UPS has pulled back its latest driver buyout program in the Teamsters’ Central Region after nearly 37 local unions filed grievances challenging the offer.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said UPS informed the union on March 24 that it would withdraw the program across the region, which covers 13 states from Nebraska to Ohio. The union said the move affects more than a dozen states and could make it harder for UPS to continue similar buyout offers elsewhere under the National Master Agreement.
UPS defended the program, saying it was designed to give drivers more flexibility as the company adjusts its operations.
“The world is changing, and the rate of change is accelerating. As we navigate these changes and continue to reshape our network, our drivers appreciate having choices, including the option to make a career change or retire earlier than planned. We engaged with the Teamsters on this topic in early January. We are disappointed the Teamsters have chosen to oppose a program that is entirely voluntary and would provide a great benefit to our employees, particularly as we continue to right-size our workforce,” the company said.
UPS said in a statement that the Driver Choice Program complies with its contract. The 2023 UPS-Teamsters agreement includes a commitment to create at least 22,500 full-time job opportunities for part-time workers.
The Driver Choice Program offered drivers a one-time lump-sum payment to leave the company. According to the Teamsters, workers who accepted the deal would also give up union representation, company-paid health care, and guaranteed retirement benefits.
“By pulling out of more than a dozen states, UPS has conceded that its buyout programs are illegal. They are scams designed to fuel corporate greed. These programs violate the Teamsters contract, and UPS knows it,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.
O’Brien said the union is pushing UPS to end the program nationwide. He added that if the company continues offering buyouts in other regions, the Teamsters will keep filing grievances and take the issue to arbitration.
“The Teamsters strongly urge UPS to take the next right step and dismantle its Driver Choice Program across the country. If UPS fails to do right by the men and women who deliver its packages and generate its billions in profit, the Teamsters will pursue our grievances nationwide and defeat UPS in arbitration. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to protect our members’ rights,” he said.
As previously reported, in February, the Teamsters filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against Atlanta-based global freight transportation and logistics services provider UPS.
In its motion, the Teamsters called on UPS to end its plan, “to roll out a second illegal buyout scam targeting UPS Teamster drivers,” adding that UPS, “told the union it aims to announce the Driver Choice Program (DCP) this week.”
The Teamsters said that should UPS’s DCP move forward, it would give drivers a one-time lump sum payment in exchange for Teamsters legally committing to never work for UPS again, waive rights to union representation, sacrifice strong union wages, employer-paid healthcare, and guaranteed retirement benefits. And the Teamsters added that in court filings with the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, it cited a minimum of six violations of its National Master Agreement, which was inked between the parties in 2023, by UPS related to the DCP, including direct dealing of new contracts with workers, elimination of union jobs when UPS contractually agreed to establish more positions and erosion of the rights and privileges of union shop stewards, in addition to other charges.
