SALEM, Va. – After months of contract negotiations, UPS and Teamsters have finally come to a tentative contract agreement.
The deal includes raises for both full-time and part-time workers and narrowly avoids a potential strike that could have started next week.
The agreement is worth $30 billion, according to Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien.
Existing part-time workers will get a raise to at least $21 an hour if workers approve the new contract, the union said.
Current workers will get $2.75 more an hour this year and $7.50 an hour more during the five-year contract.
Workers still need to ratify the tentative deal. Teamsters-represented UPS employees voted to authorize a strike after July 31 if the two sides didn’t reach an agreement.
Teamsters Local 171 represent UPS workers from Roanoke, Dublin, and Lynchburg. Vice-President of the group, Scott Barry, says this deal is about things much bigger than just a new contract.
“When you actually are a part of doing something that’s life-changing to people, it’s big. It’s big for the whole labor union across the country. This is why we do this,” Barry said.