UPS and Pilots Union Seek Federal Mediation

United Parcel Service Inc. and its pilot union on Wednesday said they are jointly asking for federal mediation for contract negotiations, which have already lasted more than two years.

The Independent Pilots Association, which represents about 2,600 UPS pilots, and the company said in a joint statement that they have "utilized their best efforts over the past two and a half years of negotiations," but are still at odds on issues including scheduling, compensation, pension, and benefits.

The National Mediation Board will handle negotiations going forward, according to the statement. The board has successfully helped the two parties to come to an agreement on all three contracts between UPS and the IPA since the union was formed at UPS in 1990. The last contract took about two years of federal mediation before it was signed in 2006.

The contract, which became amendable on Dec. 31, 2011, is governed by the Railway Labor Act, which keeps contracts from expiring and workers from striking, until all negotiation processes--including mediation--are exhausted.

UPS is also currently working to wrap up labor negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. While a master contract was passed in June by the company's domestic package-delivery employees, several local groups have rejected supplemental agreements that must be reached before the master contract can take effect.

Write to Laura Stevens at [e-mail] and John Kell at [e-mail]

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