UPS, union in tentative deal

United Parcel Service Inc. on Sunday reached a tentative, five-year agreement with the union that represents about 240,000 full- and part-time UPS employees in the United States.

UPS said the deal included wage increases and significant contributions to healthcare and pension plans for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The agreement beats a deadline today that the union had set for a tentative contract.

The accord covers drivers, clerks and package sorters and was reached 10 months before the Aug. 1, 2008, expiration of the existing contract.

Teamsters at UPS now must vote on the tentative agreement.

The agreement allows UPS to withdraw employees from the Central States pension plan, a multi-employer pension plan for 42,000 Teamsters members at the company, and to establish a single-employer plan for this group that will be jointly managed by Atlanta-based UPS and the union.

UPS will make a pretax $6.1-billion payment to the Central States plan in connection with its withdrawal.

UPS is the largest employer of Teamsters.