UPS, Teamsters reach agreement

[OhioChick]

Deal includes raises, changes to pension plan

Published on: 10/01/07

UPS and the Teamsters union reached an early deal on a new five-year labor contract that boosts wages and enables the company to change its pension plan structure for some workers.

The tentative agreement, announced Monday, comes nearly a year ahead of the expiration date for the current Teamsters contract. If ratified, the new deal takes effect Aug. 1, 2008 and covers about 240,000 workers.

Sandy Springs-based UPS did not specify the wage hikes included in the pact. But a union official told Bloomberg News that Teamsters' pay and benefits will rise about $9 per hour over the life of the new contract — a slightly larger increase than was included in the current six-year contract.

Unionized UPS drivers now make around $28 an hour on average, according to reports.

The company said the deal will enable it to withdraw from the Central States pension plan, which covers workers at numerous trucking industry companies. UPS and the Teamsters would then set up and jointly run a new plan for about 43,000 active UPS workers now covered by Central States. The rest of its workers are under other plans.

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/10/01/ups_1001.html