UPS Inc. and the Teamsters union have reached 24 separate tentative contract agreements, including the ban on UPS introducing new technologies without first bargaining with the union.
Under one of the agreements, UPS would be required to negotiate with the Teamsters at least 45 days before it introduces certain technology such as drones, driverless vehicles and platooning into its network, Teamsters General President Sean O’ Brien said during a webinar on Wednesday updating members on progress in negotiating a new master contract once the current five-year agreement expires July 31.
“Prior to this, there was very loose language which didn’t give us the ability to sit down and negotiate and the company could just implement,” O’Brien said.
UPS and the Teamsters also agreed that 50% of Surepost packages will be delivered by UPS by the end of the next contract, with the remainder still handled by the U.S. Postal Service. Currently, UPS Teamsters deliver about 42% of those shipments.
The tentative agreement also reduces the size of packages eligible for delivery by the Postal Service. Both tenets will result in millions more packages being delivered by union drivers, O’Brien said.
In another change, part-timers will have more flexibility to move to other positions at the company other than for educational purposes.
In addition, UPS will be barred from taking disciplinary action based on technology. The Teamsters have stopped installation of driver-facing cameras and must prove that they be shut off. “UPS cannot use data from any type of technology to discipline drivers,” O’Brien said.
In a statement, UPS said that “we are pleased that we are making steady progress with the Teamsters on a wide array of topics.” All contract language is subject to ratification by the 340,000 rank-and-file Teamsters