The troubles of the World will always be with us, UPS needs a settlement to gain postal contracts, utilize their new heavies as they should be, and look better on Wall street. If you think they will not settle higher take a look at what they have to lose within the next year.
If we get the same thing a year from now it will have to include retro for that period so what's the difference? They have been in no hurry for 3 years, now they are. Can you guess why? It has nothing to do with colored lanyards or three year pins and everything to do with their business requirements.
My hourly raise under the new contract is less than 10%. This doesn't even begin to cover inflation for the last five years with no raise. Retro, now known euphemisticly as a "signing bonus" is about 75% of what it should be. We aren't keeping up with inflation, much less getting a good deal. Retirement doesn't match the current deal of our closest competitor.
The road show sold it, they couldn't defend it.