What GM workers weren't wiling to do that UPS workers might.

ups1990

Well-Known Member
While the Fed's bailed out General Motors, we can safely say that these workers would have made concessions years back before the company collapsed financially. Who would have thought, GM would go bankrupt without tax-payer money. Not their CEO's or management and for sure not their assembly workers. It has been said, that GM did go to its workers before its collapse that it couldn't sustain the current compensation packages, but fell on deaf ears.
At UPS, we've been hearing this same message over and over again by management about cost cutting measures in order to compete and be profitable. We all see their profit margins quarter by quarter but now we hear the company predicting a miserable summer financially. At this point, I don't know who to believe.
The company will demand more from its workers in the upcoming contract but will we really believe them?, it remains to be seen.
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
I believe that at GM they were loosiing market share for years to Toyota & Nissan, Gm also let their quality slip ,had to much fat at the top and had alot of overpaid employees !! I don't believe any employee is under paid here for the work we do as compared to a G.M guy sitting on a chair turning a screw for 75.oo an hour including bennies !! They put themselves into that corner ,all G.M not just the workers !!
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
GM hit the wall because gas was $4 a gallon and their entire business model was geared around selling full sized trucks and SUV's that consumers didnt want anymore. Meanwhile, you had to get on a waiting list to buy a a Toyota Prius. Its the same lesson that the Big 3 automakers failed to learn in 1974 during the first energy crisis.
 

menotyou

bella amicizia
Imagine if they had built the electric cars that they had plans for back then? OPEC would be broke now. The Gulf would be safe. And, I wouldn't have to look at windmills for 25 miles on my way to Lowville.:angry:
 

smokey711

Active Member
It's hard to believe them when we ALWAYS hear the same message... When times are tough, or when we are making record profits, we hear the same thing.
 

klein

Für Meno :)
Once you have a ratio of paying 5 retirees pension for each worker, that created their biggist liability.
Face it, UPS is still a growing company, and has pension problems.

While the big 3 (2) downsized thru more modernization, and of course because of less sales, too, their pension plan bubbled.
And it was the first thing they attacked when going under bk protection. - To get out of those huge liabilities or atleast to downsize them.
 

brett636

Well-Known Member
GM's UAW workers did have some ridiculous benefits. I'm sure there are some laid off drivers on here that wish UPS had a jobs bank program where they could go to work and sit in a room and do nothing while still getting 95% of their pay. Hell, I'd imagine some employees would be begging to get laid off if it were that good. On the flip side I put a good amount of blame on GM management as well for its downfall. As sober pointed out they built their business model on trucks and SUVs and that doesn't work when gas prices spike and everyone wants a small car. GM's small cars were and still are crap so if you want a decently reliable small car you went with a foreign competitor who has built their business on their small cars. I took a business class once on supply chain management, and the professor was talking about how GM's supply chain was still stuck in the 1970s in terms of its efficiency. They would order parts in huge bulk quantities and warehouse them until needed when most competitors were going with a just in time supply chain where they parts reached the assembly line right as they are needed eliminating costs for warehousing parts. I'd imagine a lot about GM was simply inefficient and obsolete compared to how most manufacturers run their operations today. GM's downfall was probably 75% bad management and 25% UAW greed.

As far as how this relates to UPS I believe since both companies only relation is a union workforce I can't see it relating much. UPS is still reporting good quarterly profits along with strong revenue growth. The only thing that could be seen as a concern is the fact that most of UPS's growth over the past several years has been its international shipping business, and that domestically we are basically flat on volume growth. Could we ask for more than UPS can provide and vote ourselves right out of a job? Certainly, but I see no indication that we are at that point....yet.
 

worldwide

Well-Known Member
The only thing that could be seen as a concern is the fact that most of UPS's growth over the past several years has been its international shipping business, and that domestically we are basically flat on volume growth. Could we ask for more than UPS can provide and vote ourselves right out of a job? Certainly, but I see no indication that we are at that point....yet.

Bingo. Did anyone listen to any of the analyst reports on FDX today or see their numbers? They are taking gound marketshare from UPS--ground is domestic US. International is driving revenue and profits at UPS. What was the ratio that has been thrown around--one international packages profit equals 10-12 ground packages? Who knows, UPS could actually continue to be profitable based on international growth, yet shrink in the number of drivers needed in the US if ground continues to decline. UPS is not far from having intra-China service up and running and that market potential is much bigger than the US. Not hard to imagine 10-15 years in the future that international business is driving UPS while ground continues to decline year over year, especially if rumors that TNT may be acquired. They are a big player in Europe and Asia but virtually non-existent in the US.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
Who knows, UPS could actually continue to be profitable based on international growth, yet shrink in the number of drivers needed in the US if ground continues to decline.

I see the US ground volume continuing to decline because we cannot compete with FedEx Ground cost structure. Unfortunately, its a simple matter of math.
 

tourists24

Well-Known Member
While the Fed's bailed out General Motors, we can safely say that these workers would have made concessions years back before the company collapsed financially. Who would have thought, GM would go bankrupt without tax-payer money. Not their CEO's or management and for sure not their assembly workers. It has been said, that GM did go to its workers before its collapse that it couldn't sustain the current compensation packages, but fell on deaf ears.
At UPS, we've been hearing this same message over and over again by management about cost cutting measures in order to compete and be profitable. We all see their profit margins quarter by quarter but now we hear the company predicting a miserable summer financially. At this point, I don't know who to believe.
The company will demand more from its workers in the upcoming contract but will we really believe them?, it remains to be seen.
Maybe they should start cutting all the wasteful spending on other areas besides operations. They have that down pat. Start cutting back on all the car rentals they spend money on each week to send sups out to do silly on areas to make sure we are grabbing our hand rails. Maybe cut back on spending money sending safety committee hourlies out to spy on drivers. They just spent a ton of money on Carrabas tonight for dinner for the drivers, and a driver got paid 9 hours today to go pick it up
 

tourists24

Well-Known Member
Imagine if they had built the electric cars that they had plans for back then? OPEC would be broke now. The Gulf would be safe. And, I wouldn't have to look at windmills for 25 miles on my way to Lowville.:angry:
Lowville....lol..... How bout Governeur? lol
 

Not IN Trace

Well-Known Member
I see the US ground volume continuing to decline because we cannot compete with FedEx Ground cost structure. Unfortunately, its a simple matter of math.

The fact of the matter is that UPS as a company has not taken the steps needed as a company to "compete" with fedex ground, I guess they have not looked at the mistakes GM made as a company when the japs started selling cheaper non union cars in the US.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
The fact of the matter is that UPS as a company has not taken the steps needed as a company to "compete" with fedex ground, I guess they have not looked at the mistakes GM made as a company when the japs started selling cheaper non union cars in the US.

I'm interested as I'm sure the Board is too! Why don't you enlighten us.
 

Not IN Trace

Well-Known Member
I'm interested as I'm sure the Board is too! Why don't you enlighten us.
easy..Freeze or lower pay and benifits for all workers
end the penion plan for and move to a 401K for all new employees after august 1, 2013
upgrade the quality of service we provide..higher standards
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
easy..Freeze or lower pay and benefits for all workers
end the pension plan for and move to a 401K for all new employees after august 1, 2013
upgrade the quality of service we provide..higher standards

OK, these are viable if UPS can can negotiate them. I assumed you were Union but it appears not.
UPS has already done these things for non-union employees.
 

Signature Only

Blue in Brown
I would say the 75% bad management/25% UAW greed is about right.

Doesn't anyone remember GM's EV1 program. Where would they be now if it hadn't been axed?
GM's UAW workers did have some ridiculous benefits. I'm sure there are some laid off drivers on here that wish UPS had a jobs bank program where they could go to work and sit in a room and do nothing while still getting 95% of their pay. Hell, I'd imagine some employees would be begging to get laid off if it were that good. On the flip side I put a good amount of blame on GM management as well for its downfall. As sober pointed out they built their business model on trucks and SUVs and that doesn't work when gas prices spike and everyone wants a small car. GM's small cars were and still are crap so if you want a decently reliable small car you went with a foreign competitor who has built their business on their small cars. I took a business class once on supply chain management, and the professor was talking about how GM's supply chain was still stuck in the 1970s in terms of its efficiency. They would order parts in huge bulk quantities and warehouse them until needed when most competitors were going with a just in time supply chain where they parts reached the assembly line right as they are needed eliminating costs for warehousing parts. I'd imagine a lot about GM was simply inefficient and obsolete compared to how most manufacturers run their operations today. GM's downfall was probably 75% bad management and 25% UAW greed.

As far as how this relates to UPS I believe since both companies only relation is a union workforce I can't see it relating much. UPS is still reporting good quarterly profits along with strong revenue growth. The only thing that could be seen as a concern is the fact that most of UPS's growth over the past several years has been its international shipping business, and that domestically we are basically flat on volume growth. Could we ask for more than UPS can provide and vote ourselves right out of a job? Certainly, but I see no indication that we are at that point....yet.
 
Looks to me that both hourly and mgmt have their heads buried in the sand and, while you come up for air periodically and rant at each other you might want to pay attention to a little thing called market share. Fedex Ground has gained market share for 25 straight quarters. Truth hurts doesn't it.
 

brett636

Well-Known Member
I see the US ground volume continuing to decline because we cannot compete with FedEx Ground cost structure. Unfortunately, its a simple matter of math.

While I admit I haven't been paying that close of attention to the earnings reports everything I have read states domestic volume growth of around 1-2%. I don't think its so much ground volume is declining as it is declining market share. Not trying to downplay your post because neither is a good thing, but I don't see us losing or gaining volume overall.

The fact of the matter is that UPS as a company has not taken the steps needed as a company to "compete" with fedex ground, I guess they have not looked at the mistakes GM made as a company when the japs started selling cheaper non union cars in the US.

UPS must have something up its sleeve because we just took back an account that was lost to fedex several years ago. Its a pretty good sized account averaging several trailers per day. Not to mention I thought we got that LL Bean account back a couple years ago from fedex. Fedex Ground's cost structure is difficult for UPS to compete against, but there is something that company lacks that UPS has otherwise we wouldn't be getting these large accounts back from them.

I would say the 75% bad management/25% UAW greed is about right.

Doesn't anyone remember GM's EV1 program. Where would they be now if it hadn't been axed?

To say the EV1 program would have saved GM is a bit if a stretch, but I did find it very disappointing the way GM ended that program by taking back all the cars and crushing them. I'm afraid we will never learn the real reason why GM decided to go about that way destroying its own creation. I just find it highly unusual and disappointing.

Looks to me that both hourly and mgmt have their heads buried in the sand and, while you come up for air periodically and rant at each other you might want to pay attention to a little thing called market share. Fedex Ground has gained market share for 25 straight quarters. Truth hurts doesn't it.

I believe everyone is quietly hoping all the lawsuits brought against Fedex ground will stop it in its tracks. I am not so optimistic that these lawsuits are going to go anywhere, but you never know. I do agree that as a company something needs to be done otherwise fedex ground will continue to eat our lunch. Maybe I am wrong, but I thought we were taking market share away from fedex express so maybe we can will just switch sides with fedex losing its premier air service status and us losing our ground game. Not to say I don't want us to have both, but it will be interesting to see how everything pans out.
 
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