UPS pilots and company resume contract talks, enlist federal mediator

A period aft the fiery clang of a UPS cargo pitchy successful Kentucky, negotiators for UPS pilots and the institution person restarted negotiations connected a caller declaration with assistance for the archetypal clip from national mediators.

The talks are taking spot arsenic hundreds of UPS (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) pilots stay idle pursuing the indefinite grounding by aviation authorities of much than 60 MD-11 freighters successful the companies’ combined fleets.

The National Transportation Safety Board recovered fatigue cracks successful a structural enactment for the motor that fell disconnected the near helping connected UPS Flight 2976 during takeoff. Boeing has since indicated the MD-11 inspection process and imaginable repairs could past months, according to publically released interior communications and actions by affected airlines.

Pilots astatine UPS, arsenic good arsenic FedEx, accidental they merit amended wage and benefits aft enabling the companies to determination freight during the disruptive Covid years and support nett maturation portion their counterparts astatine rider airlines secured historical compensation packages.

The archetypal circular of negotiations with a national mediator took spot this week via video conferencing, said Brian Gaudet, a spokesperson for the Independent Pilots Association. In-person talks volition determination to Boston, wherever national mediator Kevin Barry lives, successful January.

The National Mediation Board successful September agreed to facilitate talks betwixt UPS and the IPA, which represents 3,500 UPS pilots, aft the parties were incapable to marque important advancement connected a caller declaration implicit 18 months, said IPA President Bob Travis successful a telephone interrogation past month. Discussions were delayed by the 43-day authorities shutdown.

UPS pilots agreed successful 2022 to widen their declaration an other 2 years, chiefly to springiness the Teamsters national abstraction to negociate a declaration for 340,000 crushed workers. The aviator declaration became eligible to beryllium amended connected Sept. 1.

“UPS made immoderate of the largest historical profits successful their past during COVID, and our pilots’ anticipation is that we person thing little than those rider counterparts made successful their declaration gains. Our pilots person patiently waited to get a caller contract, and UPS has not delivered yet,” Travis said. “They request to reward this aviator radical for the contributions we’re making to their bottommost line.”

The aviator radical astatine UPS continues to turn due to the fact that of the one-year-old transport declaration with the U.S. Postal Service and wide marketplace strength, the national main noted. Three years agone UPS employed 3,200 pilots.

UPS nett maturation has been halved since halcyon days of the pandemic. The institution had nett income of $6.7 cardinal and $5.8 billion, respectively, implicit the erstwhile 2 years. It posted a $3.8 cardinal nett net for the archetypal 3 quarters of 2025.