As United Parcel Service and the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters met again yesterday for discussions on wage increases and benefits, both sides are optimistic an agreement can be reached by the end of June — one full month before the current contract ends July 31.
The Teamsters represents 230,000 of the delivery giant's 371,000 workers. The union issued a news release this week from president Jimmy Hoffa Jr. stating that an early settlement is increasingly likely.
“We certainly believe it is possible to get a contract by the end of June,” he said, adding that he is “very satisfied with the progress we've made” since talks began in late January.
Chris Mahoney, senior vice president for transportation at UPS, said “we are optimistic that we're going to close this thing out early … We're moving forward and getting closer to an agreement.”
The two sides also have to complete supplemental agreements covering local issues. They have settled about half of the three-dozen or so local contracts.
