Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LABOR NEWS—Teamsters seek to block UPS driver buyout program, (Feb 12, 2026)

By George Basharis, J.D.

Union asks federal court to halt rollout of incentive-based separation program, alleging violations of national labor agreement and irreparable harm to representation rights.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is asking a federal court in Massachusetts to immediately block United Parcel Service from rolling out a nationwide driver buyout program, arguing that the company’s incentive-based separation plan violates the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and threatens to permanently remove drivers from the bargaining unit. On February 9, 2026, the Teamsters filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts seeking to halt the proposed Driver Choice Program (DCP).

According to the union, UPS has informed it that the company intends to announce the program to union employees beginning February 11, with an election window running from February 13 to March 12. The union states that once drivers sign the required separation agreement and release, their resignations become irrevocable after a seven-day revocation period, and they agree not to seek reemployment with UPS. The union contends that the program was developed and finalized without notice or bargaining, conflicts with multiple provisions of the National Master United Parcel Service Agreement, and it would cause irreparable harm if allowed to proceed.

Alleged contract breaches. The Teamsters allege that UPS developed the DCP without prior notice to or bargaining with the union and only informed it after finalizing the program’s material terms. According to the union, the initiative was presented as a fait accompli. In late January, the union submitted a written request for information seeking documents and data related to the program, followed by additional requests in early February. The union contends that UPS provided limited responses, declined to produce most of the requested materials, and maintained its timeline to distribute DCP materials beginning February 11.

The National Master United Parcel Service Agreement, ratified in 2023 and effective through 2028, governs wages, benefits, seniority, and dispute resolution procedures for hundreds of thousands of full- and part-time UPS employees nationwide. The union asserts that the DCP conflicts with multiple provisions of that agreement, including clauses prohibiting individual agreements that undermine collectively bargained terms and provisions governing workforce levels, steward rights, and negotiated layoff procedures contained in regional supplemental agreements. The Teamsters maintain that implementing the program outside the grievance process would undermine the contract’s final and binding arbitration framework.

Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said the union would not permit UPS to implement what he described as an unlawful buyout initiative. “UPS must dismantle its illegal buyout program and resolve its contract violations in the courts,” O’Brien said. He added that the union would pursue relief through available legal channels and seek to preserve the status quo pending arbitration of its grievance.

Proposed buyout. According to the Teamsters, the DCP would provide eligible drivers with a one-time lump sum payment in exchange for executing a separation agreement under which they resign their employment, waive legal claims against the company, and agree never to seek reemployment with UPS. Court filings state that the agreement becomes irrevocable after a seven-day revocation period. The union contends that, once effective, the agreement permanently extinguishes bargaining unit status and seniority rights and eliminates future eligibility for wages, pension accruals, and employer-provided health benefits tied to continued employment.

The union asserts that the DCP expands on an earlier 2025 initiative known as the Driver Voluntary Severance Plan (DVSP). That program offered severance payments to eligible feeder and package car drivers and likewise required execution of a separation agreement prepared by UPS. According to the complaint, the DVSP provided $1,800 per year of service, subject to a minimum payment, in exchange for voluntary resignation and a release of claims. The Teamsters state that the DVSP was widely rejected and that local unions filed grievances alleging violations of the National Master Agreement.

Those grievances have progressed through the contract’s multi-step dispute resolution process, and at least one is expected to be presented to the National Grievance Committee next month. If the committee does not reach a majority decision, the matter may proceed to binding arbitration before a neutral arbitrator. The Teamsters contend that the DCP is materially similar to the DVSP and argue that UPS should not be permitted to implement a revised separation program while contractual challenges to the earlier initiative remain pending.

Irreparable harm. The Teamsters maintain that the DCP would be offered to drivers nationwide regardless of length of service and would cause irreparable harm to the union and its representational rights. According to the filings, once the revocation period expires, employees who execute the separation agreement are permanently removed from the bargaining unit and barred from seeking future employment with UPS. The union further asserts that an arbitrator would lack authority to nullify executed releases or restore forfeited benefits, rendering any post hoc relief ineffective.

General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said that allowing the DCP to proceed would result in irrevocable harm to the union and a majority of its members. “If UPS is allowed to move forward with this illegal program, it would cause irrevocable harm to our union and a majority of our hardworking members,” Zuckerman said. He added that the initiative is “more than a contract violation” and threatens established representation rights.

In its emergency motion, the union asks the court to issue both a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction preventing UPS from implementing the DCP pending resolution of the contractual grievance process. The requested relief seeks to preserve the status quo until arbitration of the pending DVSP-related grievances, which the union contends raise materially similar issues under the National Master Agreement.

Companies: United Parcel Service; UPS

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