SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced a lawsuit against metro Atlanta-based United Parcel Service over its plans to offer a second round of voluntary buyouts to its employees.
According to the Teamsters Union, the buyout offers are “illegal scams” that target Teamsters Union members working as drivers for the delivery company.
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On Monday, the Teamsters Union announced it had filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against UPS, seeking a shut down of the buyout plans announced during the company’s recent investor calls.
The union filed in court alleging at least six violations of the UPS union contract related to the voluntary buyout program.
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Just this year, the organization said it had issued nearly 60 requests for information and documents from UPS related to the driver buyout plans, which it said violate the 2023 contract “overwhelmingly ratified” to protect its thousands of full- and part-time members.
“For the second time in six months, UPS has proven it doesn’t care about the law, has no respect for its contract with the Teamsters, and is determined to try to screw our members out of their hard-earned money,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.
O’Brien said UPS must end the buyout program and alleged the buyout program provided drivers with a one-time lump sum in exchange for agreeing to never work for the company again, waiving their rights to union representation and giving up a year of wages, employer-paid healthcare and guaranteed retirement benefits.
In response to the Teamsters lawsuit, a UPS spokeswoman shared the following statement.
<i>We are aware of the Teamsters’ response to the voluntary separation program we planned to offer our U.S. full-time drivers and are working to resolve the matter through the legal process. This does not affect our operations, and we will continue to provide the reliable service our customers expect from UPS. </i>
<i>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.</i>
— Genny Bowman, UPS VP of Global Communications
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