UPS and the Teamsters reached a tentative deal for a huge new contract for the courier’s employees, and labor experts say it sets the stage for other major victories for workers as more unions head to the negotiating table this year.
From pilots at airlines and other shippers to auto workers, the UPS deal signals that the rank and file has momentum behind them for negotiations.
The Teamsters also said they have their eyes on Amazon for future organizing.
Here’s what the deal could mean for labor in the U.S.
How big a deal is the UPS agreement?
“I think it’s huge. It’s huge. It really is,” said Mary Anne Trasciatti, Director of Labor Studies at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. “In material terms, it means wage increases, better working conditions, better benefits. In that way, it’s big, and symbolically it’s big. It shows what working people can accomplish when they organize smart campaigns.”
The deal is also good for consumers and companies, especially e-commerce giants that rely on services like UPS to get their packages to buyers.
“It’s massive for all,” said Tommy Storch, a senior manager at Insight Sourcing Group. “Had there been a strike there would have been millions of shipments left unshipped.”
What does the deal mean for other negotiations?
Trasciatti said the UPS agreement – which she emphasized is not actually in place until the Teamsters’ members vote to ratify it – signals that organized labor is on strong footing in the U.S. right now.
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“I think we’re going to see a lot of union members turning to their leadership and saying ‘OK, it can be done. Let’s do this,’” she said. The deal already means UPS will have to compensate its employees better as it earns record profits, and Trasciatti added that it’s likely other companies will have to follow suit.
“This is the beginning of the end of corporate greed ruling the day at UPS,” she said.
How likely is a strike in other contract negotiations?
Trasciatti said the strike threat was so effective in the Teamsters’ negotiations with UPS, it’s likely that other big unions will use the same tactic.
“If I’m a union member or a union leader, I’m thinking, ‘That’s what brought UPS to the bargaining table,’” she said. “This stuff tends to happen in waves, and we may well be at the beginning of a really interesting wave.”
Does the UPS deal make organizing more likely at other companies?
According to Trasicatti, the U.S. labor movement is having a moment, and that momentum for organizing, especially at large companies like Amazon, could pick up if the UPS deal is ratified.
“If they’re successful in that (at Amazon) we’re looking at a whole different landscape for working people in the U.S. There’s big potential there,” she said.
But even at companies without unions, Trasciatti added, collective bargaining victories tend to filter down. Non-union companies wind up having to improve working conditions to stay competitive.
“It’s a win for workers all around,” she said.
What’s in the deal?UPS, Teamsters reach agreement after threats of a strike. Here’s what workers are getting.
What does the UPS deal mean for consumers?
According to Storch, it’s likely going to take a while before shipping costs change for consumers as a result of the UPS deal.
“It’ll take a long time to roll out,” he said. “It will largely be absorbed by FedEx and UPS taking hits,” in the beginning, he added, but eventually the couriers are likely to pass the costs of the new contracts on to shippers in the form of rate increases, and those shippers will in turn probably pass those costs on to consumers.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
