UPS Aicraft mechanics picket

[ups767mech]

UPS aircraft mechanics picketed the air group building in louisville on OCt 30 2008. Ups wants to outsource aircraft maintenance to foreign gateways like china. see this link for pictures from the picket line.



YouTube - Teamsters Local 2727 Picket Line

 

[705red]

How was the response from the upsers at the hub? I sure hope they honored your picket line!

I did hear something about this, but there wasnt alot of details. Please inform us of your fight!

 

[ups767mech]

How was the response from the upsers at the hub? I sure hope they honored your picket line!

I did hear something about this, but there wasnt alot of details. Please inform us of your fight!

For now it was an informational picket. We wanted to let the public know that we have been without a contract for over 2 years. During negotiations the company wants us to let them do aircraft maintenance oversees. Basically eliminating our jobs. Also for those that are left they want to raise the health insurance premium by 150% while only giving us 85% of coverage that we have now. These are our issues as of now. We have more inforamtional picketing planned in the near future.

If you have any other questions ill be glad to answer them. Also ask your managmeent team about it. Stir the pot if you will.

UPS767MECH

 

[705red]

Let me know if you plan on coming to Chicago! I'll love to come and assist you!

 

[ups767mech]

Let me know if you plan on coming to Chicago! I'll love to come and assist you!

Rockford Ill may be a place but that wont be till after new years if it isnt settled by then . I will keep you informed and would love to have you join us.

 

[705red]

Im in 705 but i know alot of 710 brothers that would come and help out, rockford is only about an hour from me.

Fyi ups is the only thing in rockford, not much else, it is a huge airport for us (ups).

 

[evilleace]

Good Luck with the contract I hope it works out for you!

 

[Catatonic]

Let me know if you plan on coming to Chicago! I'll love to come and assist you!

Won't you please come to Chicago
Show your face
From the bottom of the ocean
To the mountains on the moon
Won't you please come to Chicago
No one else can take your place

- CSNY

 

[beentheredonethat]

For now it was an informational picket. We wanted to let the public know that we have been without a contract for over 2 years. During negotiations the company wants us to let them do aircraft maintenance oversees. Basically eliminating our jobs. Also for those that are left they want to raise the health insurance premium by 150% while only giving us 85% of coverage that we have now. These are our issues as of now. We have more inforamtional picketing planned in the near future.

If you have any other questions ill be glad to answer them. Also ask your managmeent team about it. Stir the pot if you will.

UPS767MECH

OK here's my questions,
1. What's the actual dollar amount of your premiums now and what will they be as proposed (indicate also weather the amt is by week\month\year).
2. What's your current coverage vs proposed ex current = 100%, proposed 85%.
3. What amount of work is planned to be done overseas? Does it match the planes that are based over there? Or are they planning on having all work over there? If you have a tractor domiciled in MA and there's a feeder shop there, you don't send the tractor to Jersey to get repaired. I'm thinking that planes domiciled in Asia area, would\should get repaired in Asia.

 

[ups767mech]

OK here's my questions,
1. What's the actual dollar amount of your premiums now and what will they be as proposed (indicate also weather the amt is by weekmonthyear).
2. What's your current coverage vs proposed ex current = 100%, proposed 85%.
3. What amount of work is planned to be done overseas? Does it match the planes that are based over there? Or are they planning on having all work over there? If you have a tractor domiciled in MA and there's a feeder shop there, you don't send the tractor to Jersey to get repaired. I'm thinking that planes domiciled in Asia area, wouldshould get repaired in Asia.

Thanks for the questions here are your answers:

1. We actually have a low premium right now i think its about $50 a week. they want that to go up to about 200 a week

2.They want to remove some services from our coverage. Prescriptions and eye care.

3.No aircraft that UPS owns is domiciled oversees. All UPS aircraft have a registration number that starts with an N. Those are United States registration numbers. They want to be able to fly those aircraft to say china everytime it needs any scheduled maintenance done. These facilities oversees are not required to have mechanics who are licensed by the FAA to repair aircraft. The saftey of the crew and everyone on the ground in the United States. Especially the ones that live in the flight paths of the airports around the country.


Hope i answered your questions if you have any others ill be glad to answer them

 

[U(s)PS Guy]

are they actually allowed to fly a plane that has scheduled maintenance? I would think they would ground it until maintenance was taken care of locally.

or do you mean minor maintenance that doesn't affect the planes ability to fly?

 

[ups767mech]

are they actually allowed to fly a plane that has scheduled maintenance? I would think they would ground it until maintenance was taken care of locally.

or do you mean minor maintenance that doesn't affect the planes ability to fly?

All scheduled manintenance has a time frame on when it has to be done. For example landing gear must be changed every 500 landings (im not sure what the time frame is for it these numbers are just being used for conversational purposes). So when they get to about 450 landings they will start to use the plane more around the foreign repair facility so when they have some down time( aircraft not flying) they will drop it in to that facility and have the gear changed.

