10 Reasons to Vote NO
I'm currently running for public office and am thinking about using my campaign to publicize the contract, adding a web page listing "Ten Reasons to Vote No." I haven't yet brainstormed those reasons, but I suspect they won't be hard to find.
In fact, here are ELEVEN items that jumped into my mind...
1) New hires will still be starting at $8.50 an hour, with no paid vacation or sick leave and no medical benefits, in the year 2013. My God.
2) New hires have no one to speak for them since they haven't even been hired yet.
3) Split Pay Raises - What corporate attorney came up with that sleazy strategy to scr*w workers? We get a 35 cent pay raise just in time for peak season. How generous.
4) Substance vs Promises - We know we're going to get split pay raises, and we know new hires will still get $8.50 an hour. The Teamsters are telling us, "Yes, this stinks...but it's balanced out by the wonderful pension plan we've planned for you!"
The problem is that pension plans are much more complex than pay raises, and there's more opportunity to deceive voting members and later plunder even good pension plans.
I'm new to UPS, and I'm no expert on such things - but how many of us are? I just smell a rat.
5) UPS jobs can't easily be outsourced - If you're shipping a package from Nebraska to California, you're not going to send it from Nebraska to India, THEN on to California. That gives us a lot of leverage. UPS is doing business on OUR turf, and we could and should use that advantage to pressure them.
6) UPS is reportedly earning record profits. If major corporations can't give their employees fair pay even when the company is flush with cash, then what hope is there?
7) Deceptive (or Stupid) Statements by our "Leadership" - Jim Hoffa was quoted as saying "This tentative agreement with UPS addresses our members' concerns, and is an example of how the Teamsters are moving forward faster and stronger than ever." What a bald-faced lie. And...
"hall, chief negotiator for the Teamsters with UPS, said that under the agreement full-time union members at UPS were expected to enjoy a total increase in wages and benefits of $9 per hour over the course of the new 5-year contract, compared to gains of $8.75 per hour in the last six-year contract."
What exactly does that mean? I think I recall an article that mentioned a reporter pressing Hall for details, but Hall wouldn't comment. You know what they say - figures don't lie, but liars do figure.
8) Threats - When your employer and union both start threatening you to sign OR ELSE, it's time to be scared. No - it's time to get ANGRY and fight back. Now I may just be repeating rumors, but a co-worker told me that the Teamsters told an audience that had gathered to learn about the new contract that if they didn't vote YES, the next contract would be worse. I also heard that UPS had threatened to do a hatchet job on UPS employees' pensions if this contract doesn't pass.
Again, these are rumors. I'd like to know if other UPS employees have heard similar threats.
9) Solidarity - First they came for the communists, then for the Jews... The UPS/Teamsters juggernaut is clearly using a divide and conquer strategy against us. So who are they going to target once they've purged part-timers? And how can the Teamsters refer to themselves as an "International Brotherhood" when they stab their brothers in the back.
10) Let's Destroy Morale from Day 1! - I actually enjoy my job to an extent. I like hard work, I love the flexibility, and I get along with my supervisors just fine. But I have a chip on my shoulder. Why?
When I started working for UPS, I barely earned enough money to pay rent. But the salary was only my second biggest complaint. What really burned me was the fact that the Teamsters were sucking money out of my paycheck even when I wasn't getting any union protection or benefits. Another pet peeve is co-workers who are lazy, whining you-know-what but who get special protection by the union. So what exactly is it that the Teamsters do for us???
People who hire on with UPS after this contract takes effect are not going to be happy campers once they read the fine print. And after they discover that their own union sold them out, they may be even angrier. And who could blame them?
11) Globalization - When you look at the big picture and put this contract in its proper context, it appears to be another corporate strike against workers. For example, it appears to me that the corporate media have joined the UPS and Teamsters in cheerleading for this contract; they certainly haven't published many dissenting opinions.
I saw the same thing happen when I was a teacher, and my "union" sided with local corporations, both supported by the media. Teachers lost that battle, and public education has now effectively been privatized.
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Some people lament that UPS has no choice but reduce labor costs if it wants to compete with Fedex, but I'm not convinced. Even if it's true, I would still not submit. If UPS goes out of business after it's forced to pay fair wages, someone has to take over their business, and we can all go work for Fedex.
It would also be interesting to compare Fedex's salary and benefits to UPS. I have a friend who worked for Fedex for several years. He said he never really missed not having a union, as he never needed protection from management. I THINK their wages are also competitive, though I'm not sure about benefits.
Anyway, there's lots to think about here. Let's not make a hasty decision!