Anybody needing help from Katrina

Hey...any of you folks coming to Arkansas from La or Miss and need a place to crash...contact me and will lend you a bed room or help you find a place to stay...our churches have also opened up their doors.

I was told that we could take a leave of absence but that UPS would not send hourly employees to the area to help.

same in our building.

I'd like to see UPS set up someway of us helping our fellow UPS'ers. Imagine the cash we could raise if we were allowed to donate via payroll deduction. Hoffa and Eskew need to meet ASAP and work out a plan for those folks. With peak season quickly approaching all the unemployed UPS'ers down there could be offered work elsewhere. I'm certain most of us would offer them a place to stay while they work.

"...we could take a leave of absence..."

I will call immediately and ask for this. The rain from Katrina is supposed to hit us today.... in North New England..

if any of the UPSers need a safe haven for the children while they attempt to rebuild thier lives, we have several bedrooms. We are also foster parents for the state. This would allow parents the peace of mind to work unfettered in rebuilding their homes and lives without worrying about the little ones.

d

I want to echo what you guys are saying and especially what UPSdude said. Eskew and Hoffa should get off their asses and make this happen. To turn a favorite phrase back on Mr. Eskew, "I see no sense of urgency!"

Everybody is quick to assume that Eskew or the Teamsters are not doing anything. The UPS Foundation is busy trying to support whatever the needs are---this is no simple bandaid approach and I hope that UPS Corporate assists not only our UPSers but all who are in need.

I will attach some information that was shared with us in a PCM---looks like UPS "IS" doing something----as far as involving the Teamsters---that should be a question that each of us asks them---what are they doing for our "Brotherhood"??

Subj: Hurricane Katrina Update

Hurricane Katrina made its landfall in Louisiana early this morning with top winds of 140 mph and now is weakening as it progresses through southern Mississippi. Areas east of New Orleans and along the Mississippi coast were hit the hardest.

Our greatest concern continues to be the safety of UPS people and their families, as well as our customers and communities. UPSers are still determining the impact on our people, equipment, and facilities. At this time, there are no reported injuries to UPS people.

Coastal and inland areas of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi are currently under emergency evacuation orders due to Hurricane Katrina. UPS services, including scheduled pickup, delivery, and On-Call Pickup Services are limited in the affected areas.

These are some of the latest updates:
- Our intermodal network has allowed us the flexibility to keep packages moving around
the affected areas. For example, ground shipments moving from the southwest heading to
Florida were routed up into Memphis then to Atlanta and then into Jacksonville
on a train.
- Some aircraft have been diverted, including those out of Lafayette, LA, New Orleans,
and Mobile, AL.
- The South Florida District has returned to normal operations.
- In the Alabama District the following operations are closed: Mobile and Loxley
in Alabama; Pensacola and Fort Walton in Florida.

We are accessing the best way to help UPS people who have been affected by the hurricane. In addition, The UPS Foundation is working with national agencies to determine the best way to provide aid to the impacted communities.

All customers should be directed to www.ups.com for service updates and to track their packages.

Dawg what they need is food and water right now !I think UPS could get a convoy of semis to deliver this items right away.UPS is one of the few companys who can really help out, they have the trucks to do it.

(Message edited by crappie on August 31, 2005)

Regarding Katrina and the Teamsters, this is on the front page of www.teamsters.org .

"<font color="0000ff">Disaster Relief Fund Ready to Assist Teamsters Affected by Katrina

August 30, 2005

Hurricane Katrina is plowing through Southern states, particularly Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, and leaving billions of dollars of destruction in its wake. Countless families have been left badly in need of shelter, clothing, clean water and other supplies. The Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund is specifically designed to assist members who have suffered a loss in natural disasters, and will be working to help members affected by this hurricane.

The fund depends on donations from our local unions and other affiliates. For many years, Teamsters have contributed tax-deductible donations to this 501(c)3 IRS charitable fund.

“A number of our brothers and sisters in the Southeast really need your help and support,” said C. Thomas Keegel, General-Secretary-Treasurer. “This natural disaster has rocked that portion of the country, and we need to step up and help our Teamster family members reestablish their homes and normal lives.”

“In the past, the outpouring of support from individual Teamsters, Local Unions, and Joint Councils has been inspiring,” said Cheryl Johnson, Secretary of the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund. “We are hoping to again inspire you to help.”

