The 250 Workers That UPS Fired Last Week Just Got Their Jobs Back

UPS has reversed its firing of 250 workers for taking part in a 90-minute strike in February, the company told Business Insider on Wednesday.

The reversal comes following a public uproar over the mass firing, which we reported on last week. UPS officials decided to rehire the workers as part of an agreement reached Wednesday in a meeting with union officials.

"The 250 UPS employees involved in the walkout who were terminated for their actions will have their terminations reduced to a two week suspension without pay for each participant," UPS spokesman Steve Gaut told Business Insider in an email. "UPS has chosen to settle the matter in order to return to normal operations at the site."

As part of the agreement, the local branch of the union representing the workers, Teamsters Local 804, will compensate UPS for damages associated with the Feb. 26 walkout, Gaut said.

Union officials also acknowledged in the agreement that the strike was "illegal and unauthorized and will undertake other actions within the bargaining unit to correct the situation," he said.

The UPS employees who were fired walked out on their jobs on Feb. 26 to protest the dismissal of one of their coworkers, Jairo Reyes.

As part of the settlement reached Wednesday, Reyes' discharge will be reduced to a suspension without pay for the period from Feb. 26 until he returns to work.

A group advocating for the fired workers called the resolution a victory.

"After several weeks of sustained worker and community pressure, UPS has reversed the firing, and all 250 workers, including Jairo, are getting their jobs back," Joe Dinkin of The Working Families Party told Business Insider in an email. "This is huge news. And it proves that even in an economy where the power of employers over workers is stronger than ever, when workers stand together, they can still win."