hub.

“It looks like they want to get the package agreement done first, and that won’t be finished for months,” Paff predicted.

He also said it was “a sad and unhealthy situation” that the LTL contract hasn’t yet been resolved.