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When did it all go wrong?
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<blockquote data-quote="Catatonic" data-source="post: 1212218" data-attributes="member: 7966"><p>There is a tendency for Union versus management to exist anywhere, however ...</p><p>UPS has a history, along with the Teamsters, of being cooperative and union employees getting compensated very well but the Teamsters made sure the employees worked hard as well.</p><p>It was a mutually beneficial relationship as long as the industry was regulated.</p><p>Government regulation of an industry ensures limited competition and a stable business climate that fluctuates with the economy.</p><p>Deregulation of the industry began the slide because now UPS had to control costs much more than before.</p><p>There were cutbacks in management staffing back in the late 70's and 80's on up through the 90's as a result.</p><p>Healthcare costs were increasing very rapidly during the 80's and since these costs could not passed through to the customer unless all competitors did the same. UPS began to pass increasing costs above the CPI (roughly) to the non-Union employees.</p><p>The contractual financial package for drivers and inside employees included this increasing cost as part of the contractual raises.</p><p>There has been continual reluctance by the Teamsters to have Union employees absorb some of that cost via premiums and co-pays.</p><p>This came up all the time during the early 1990's and onward as unsustainable.</p><p>All this was causing strains on UPS financially and consultants warned UPS they had to take action to stem this ever increasing cost.</p><p>As RPS grew, UPS now had a viable ground competitor that they never had before.</p><p>Then came along the 1997 contract and UPS management felt that UPS employees were more loyal to UPS than the Teamsters.</p><p>The strike proved that belief false and UPS management felt the Union employees had betrayed UPS.</p><p>That is the pivotable moment when UPS changed from a patriarchal company that looked after it's employees to what you see today.</p><p>UPS going public exacerbated that change in attitude and UPS basically behaved in such a manner that employees were simply resources and the company had no responsibility for the well-being of its employees.</p><p>Fed-Ex incorporation of RPS and Calibre Systems caused more friction because UPS now had a formidable competitor in all sectors of it's business.</p><p>International and Logistical arms of the company were seen as the future of UPS and UPS announced that in 2003 as well as a new logo and shield.</p><p>In 2005, UPS began to refer to the UPS Brand as it's most important asset.</p><p></p><p>UPS management changed during this period from owner-operators to simply being employees of UPS as we see today unless their management level is at the old Level 20. Management below the old Level 20 are not allowed to make decision but rather must execute within the framework of defined parameters and rules and regulations.</p><p>UPS management that Teamster represented employees interact with are almost always below the old Level 20 and therefore, they are just employees of UPS executing a well-defined script.</p><p>Level 20 and above management have extremely high goals they must meet or they will be replaced and in today's world likely fired. They have a lot of pressure on them and they have to exert pressure on those below them to achieve production and cost control goals.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><strong>So, after all that, the bottom line is that competitive pressure and a centralized management control system has caused operations management to disassociate themselves from the resources represented by the Teamsters.</strong></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Catatonic, post: 1212218, member: 7966"] There is a tendency for Union versus management to exist anywhere, however ... UPS has a history, along with the Teamsters, of being cooperative and union employees getting compensated very well but the Teamsters made sure the employees worked hard as well. It was a mutually beneficial relationship as long as the industry was regulated. Government regulation of an industry ensures limited competition and a stable business climate that fluctuates with the economy. Deregulation of the industry began the slide because now UPS had to control costs much more than before. There were cutbacks in management staffing back in the late 70's and 80's on up through the 90's as a result. Healthcare costs were increasing very rapidly during the 80's and since these costs could not passed through to the customer unless all competitors did the same. UPS began to pass increasing costs above the CPI (roughly) to the non-Union employees. The contractual financial package for drivers and inside employees included this increasing cost as part of the contractual raises. There has been continual reluctance by the Teamsters to have Union employees absorb some of that cost via premiums and co-pays. This came up all the time during the early 1990's and onward as unsustainable. All this was causing strains on UPS financially and consultants warned UPS they had to take action to stem this ever increasing cost. As RPS grew, UPS now had a viable ground competitor that they never had before. Then came along the 1997 contract and UPS management felt that UPS employees were more loyal to UPS than the Teamsters. The strike proved that belief false and UPS management felt the Union employees had betrayed UPS. That is the pivotable moment when UPS changed from a patriarchal company that looked after it's employees to what you see today. UPS going public exacerbated that change in attitude and UPS basically behaved in such a manner that employees were simply resources and the company had no responsibility for the well-being of its employees. Fed-Ex incorporation of RPS and Calibre Systems caused more friction because UPS now had a formidable competitor in all sectors of it's business. International and Logistical arms of the company were seen as the future of UPS and UPS announced that in 2003 as well as a new logo and shield. In 2005, UPS began to refer to the UPS Brand as it's most important asset. UPS management changed during this period from owner-operators to simply being employees of UPS as we see today unless their management level is at the old Level 20. Management below the old Level 20 are not allowed to make decision but rather must execute within the framework of defined parameters and rules and regulations. UPS management that Teamster represented employees interact with are almost always below the old Level 20 and therefore, they are just employees of UPS executing a well-defined script. Level 20 and above management have extremely high goals they must meet or they will be replaced and in today's world likely fired. They have a lot of pressure on them and they have to exert pressure on those below them to achieve production and cost control goals. [COLOR=#ff0000][B]So, after all that, the bottom line is that competitive pressure and a centralized management control system has caused operations management to disassociate themselves from the resources represented by the Teamsters.[/B][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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