Teamsters Secure DHL Wage Gains, Amazon Settlement Over Unpaid Time
DHL Express U.S. reached a tentative four-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ahead of the prior contract’s expiration on Tuesday.
The deal comes as the labor group also got a major win in its longstanding battle with Amazon , which conceded in a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that it would no longer retaliate against Teamsters -affiliated workers who exercise their right to strike.
More from WWD
-
India's Garment Workers 'Boiling for Profits' Amid Extreme Heat Crisis
-
UPS Pulls Driver Buyout Program in 13 States After Teamsters Pushback
-
Iran War's Capacity Constraints Disrupt Majority of Air Freight Forwarders
As part of that settlement, Amazon will restore unpaid time off to more than 100 employees.
Aligning with the backdrop of shifting labor dynamics at the e-commerce giant, the Teamsters gained some breakthroughs in its new provisional DHL contract.
According to the union, the national deal covers 26 local branches in 16 states and includes a 20 percent wage increase over the four-year stretch, alongside higher healthcare and welfare benefits contributions.
The Teamsters also secured additional job protections within the tentative deal including safeguards against AI-powered routing systems and bans on the use of autonomous vehicles.
“At DHL Express, we believe that fostering a collaborative and respectful relationship with our employees and their representatives is key to our continued success,” a DHL Express spokesperson said in a statement. “We have worked diligently to reach a fair agreement that reinforces our commitment to delivering reliable, high-quality service to our customers.”
Teamsters-represented employees will vote on whether to ratify the tentative deal in the coming weeks.
The new deal averted a potential strike at various DHL facilities. In early March, thousands of DHL Express voted 96 percent in favor of authorizing a strike if the logistics giant failed to present a “fair contract” by March 31.
“Our members at DHL held management’s feet to the fire and demanded a contract that recognizes the hard work they perform every day,” said Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien in a statement. “This agreement sets a new benchmark at the company and proves once again that no one fights harder for workers in the delivery and logistics industry than the Teamsters Union. With our members ready to take action, we secure real gains and force corporations to respect the people who make their profits possible.”
There had been precedent for strike action across DHL Express employees represented by the Teamsters and other unions.
In December 2023, more than 1,100 employees at the company’s largest U.S. air hub in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport walked off the job for 12 days for what it called unfair labor practices. Picket lines in solidarity with that walkout extended to various locations in major cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia. That strike ended with a four-year deal of its own for the air hub’s employees.
And last summer, more than 2,100 DHL Express workers in Canada affiliated with the Unifor labor union went on strike for nearly three weeks before agreeing on a new four-year contract.
Amazon settles over strike-related unpaid time deductions
On the Amazon side, the Teamsters’ ongoing back-and-forth has covered various arguments, such as allegations of unlawful contract terminations for workers at its delivery partners and whether the tech titan is a joint employer along with those partners.
The argument and ensuing settlement over unpaid time (UPT) stems from a day-long strike in December 2024, in which Amazon workers walked off the job at seven U.S. delivery hubs.
In a complaint to the NLRB, the Teamsters alleged Amazon had retaliated against the workers who went on strike by reducing their UPT, which exists as a bank of hours that Amazon workers can use for unscheduled leave and emergencies. According to the union, the Big Tech firm effectively uses UPT as an attendance policy, enabling the company to terminate workers when they run out of it.
An Amazon spokesperson said the company managed the situations “appropriately,” but agreed to resolve the matter via the concession.
The NLRB cited several cases since 2022 where Amazon deducted employees’ UPT after they went on strike. In at least one case, striking workers feared they would lose their job after their UPT “went negative” once it was deducted by Amazon, according to the complaint.
“Those deductions and points are unlawfully coercive in and of themselves, because they warn employees that their protected activity is inching them ever closer to termination,” the NLRB wrote.
According to the settlement, Amazon has agreed not to terminate or “otherwise discriminate against” employees who exceeded their remaining UPT, or were docked the unpaid hours after they participated in labor action.
Upon the concession, the Teamsters’ Amazon division director Randy Kogan called on the NLRB to “stop dragging its feet and ratify this agreement immediately.”
The settlement will cover all of Amazon’s 1,300 facilities nationwide, and Amazon is required to post a notice to workers informing them of their rights.
Best of WWD
