It’s official: UPS Teamsters will not get a Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) raise this August 1, in addition to the base wage raise of 75c. 

Source: Chris Sampson, Creative Commons

Article 33 of the UPS Master Agreement provides for inflation protection, but only if inflation exceeds 3.4%, based on the year of May 2018 to May 2019.  The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has just released the May figures, and the inflation index (CPI-W) only rose 1.7%.

You may be surprised at that, because inflation has risen faster this year.  In fact, the inflation index (CPI-W) has gone up 2.1% in just the last six months, and is rising.

The language of Article 33 states that the COLA will kick in after inflation reaches 3% in a year (measured from May to May), but also says it must be at least a 5c per hour raise to be paid out, so the real figure is about 3.4%. 

UPS has still not paid the retroactive pay on raises earned from August 1, 2018 through April 30 of this year.  That is expected in the first pay period in July.