“Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting profits. Teamster labor moves America. The union went into this fight committed to winning for our members. We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it,” Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien said in a statement.
Teamsters threatened to strike starting next Tuesday, the day after the current contract covering 340,000 workers expires. A Teamsters UPS strike would have been the largest private sector strike in American history, and experts warns it could derail the nation’s supply chains.
“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,” UPS CEO Carol Tomé said in a statement.
Negotiations broke down earlier this month but resumed as the July 31 deadline loomed. Notable Senate Democrats committed to staying out of the fight, and O’Brien asked President Biden to not intervene if UPS workers went on strike.
Biden praised the announcement as a step closer “to a better deal for workers that will also add to our economic momentum.”
“This agreement is a testament to the power of employers and employees coming together to work out their differences at the bargaining table in a manner that helps businesses succeed while helping workers secure pay and benefits they can raise a family on and retire with dignity and respect,” Biden said.
Leaders from Teamsters sites are set to review the tentative agreement on July 31, and union members will vote on it next month.
The Hill’s Aris Folley and Nick Robertson have more here.
