News

(Washington, D.C.)—In votes counted late yesterday, more than 7,000 Teamsters working at DHL Express ratified their first national agreement by a solid 82 percent.



The contract is the union’s second new national agreement in the past month. These are the first new national pacts negotiated by the Teamsters Union in more than 30 years. In votes counted on April 7, an overwhelming 89 percent of voting workers at UPS Freight (NYSE: UPS) ratified a new national contract that now covers approximately 10,700 new members.



“The vote from DHL Express members is a strong signal of support,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “We were determined to obtain the best contract that we could for members, and I believe we have achieved that. I thank our national negotiating committee and our members on a job well done.”



The contract boosts wages and benefits, improves working conditions and strengthens job security for drivers, freight handlers, warehouse workers, clerical workers and call center representatives at dozens of DHL Express locations across the U.S.



“This is a great agreement. We protected what we already had and we’ve gained more,” said Patti McGuckin, a DHL dock agent and member of Teamsters Local 299 in Detroit. “We’re getting steady wage increases, and our pension and health-and-welfare plans are protected.”



“I can’t help but think that this is going to be a good thing for everybody,” said Sam Conover, a DHL driver and member of Teamsters Local 135 in Indianapolis. “I believe this helps the company by giving them some avenues to do some cost-saving. At the same time, our jobs have been protected and this is the strongest wage-and-benefit package I’ve seen as a Teamster.”



The five-year contract expires on March 31, 2013. Among the national contract’s highlights: annual wage and benefit increases, including $8.35 over the term of the contract for pick up-and-delivery and clerical workers; all health-and-welfare and pension funds are maintained for current employees; a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, applies to all employees and operations covered by the new agreement.



Negotiations took place in a difficult environment: Since purchasing Airborne Express in 2003, DHL has lost billions of dollars in the U.S., including $900 million last year. Under these difficult conditions, the Teamsters negotiating committee secured an agreement that significantly raises workers’ wages and provides a path for further organizing at DHL.



In total, approximately 55.4 percent of eligible workers voted on the contract.



“Creating a national contract was a complicated undertaking and our members have shown that it was worthwhile work,” said Brad Slawson, Co-chair of the Teamsters national negotiating committee. “Not only were we able to negotiate significant economic gains for members, this agreement provides job security by allowing DHL to better compete in this tough industry.”