Press Releases
UPS Administrative and Specialist Workers Ratify Contract, Join Teamsters National Master Agreement
Groundbreaking Addendum Paves Way for Thousands at UPS to Become Teamsters
Press Contact: Kara Deniz Phone: (202) 497-6610 Email: kdeniz@teamster.org
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) – Newly organized administrative and specialist workers at the UPS Louisville Centennial Hub (LCH) unanimously ratified an addendum agreement on Sunday to classify their jobs under the UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement, propelling forward a national campaign to organize up to 5,000 administrative and specialist employees at other UPS facilities nationwide.
The new members at the Louisville hub were organized by Teamsters Local 89 in October 2023. A memorandum of understanding secured by the Teamsters under the union’s historic UPS national contract ratified last year assures employer neutrality during administrative and specialist organizing campaigns. After a card sign-up drive and the now successful ratification vote in Louisville, Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman are working with the Teamsters Package Division to turn the momentum of the local victory into a national movement to expand Teamsters protections for even more UPSers.
“The Teamsters’ victory at UPS last summer wasn’t exclusive to protecting the rights and benefits of existing rank-and-file members. It was an investment in the long-term success of this great union, it was a blueprint for bringing more workers into the labor movement, and it was a commitment to ensure all workers at UPS can flourish in good-paying union jobs at a strong American employer for generations to come,” O’Brien said. “Local 89 is leading the way to help the Teamsters organize thousands of more workers under the powerful UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement. The new addendum will expand our membership as the benefits of our historic contract are realized by more workers around the country.”
Over the last several weeks, O’Brien and Zuckerman led negotiations with UPS to craft the addendum, which will automatically apply to any covered group of administrative and specialist employees who sign cards to join the Teamsters.
“By building up the ranks of our union at UPS, we are fortifying what is already the strongest Teamsters contract ever negotiated at UPS or any other single employer,” Zuckerman said. “The Teamsters Union commends the leadership of Local 89 for its organizing efforts. We look forward to welcoming thousands of other administrative and specialist employees into the union, which will grow worker power and give hundreds of thousands of hardworking people in the delivery and logistics industry the leverage to improve their lives at work and retire with dignity and respect.”
Local 89 President Avral Thompson, Business Agent David Thornsberry, and rank-and-file members Pete Hinton and Brittany Jensen also served on the negotiating committee for the addendum.
“Local 89 is incredibly proud of the work of the UPS admins and specialists at LCH, who committed to changing their lives for the better and have organized with the Teamsters to improve the lives of their co-workers as well,” Thompson said. “The local union is thankful for the support of the Teamsters General President and General Secretary-Treasurer, who have helped kickstart a national movement to organize these job classifications and take advantage of the protections afforded to UPS workers under our national agreement.”
The administrative and specialist addendum addresses several important issues for workers at UPS, including applying the UPS Teamsters’ general wage increases to the classifications, bringing the new members under TeamCare health coverage, and establishing or restarting pension plans for the now-protected workers.
“With this addendum in place, there has never been a better time for administrative and specialist workers at UPS anywhere in the country to join the Teamsters and gain access to all the benefits of the UPS Teamsters National Master Agreement,” said Chris Rosell, the Teamsters National Director of Organizing. “Teamsters organizers are ready to hit the ground running to assist our local unions in signing up administrative and specialist employees at UPS nationwide.”
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters.