'97 Strike Resulted in UPS Going Public

[trickpony1]

Since going public, they can't (don't) tell us anything that may affect the stock price ... leading to possible Insider Trading.

Isn't that what Martha Stewart did that led to prison time?

 

[35years]

I worked for a local construction company 10 out of the 14 days as I couldn't justify wasting all of that time watching my co-workers get drunk.

So I take it you refused to walk the picket line?

 

[35years]

My finest hour. When the union lies to you more than the company does, my job is to take care of my family and myself. Remind me how our union boss was indicted for election fraud and laundering money through the DNC.

Scab.

No consideration of your fellow workers.
Many of us worked other Teamster jobs during the strike.
All of the trucking firms were putting on extras, you had options if you bothered to ask around.

 

[35years]

I actually enjoyed getting out and delivering to be honest and in Georgia, most people don't know or care about unions.
Before the strike I had been out of the office except 12 days of the previous 14 months and in 5 different countries.
After I helped close down a UPS technology subsidiary in Seattle for a couple of months in September and October 1997, I dropped to 4 or 5 days a year out of office which lasted until I retired in 2013.
I never cared for traveling then ... now in retirement, I enjoy the hell out of it.

Most managers worked 14 hour shifts inside the hot bldg. Very few trucks actually left the bldg. It was comical to see them emerge drenched with sweat and completely worn out. Many had not lifted a box in decades.

 

[Orion inc.]

My finest hour. When the union lies to you more than the company does, my job is to take care of my family and myself. Remind me how our union boss was indicted for election fraud and laundering money through the DNC.

and you still don't scab

 

[Mugarolla]

UPS wound up bailing out CS anyway for a lot more money and leaving UPSers screwed along with other orphaned Teamsters.

UPS did not bail out CS. The only thing they did was agree to match any possible reduction for post 2008 retirees.

And I see the corporate greed of UPS trying to weasel out of that agreement some time down the road.

UPS could have taken care of their own and agreed to match any reduction for pre 2008 retirees, but we all know UPS never cared about their employees, pre or post 1997 strike.

 

[rod]

I actually enjoyed getting out and delivering to be honest and in Georgia, most people don't know or care about unions.
Before the strike I had been out of the office except 12 days of the previous 14 months and in 5 different countries.
After I helped close down a UPS technology subsidiary in Seattle for a couple of months in September and October 1997, I dropped to 4 or 5 days a year out of office which lasted until I retired in 2013.
I never cared for traveling then ... now in retirement, I enjoy the hell out of it.

Seriously now--tell the truth---if you were like management at my old center you more or less just drove around in an empty UPS truck trying to convince the public that everything was fine at UPS by making yourself seen on the street. We had "inside spies" so we knew what was really happening.

 

[oldupsman]

In all honesty, as hard and miserable as the strike was for management it was the complete opposite for most union workers. The sense of solidarity among the strikers and union workers from other companies was exhilarating. The country had gone through several years of unions losing every battle (accelerated and exemplified by the air traffic controller's strike). We were were pumped up by hundreds of people honking in support, or stopping by the picket lines to stand united with us or bring us food and drink. It really was an incredible victory for all workers when the strike ended and we secured a good contract.

That was true. I had 2 airline pilots on my route and they couldn't thank me enough when I came back.
"Thank God somebody finally has some balls." The public overall thought we won. We could argue forever about
that one.

 

[oldupsman]

Seriously now--tell the truth---if you were like management at my old center you more or less just drove around in an empty UPS truck trying to convince the public that everything was fine at UPS by making yourself seen on the street. We had "inside spies" so we knew what was really happening.

I had managers joke with me about that after it was all over. One called it nothing but a waste of gas.

 

[Packmule]

Scab.

No consideration of your fellow workers.
Many of us worked other Teamster jobs during the strike.
All of the trucking firms were putting on extras, you had options if you bothered to ask around.

