Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ratified a five-year deal with UPS on Tuesday, putting a halt to a potential strike.
According to a news release from the union, 86.3% of the Teamsters’ rank-and-file members voted to approve the collective bargaining agreement. The deal is retroactive to Aug. 1, CNN reported.
The two sides reached a tentative agreement on July 25, according to The Washington Post. That averted a planned walkout on Aug. 1.
The deal offered raises for all UPS employees, including part-time workers, and the installation of air conditioning units in new delivery vans according to the newspaper.
The new deal affects more than 340,000 UPS Teamsters members. Member voting was conducted electronically between Aug. 3 and Tuesday, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
The Teamsters’ leadership had backed the new deal by a 161-1 margin, according to CNN.
The contract is the largest collective-bargaining agreement involving a private employer in North America, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Our members just ratified the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters have ever negotiated at UPS. This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “Teamsters have set a new standard and raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry. This is the template for how workers should be paid and protected nationwide, and nonunion companies like Amazon better pay attention.”
