UPS, Teamsters Agree to Begin Contract Talks in September

The Teamsters union and UPS Inc. agreed this week to begin negotiations in late September on national UPS Inc. and UPS Freight contracts covering about 250,000 union members nationwide.

The UPS contract is the largest collective bargaining agreement in the country, the union said in a June 5 statement. The Teamsters’ leadership voted unanimously to open negotiations on Sept. 27 in Washington.

“This progress is the right thing to do for our employees and our customers,” UPS spokesman Norman Black said in an e-mailed statement.

The current five-year agreements expire July 31, 2013. The UPS contract covers package delivery drivers, loaders and sorters, as well as employees at Cartage Services Inc.

The agreement with UPS Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload unit, covers drivers, dockworkers and clerks.

UPS Inc. is ranked No. 1 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.