Zero concessions?

rdquinn

Jul 28

I don't know any more about this contract than what I read in the papers, but I participated in union negotiations for many years and never was there a settlement without some give and take.

Somebody is going to pay for this contract and it appears that will be shareholders and customers in some manner.

The wage increases won by the union are just the tip of the iceberg as wages are drivers for other costs like payroll taxes, pension contributions, paid time off, etc.

If what is reported is accurate, the union did a good job, but so did the UAW for many years until it caught up with them and GM.

The tentative agreement features "more than 60 total changes and improvements to the National Master Agreement," Teamsters stated in a release. The union said there were "zero concessions from the rank-and-file."

Teamsters hailed the tentative five-year contract as "overwhelmingly lucrative" and filled with dozens of workplace protections and improvements.

"(UPS has) made some pretty substantial concessions, and it's either gonna have to be passed along in the form of higher prices to consumers, businesses, or gonna have to be absorbed by UPS," he told The Courier Journal on Monday. "I'd expect that it's gonna be a little bit of both, in terms of who's gonna have to carry the burden of what they've already agreed to."

Goldsby said he'll be interested to see how rates are affected when UPS announces its next general rate increase, which is typically revealed in the fall.

USA TODAY Contact business reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_.