I dont know of anything that is on an airplane that is considered "minor" manintenance. All maintenance done is significant to the aircraft being AIRWORTHY. From a tire change to and engine change to changing navigational equipment everything can effect the safe flight of an aircraft.

I dont want that plane over my house when the tire an UNLICENSED mechanic just changed chooses not to stay on the aircraft. Do you?

 

[705red]

So what you are saying is its more of the preventive maintenance that's being performed overseas. The maintenance that is actually being scheduled and ups knows when it has to be done. Just like our packages cars.

 

[Air Hub]

Outsourcing Aircraft Maintenance

This is referring to major airframe inspections that come every 3-5 years. The airplane will be in the hanger for more than a month. It will cost some money to get the aircraft to China but when you are only paying the workers a bag of rice a day…. you get the idea.

This article was written almost 4 years ago, the problems have only gotten worse. The passengers are always looking for the cheapest seat not the best maintained airplane.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/airline_maintenance.html

 

[beentheredonethat]

Thanks for the questions here are your answers:

1. We actually have a low premium right now i think its about $50 a week. they want that to go up to about 200 a week

2.They want to remove some services from our coverage. Prescriptions and eye care.

3.No aircraft that UPS owns is domiciled oversees. All UPS aircraft have a registration number that starts with an N. Those are United States registration numbers. They want to be able to fly those aircraft to say china everytime it needs any scheduled maintenance done. These facilities oversees are not required to have mechanics who are licensed by the FAA to repair aircraft. The saftey of the crew and everyone on the ground in the United States. Especially the ones that live in the flight paths of the airports around the country.


Hope i answered your questions if you have any others ill be glad to answer them

I read the story on http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20081031/BUSINESS/810310413/-1/electionam

I don't know if it's 100% accurate or not. But here's my two cents.

1. I agree with what you said that right now that $50/week is pretty cheap. The article says free. But let's assume $50 is right. I would agree $200/wk is a huge jump and a high cost. I find it hard to believe it's going up from $50 to 200. (JMO)
3. The whole domicile thing. I don't want to nit pick. But we all know UPS uses the planes as much as then can, but there's period of down time where it is sitting unused To me domicile, is where the plane sits more then any other place as a normal operating plan. I realize this may not be the true definition of domicile. If you use the definition of where the plane normally tends to sit as domicile. And let's assume some planes sit in intl areas more often then it sits in the US. Wouldn't it make sense to have it fixed closer to where they normally reside???

Also to carry over on that. Is the article correct about not losing existing jobs but potentially not creating new ones here and the "new" ones be created at intl sites?
Keep in mind, UPS is truly a global company now. It seems to make sense to do the work closer to where the work is.


Finally. If the article is correct about $43/hr. I don't see much sympathy from the public during this current economic crisis. I think a lot of the public is P.O.'ed with the whole auto industry and many are blaming in part the wages of the UAW.

 

[705red]

The wages of the uaw are not the problem, toyota workers also are represented by the uaw, the problem is their pension fund. Imo

 

[drewed]

The FAA not inspecting isnt full correct....

The FAA inspects int'l maintnence sites, theres only a handful of inspectors so it maybe get 50% what a US site would but they do get done

 

[Coldworld]

The wages of the uaw are not the problem, toyota workers also are represented by the uaw, the problem is their pension fund. Imo

please explain red. Did anyone catch the news story about ford and gm having a "fleet" of jets to fly the suits around in? Is it just me or does anyone think that the biggest problem with the big 3 is they arent being proactive and innovative with keeping up with new technology and customer need. Why would you continue to make suv's and large trucks when for the last 5 years you continue to sell less and less. How about a hybrid truck, a medium size truck that runs on batteries and gas. They are so out of touch....you would think someone would have caught on watching toyota sell record amounts of prius cars.

 

[scratch]

The wages of the uaw are not the problem, toyota workers also are represented by the uaw, the problem is their pension fund. Imo

Outside of the first Toyota/Geo plant, I don't know of the UAW representing Toyota workers. At a Toyota plant in KY, the UAW has lost every time they tried to organize. The non-union workers there make more than UAW workers because they get fat bonuses. The UAW does have a major problem with pension and benefits. People retiring in their 50s on full pension, people drawing 95% pay out of job banks without working for years, and health insurance.

 

[Coldworld]

Outside of the first Toyota/Geo plant, I don't know of the UAW representing Toyota workers. At a Toyota plant in KY, the UAW has lost every time they tried to organize. The non-union workers there make more than UAW workers because they get fat bonuses. The UAW does have a major problem with pension and benefits. People retiring in their 50s on full pension, people drawing 95% pay out of job banks without working for years, and health insurance.

you can retire at ups around 50 if you started there early enough, right. Does anyone know what an average pension of a uaw is?