Retired

[feeder53]

I too pay 3x the hourly, and I only work part time. I have talked about this with my local. There does not seem to be an hourly rate for P/T. I hold my union card and can drive for other union freight operations.

 

[tieguy]

Brown67,

Whenever Contract renewal time rolls around, some people always want a bonus, while others of us say that we would all be better off if the money was instead a raise permanently added to our base wage. This always leads to someone saying that the Teamsters want the money added to the base wage so they can get more dues out of us. At that point the discussion ends and everyone votes by secret ballot.

I'd just like everyone to know that while it's true that a raise in base wages triggers a raise in dues, the Teamsters, in fact, can raise your dues anytime they want, as much as they want. Not all that long ago, dues were only twice your hourly rate. Then the Teamsters raised it to two-and-a-half times your hourly rate. Then, still not satisfied, they raised it to three times your hourly rate. This is all in addition to the automatic dues increases that take place anytime you get a raise. These increases in the IBT Constitution's dues formula are minimums, meaning any Local is free to raise dues even further, and to levy additional fees as well, if they can get away with it. They can also use a different formula that causes some lower wage people to pay an even higher percentage rate than the rest of the barganing unit. This is all perfectly legal, because, like concessionary contracts, (some) people actually vote for them, and impose them on the rest of us. My point is the Teamsters have the power to raise your dues as much as they want, whenever they want, one way or the other, just so long as it doesn't trigger an all out membership revolt. Which it never seems to do.

Does not support or negate the original point. Obvioulsly raising union dues is a sensitive issue and the union would like to piggy back an increase of revenue via raising the wage rate. This method is least offensive to the membership.

Jon glad to see you're paying so much more in dues and just proves my point the more you give the more they ask for.

I hope they are using all that extra dues revenue to fix your pension but I doubt it.

 

[upsmanckp]

B' Bye

 

[scratch]

We were happy when the union got rid of the bonus. As soon as it's called a bonus, the IRS takes 1/3 for taxes.

Those bonuses were over twenty years ago, not sure of the exact year they ended. That "thousand dollars" was more like $660 when the check was cut and Uncle Sam got his "bonus".

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If memory serves, wasn't there talk of offering us a one-time profit sharing payment as part of the 1997 contract negotiations? I seem to recall that full-timers would have received checks of $6-7K. Does anyone else recall this and, if so, are my figures accurate?