UPDATED March 28, 2013: Negotiations have been suspended until April 15. The company has proposed moving all UPS Package workers from company to union health and welfare plans, and the union expects a similar proposal from the company for UPS Freight.

Hall stated that the company and union are "light years apart" on the economic proposals. The company is offering a $500 lump sum bonus for full time for each year of the contract and a $250 bonus per year for casuals instead of any wage increase for the next four years! We need real wage increases—if inflation is 3% we need 75¢ per year just to avoid going backwards.

Hall said the union would not agree to paying "one cent more" on health coverage beyond what Teamsters are paying now.

Hall reported that subcontracting must be addressed before any agreement can be accepted. He stated that the goal was to have all road drivers back to work and working a full week. Hall remarked, "We have to make sure we end subcontracting with this contract." Amen.

Subcontracting means giving away Teamster jobs and should be a deal-breaker for the contract.

Hall said progress had been made in a number of other areas but did not report on them. He said there were tentative agreements on language for: bumping rights; more full-time jobs for casuals; protections for disqualified drivers; lay off recall rights; transfer rights; expansion of rights for military service; and cooperation on attaining CDL License.

Members will want to examine the language on these critical issues to see if it meets our needs, or should be renegotiated.

Bargaining continues this week in Florida.

Click here to send us a comment or to sign up for updates on the UPS Freight Contract.

What will happen when a tentative agreement is reached? Click here for our article, 5 Things Teamsters Can Do When the Contract Comes Down.