If this downward trend continues (especially now through peak season) and we don't see a marked improvement, the issue of labor costs and wages will be a hot topic early next year. UPS will not wait to submit concessions to the union.
UPS can't compete because of high labor costs?
- Thread starter brownmonster
- Start date
If this downward trend continues (especially now through peak season) and we don't see a marked improvement, the issue of labor costs and wages will be a hot topic early next year. UPS will not wait to submit concessions to the union.
rushfan
Well-Known Member
Will be in package next week.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
I had my annual safety ride yesterday and my on-car and I talked about a lot of the issues facing the company today, among these being the high labor costs. We both agreed that there is no way the company can continue to give us raises year after year after year. We are going to be at $32/hr when 2013 comes around and this is for a job with no formal education requirements. He also feels that 2013 will see concessions from the Union, whether it be a wage freeze or paying for a portion of our health care. As we all know, mgt has gone without raises, have lost their 401k match and are unsure how much their MIP will be and whether their 1/2 month bonus will be given this year, so perhaps it will be our turn in 2013.
John19841
Well-Known Member
Sorry to be the one bringing a thread back (Hey, it's only been a month) but I was doing a little research on this health plan law and the taxing of Cadillac Health Plans. I realize a 40% tax on anything (except marajuana
) is ridiculous, but I was wondering if anyone knew what they are taxed at right now?give the part-timers, they dont even pay into the full-time pension in my area.We get paid good money because we break our 
do 135 stops and 25 pickups fill 2 package cars get back 2 your center and your boss says thats the best u can do..i live in metro jersey and the cost of living is a bitch.UPS can trim cost by cutting some sups,and managers jobs thers alot of dead wood in my building too many cheifs not enough indians.
do 135 stops and 25 pickups fill 2 package cars get back 2 your center and your boss says thats the best u can do..i live in metro jersey and the cost of living is a bitch.UPS can trim cost by cutting some sups,and managers jobs thers alot of dead wood in my building too many cheifs not enough indians.
Coldworld
60 months and counting
Sorry to bring back a year old thread but I am bored tonight...well ups is almost at this number and it sems as if things are still not alright. I thought this was an interesting thread. Just curious, ups says we are overpaid, some think we are some not, so, how many of you would take a paycut to "help out the company" if they were to cut our wages 5 dollars an hour to that of a top scale fedex express driver....but also give us the same kind of workload as those folks. You cut the pay but cut the work also...seems fair. Company would also need to cut the hours for drivers just wanting to work 40-45 a week, the same amount of hours as most fedex folks do. Production would have to be the same as fedex also, especially if werecutting pay by 5+bucks an hour...fedex drivers work, but not at the same pace, with not the same harassment. So with all this said and done, how many would be willing to do something like this. Lets say that the membership agreed, do you think ups would actually think about doing something this similar to fedex....cant wait to see the answers.
Signature Only
Blue in Brown
I've always thought this job was quite a bit like running the 24 Hours Of Lemans. The critical requirement is heart. To go as fast as possible and keep the car on the road for 24 hours is difficult. Hire drivers for $15.00 an hour and you'll save money....until the stress builds up after a year or two and customers are pissed off and Tier III accidents pile up. Then how much money would you have saved?
Signature Only
Blue in Brown
Where does everyone get the idea that a formal education is required to earn more than minimum wage? How many people can set a toilet, replace a water heater, repair an AWD system or change a 220 volt circuit breaker to a 120 volt. How about running a natural gas line for a stove or dryer? How well versed are you on the UPC codes? Would you rather have grade M or K copper pipe in your house? Can you change the millivolt generator in a gas appliance? What do you think of Pex water line? Would you bury it in a slab foundation? Can you troubleshoot and repair a Bosch K fuel injection system. People who do these jobs earn a lot more that $32.00 an hour. If you can do any of these things, would you pay someone $32.00 per hour to pick up and deliver the parts you needed? Or would you rather save money sitting in the dark with no running water or heat or A/C while someone walked to the nearest supply house and somehow carried everything back on foot?
There is no need for givebacks. UPS is pulling in money hand over fist.
And their crying about their labor costs being higher than Fedex is hogwash. It takes THREE fedex drivers (Express, Ground, Home Delivery) to cover any UPS drivers route. To me, those three drivers pay adds up to a lot more than mine. Add that to the FACT that you could combine the volume of those 3 Fedex trucks, and it would not equal my one truck.
You have had too much brown kool-aid if you believe our labor costs are higher than theirs.
And their crying about their labor costs being higher than Fedex is hogwash. It takes THREE fedex drivers (Express, Ground, Home Delivery) to cover any UPS drivers route. To me, those three drivers pay adds up to a lot more than mine. Add that to the FACT that you could combine the volume of those 3 Fedex trucks, and it would not equal my one truck.
You have had too much brown kool-aid if you believe our labor costs are higher than theirs.
UnconTROLLed
perfection
Absolutely correct. However (IMO), they will still negotiate a terrible contract littered with give backs that Huffa and cronies will try to strongarm through. Much worse than the previous one.
Coldworld
60 months and counting
I remember when I was part time 20 years ago and hearing pcm's about how the postal service is taking ups volume and how we need to "ask" our family members who had jobs that shipped fedex or the usps for their business. Even if fedex went out of business today, ups would still find it necessary to cut routes and "get" volume from the ltl companies. I know it is natural to grow and this has to be done but no company in the shipping business asks for more than ups....nobody. We could be making 20 dollars an hour and it would be too much for ups. It is what it is. There are videos of old ups commercials that mention how ups next day air is 2x less expensive than fedex, yet they still were able to get a foothold on this company that had almost a 70 year head start....Im sorry to say this but someone royally screwed up. You can thank the culture of this company for that...and imo they are going down the same road right now with fedex...
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
"Huffa and cronies" cant "strongarm" anything.
They negotiate for what they feel is the best offer that they can, and the membership votes on it.
I'm not thrilled with the current contract either. I voted against it. But when I made a choice to take a union job, I also made a choice to accept whatever wages and benefits the membership of that union voted to accept.
Imperfect though it may be, the contract I work under is far superior to the alternative.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
The contract passes based upon how the union members in the larger areas vote. Hoffa and his cronies will focus their efforts in those areas and rightfully so. There are roughly 200 employees where I work of which the majority are part timers. Do you think that our votes will make any difference?
I do agree with your last statement.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
+1
The FedEx Ground driver that covers my pickup route has a helper with him all year long.
I do twice as many pickups and handle 3X as many packages by myself.
I also shave...and wear polished boots instead of blown-out tennis shoes....and I dont stand there on the customers dock smoking a cigarette and yelling at my girlfriend on my cell phone.
FedEx has a "cost advantage" over UPS the same way that Burger King has a "cost advantage" over, say, The Outback Steakhouse. Burger King is by far the cheaper place to eat, but every time I ever go to the Outback Steakhouse its a 45 minute wait to get a table.
You get what you pay for.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
If the majority of the workforce (and I think that part-timers constitute something like 75% of the hourly UPS workforce) were to vote "no" on a contract....it wouldn't pass.
I completely agree that the current agreement gives part-timers a bad deal. But the fact of the matter is that the current agreement was ratified by a majority of the workforce who took the time to vote.
The majority of UPS workers are part time, but they have been screwed over since 1982 because most of them do not get involved with the union or its elections. At contract time, UPS puts a certain amount of money on the table. Its the union that decides how that money is divided up.
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
I see by the last earnings report that we made 330 million a month profit last quarter. Looks like the high labor cost is really killing us.
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