The 97 strike....

jumpman23

Oh Yeah
I know this sounds crazy but, I think It was planned!...so they could ride in,like a White Knight! Save the jobs and declare and impasse!
Louisville had a lot to do with the timing of the impasse also I believe, I think they might have been scared of the repercussions if Louisville decided to vote yes on the strike vote. But mysteriously the papers to authorize the strike didn't show up on time, imagine that happening lol.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
We dont need to strike,just have a threat of It!.....nobody will take you seriously,if their is no threat of negative actions!...It would be like your Sup,giving you a warning letter.....but not have the power to suspend or fire you!...How seriously would you take him, then??.....Exactly!
Yes but having the threat only works if you plan to use it. UPS knows dam well(I would think by voter turn out) that most of the younger work force will not walk. In 97 they called the Teamsters bluff and lost, I'm not so sure if they called that bluff again they would lose.
 

Johney

Well-Known Member
Keep in mind that this is a one-sided presentation of what the strike was about.
Most people at that time knew the strike was about UPS offering to take over the pensions of all UPS Teamsters which Carey was determined to prevent. UPS was pressing for putting the "pension takeover" to a vote by the members and Carey got his revenge.
All the rest of it was dressing for the media.
And this too is a one-sided presentation of what the strike was about.
I remember a lot of people saying the same thing as Photog during the strike.
 

10 point

Well-Known Member
I can't wait to retire (along with the people that have the backbone to get involved no matter which way they voted) and watch what happens with employee/management relations down the road. IE: harassment.

The pressure of this job creates activists or cowards or, maybe it just brings out what's truly inside of a person. That's a fearful thought judging on the apathy displayed. Or is it that many feel that everything's out of their control? That's even worse.
 

10 point

Well-Known Member
You left out those like myself who like to stay under the radar---punch in, do the work, punch out, go home. Calling us cowards would be unfair.
We're talking about apathy here and the amount of people who would cross a strike line.

I'm not calling anyone a coward. I'm just saying that there are strong hourly people and stewards with the backbone to face off with management on issues. The rest get to punch in and out quietly and enjoy the protection and peace created and upheld by workers that have courage to stand on principal, thus making it harder for greedy and abusive companies to rule by fear.
Please don't be offended. I wasn't pointing fingers.
 
The strike of 97 was very hard on me. My dad was staying with me at the time. He went down to the picket line,with me every day! ( He was a coal miner) We drank beer,grilled hot dogs and talked to the other drivers. He died a month later,unexpectedly!
 

10 point

Well-Known Member
In '97 we had 1 or 2 who thought about crossing. Had we struck this time I think the number would have been much higher.
There were two in our LOCAL that crossed. Not in our building.
Their name tags ended up glued to the inside of toilet lids.
Funny thing is, when one of them went to retire he was really bitter because he said the company "lost" his clerk years and he had to fight with them to get all his pension. A lot of good it did him to appease management.
 

bleedinbrown58

That’s Craptacular
There were two in our LOCAL that crossed. Not in our building.
Their name tags ended up glued to the inside of toilet lids.
Funny thing is, when one of them went to retire he was really bitter because he said the company "lost" his clerk years and he had to fight with them to get all his pension. A lot of good it did him to appease management.
How could anyone cross the picket line and have the balls to face their coworkers after it's over?
 

oldngray

nowhere special
Guess which finger, IVE Is ,holding up??
Pull_my_finger.jpg
 
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