Blind loyalty to anyone is a recipe for corruption, lies and abuse. In 1980, there were 14 million Teamster's, by 97, 1.4 million and %85 of their companies were out of business. Not saying that was due to the union, just saying it was past due time for them to start building firewalls to lessen the damage to failing pension funds. Instead, they threw out some crap about part time jobs and hid the truth from the public that they were really using us to secure their ability to bleed us dry.
In the end, unions are failing because throwing around names like scab don't intimidate anyone anymore. You want unions to flourish again? Give prospective members the ability to hold them accountable. Only a national right to work law will do that.
So why am I back in the union? As I've said for years, the best recruiter the union has is the company, not forced unionism laws. They only breed mistrust, and we have the government for that roll.

 

[BrownArmy]

Right to Work?

Yah, those laws strengthen Unions.

Lulz.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

 

[Dr.Brownz]

Not until another goofball like Carey comes along bent on settling a personal gripe.
As you can see on here, Teamsters will blindly follow any charismatic leader that comes along.

??

Yeah the goofball that got our healthcare paid for. What a wacky concept that a corporation should have to pay for the healthcare of the employees that make it money everyday!

That UPS management brainwashing must stick with you a long time if your retired and still saying this kind of crap

 

[Dr.Brownz]

That's true ... especially as a stand-alone statement.
I read all of UPS books issued to management and published publicly.
In my opinion, they are all based on positives and present things in the best light.
IMO, they are mostly motivational material to get UPS employees to perform to the best of their abilities and in the way that UPS wants them too.
I modeled my behavior after those books and publications but I never accepted them as truth.

I agree, UPS management is nothing of substance, just empty pop psychology that only works on people and competitive losers.

 

[Dr.Brownz]

Profit sharing was part of the initial contract offer.

UPS would have suddenly started re-investing more money or done some other scheme to hide the profits.

 

[Dr.Brownz]

That's what they were telling us in Corporate.
They explained that UPS needed to do it now (1997) rather than latter or UPSers would be without pensions.
They were telling us because we were the shareholders and it was predicted there would be no stock price increases for a couple of years but then it would get back on track.
Since going public, they can't (don't) tell us anything that may affect the stock price ... leading to possible Insider Trading.
We use to laugh at the Feeder Network since going public, it's about the only way to find things out before it is announced publicly.

Sounds like a toxic environment to work in. Most industrial psychologists list lack of communication and indirect communication as symptoms of a toxic workplace

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

So I take it you refused to walk the picket line?

I was out there for the first day and quickly realized what a waste of time it would be for me to spend the next 10-14 days just sitting there.

At the time I was still paying child support and had other bills to pay.

I worked 46 of the hardest hours I had worked in a long, long time and was rewarded for my efforts with the grand sum of $253. My "boss" asked me how much I would have made at UPS for those same 46 hours and he almost when I told him.

My child support was set at $250/week. When I received my $253 I handed $250 of that to my ex, who was kind enough to hand $100 back.

I also handed my strike check back to our BA as I had not earned it.

 

[moreluck]

Isn't that what Martha Stewart did that led to prison time?

I think Martha went for lying to Feds.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

The strike did plenty of damage to UPS but mostly short term. Going public was a much bigger mistake and it's still impacting us (negatively) everyday. People can debate and offer reasons of how or why either happened all day but what's not debatable is which one has caused, and continues to cause, problems to this very day. Going public was the worst decision ever made at UPS.

Followed by implementing ORION.

 

[Catatonic]

The strike did plenty of damage to UPS but mostly short term. Going public was a much bigger mistake and it's still impacting us (negatively) everyday. People can debate and offer reasons of how or why either happened all day but what's not debatable is which one has caused, and continues to cause, problems to this very day. Going public was the worst decision ever made at UPS.

Followed by implementing ORION.

Its maybe a mistake from your perspective but not for the owners of UPS. It's been a huge success for them.
I guess the owners don't care about a workforce that betrayed them in 1997.