OK upssup, because of the marketplace. If you cannot accept the idea that the AMT position is extremely technical and has critical facets and unlimited responsibility, take a look at the payscales for AMTs at Southwest Air and now even Fedex. In the time that this company has delayed negotiations for pay increase for the position of AMT, these two airlines have continued to give annual payraises to their AMTs that now exceed the current pay of UPS AMTs.
So it seems that the outspoken posters on this thread fall into a few general positions: those who feel that AMTs at UPS are currently overpaid, those who feel that this position deserves no pay increase, those who have a problem with the AMT's union or have been somehow slighted by brusque behavior of an AMT, those who succumb to hyperbole (holding hostage) instead of rational thought, and, all by themselves, those pesky AMTs.
upssup would like me to justify more money and benefits than the 'rest of us', for the position of AMT. There are a lot of positions at UPS that have better pay and benefits than upssup does, yet apparently upssup has fixated on the AMT position and pay, not on any other job classification. I do not know what to say, apparently the marketplace in the USA sees AMTs in a different light than you do.....
If you approached an AMT at UPS and asked that person in a reasonable manner what the problem is with the contract that UPS managment has been offering Local 2727, you would find that AMTs are concerned about other concepts than pay alone. Nothing gets a Teamster at UPS in a more contrary mood than suggesting that a new contract contain language that makes that person pay out-of-pocket for health care. And rest assured that a compensating pay raise is not a part of that plan. Another sticking point is the concept of retroactive pay. Retroactive pay is, of course, pay due to AMTs for not walking off the job when their contract expired, as mandated by the Railway Labor Act. That UPS managment does not want to fairly compensate their AMTs for retro pay to the day the contract expired, is outrageous in the eyes of the AMT staff. For all of the hue and cry about the AMTs at UPS striking, no one here has posted any form of thanks to the AMT staff for continuing to work without a contract, and no praise or thanks is necessary, as long as full retro is paid. Thats how it should work, assuring continued execution of duties by the AMTs, and removing the need for haste in contract negotiations, because the new contract pay will be paid TO THE DAY. Needless to say, UPS managment does not want to pay retro, offering small bonuses instead.
Scope. The concept of scope is so big, I certainly don't have much of the full picture. It encompasses a bigger picture, basically covering the question of who will maintain the aircraft at UPS? And even those scope concepts that UPS and Local 2727 have agreed to, have been violated in foreign countries and are currently a subject legal proceedings that have been decided in favor of the AMTs union, though UPS continues to spend untold monies on in a futile attempt to get their way. And that way is to have foreign workers peform maintenance on UPS aircraft in places like China. So when comments are made here that UPS AMTs should watch out for their jobs, as other laid-off AMTs will take their place, the makers of those comments do not understand that UPS wants to outsource their maintenance work to foreign countries, not to AMTs laid off by other US airlines.
So these are some of the concepts that AMTs at UPS are dealing with in their contact negotiations. As time goes by, the AMTs will not be alone with an expired contact, the pilot's union is nearly done with their contract, I am sure that the various drivers' contracts will be expiring. Despite continued profitability, UPS will use every resource to give as little as possible at the bargaining table, Unions will ask for as much as possible, it was always this way. Wish the AMTs and all hourly employees the best of luck....