UPS pilots ratify 2-year contract extension

The union representing pilots at express delivery titan UPS said Friday its members have overwhelmingly ratified a two-year contract extension.

UPS Airlines (NYSE: UPS) pilots approved the agreement with 91% voting in favor and with 97% participation in the balloting, the Independent Pilots Association said. The new agreement extends the terms of the pilot contract until Sept. 1, 2025.

The short-term extension provides enhanced wage increases and retirement benefits, according to UPS and the IPA.

UPS Airlines is based at the parcel company’s global air hub in Louisville, Kentucky.

UPS recently launched a new daily flight from its Cologne, Germany, air hub that connects key manufacturing cities in Asia, speeding up transit times across multiple intra-Asia trade lines and increasing network connectivity, CEO Carol Tomé said during a presentation of second-quarter earnings last month.  

International package volumes slowed in the second quarter due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and COVID lockdowns in China, but higher yields boosted international revenue 5.3% to $5.1 billion.

UPS has about 3,200 pilots employed under a collective bargaining agreement that was eligible for amendment Sept. 1, 2023. Negotiators for the union and UPS reached a tentative agreement on the extension in mid-June. 

The new labor deal provides UPS and customers three years of extra certainty against possible labor disruptions. 

The integrated parcel logistics company also employs about 1,700 airline mechanics who are covered  by an agreement with Teamsters Local 2727, which becomes amendable Nov. 1, 2023. 

FedEx (NYSE: FDX) pilots are expressing frustration with the pace of negotiations on a new labor pact. The collective bargaining agreement became amendable in November and talks started in May 2021, according to the Air Line Pilots Association.

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CONTACT: ekulisch@freightwaves.com

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