Teamsters Ratify UPS Freight Contract.

BYLINE: John Gallagher

UPS Freight drivers and dockworkers agreed to join the Teamsters union in a move long anticipated by both labor and management but one in which the competitive effects have yet to play out in the LTL market.

The contract, which according to the Teamsters was ratified by more than 89 percent of workers that have so far signed union authorization cards, adds more than 9,900 new members to the union's ranks. The contract expires July 31, 2013.

"This is the largest organizing victory in the freight industry in 25 years," said Teamsters President James P. Hoffa. "We were amazed that at the 90-day mark of our national campaign, …