Dive Brief:
- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters ratified a master agreement with UPS, despite more of the union's members voting "no" than "yes."
- Only 44% of union members participated in the ratification referendum, and among those, 45.8% voted for the contract and 54.2% voted against. In a case where fewer than half of members vote, two-thirds must vote "no" to reject the contract.
- The union negotiating committee said it will return to the bargaining table with UPS to "address a number of member concerns." UPS said it expects "to meet with Teamster leadership in the near future to discuss the next steps regarding the remaining local and supplemental agreements."
Dive Insight:
"This has been a lengthy process," UPS Rising, the Teamsters campaign for negotiating a contract between members and the logistics provider, said in its statement.
Agreements covering more than 200,000 workers have gone through several iterations at the bargaining table, with issues such as weekend deliveries and technology and automation being negotiated between the two parties.
The union said it provided members with several leaflets, teleconferences, social media messages and more to inform members of the terms of the contract. It also implemented electronic voting "to make voting more convenient and to simplify the process."
Despite these efforts, Teamsters was disappointed by the turnout. "Not enough members covered by the National Master UPS Agreement exercised their right to vote," the union said.
"As we saw in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, winning the popular vote does not necessarily win the election when the Constitution requires you to win the Electoral College vote. As Teamsters, we too must abide by the rules in our Constitution. Thus, the National Master UPS Agreement has been ratified," the union said.
Supplements and riders to the contract will need to be resolved before the agreement is finalized.