Donation checks are to be made payable to “Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund” and mailed to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 25 Louisiana Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001."</font>

Money will be the thing needed the most again and you should donate to the Teamsters or Red Cross or whomever you think is the most appropriate agency to help.

After Hurricane Andrew our local (Michigan) took several semi loads of water down to the area with donated local equipment and volunteered Teamster drivers and handlers.

I imagine other locals did similarly and will be doing so again and soon as it's needed now.

It would be nice to have our head (Hoffa) make a personal official statement regarding this catastrophe though.

ok2---thanks for the info regarding the T-sters.I did not know that they had a relief fund, so hopefully there is enough money in there to support our UPS Partners who need the help in the effected areas.

Crappie--UPS has trucks and planes-----BIG Planes that can carry a lot of relief supplies--so it will be interesting to see what support is offered and I know that if there were United Way Agencies wanting us to jump in---through the UPS Foundation it would be available.

There will be time to mourn the lose of life. There will be time to ask why it happened. There will be time to curse those who tried to benefit from this Tragedy. But now is not that time. Rather, it is time to join together as Americans and help those who need it.

It is difficult to watch the images on TV. I’m sure everyone with a boat on this board wanted to drive down there and help, myself included. Or drive your package car or feeder full with water straight to the Gulf Coast.

Unfortunately it is taking some time to organize the overall relief effort. Hopefully, the relief effort will become more organized and tell us what they need.

Can you imagine losing your home and living in a Stadium 300 miles away for perhaps months? Some have already offered shelter in their homes, and I think that is a great opportunity. Maybe we can start a list that can be given to FEMA or the Red Cross? For those who don’t have the means to help, I’m sure those hit by this tragedy will welcome a prayer. Every little bit helps.

For those of you that will turn this into an argument about UPS or the Teamsters, shame on you. They will help. They will put aside their differences as everyone on this board should. They’ll be plenty of time to argue about the contract or work practices. Now is not that time.

I'll get off my soapbox. If anyone learns of other relief opportunities besides the Red Cross or FEMA, please post it here.

Yes, the Teamsters have a disaster relief fund.

Yes, the UPS Foundation will help.

Our folks need cold hard cash, a roof, and a job. They need it NOW.

Our preload is short 15 people. We need drivers in the worse kind of way. That’s just one center out of hundreds. The company will spend huge dollars recruiting peak help when we have our own people out of work. Sure, a lot of them won’t be willing to temporarily relocate. I’ll bet a bunch of them would.

I tried to talk to our division manager this morning about this very topic. He blew me off then started complaining about fuel cost to the company.

I’ll bet UPS does nothing. Eskew will have IE take a year and study the situation. I’ve had it with all the brown clowns running this outfit. I’m sorry but UPS could give a flip about UPS’ers hurting in the Gulf Coast.

UPS will help out as a corporation as they always have in high profile charity situations.

It will be gratefully accepted and useful as always as well.

Go UPS!

I have seen FEDEX trucks on TV delivering goods. No UPS yet.

When all is said and done, I believe UPS will certainly pitch in plenty of assistance and not specifically for reasons that a naysayer would point to and judge as being self-serving. I don't like seeing people suffering helplessly either, but lets not be to quick to make a rush to judgement on whether and to what extent Atlanta decides they can offer in resources to the cause.

There's no manual Eskew can grab off of a shelf that has a strategy outlined for any tragic event of this scope or magnitude. As much as he or any other top people in the boardroom would like to be seen as a leader in shaping the aftermath, he has to excercise discretion as well and make sure how much resources he can safely offer while at the same time try to make assessments on how to minimize any impact diverting those resources has on the operation and the customers that we serve.

In the end I'm confident Eskew and his team will make the effort. Let's not jump all over him just because he hasn't rushed out to the Big Easy and started handing out green cash at the Hotel Superdome. Like any and I hope every UPS'er, he wants to make sure that the effort and resources he puts forth won't be a wasted one. It takes some time to target how and what you contribute can be used in a way to do the most good for the most people. He can, and I think, will meet the challange.

Which is worse, sitting back to get a clear picture of the need, or a knee jerk reaction that will end up in waste.

There is need there. But to whom and where the need is, that could very well be another question. As for the airports, they are under water and will be days before they can get back on line.

As for trucks getting into the area, that too is quite a feat, as there are thousands of electrical workers headed that way, hundreds of redcross vehicles etc etc.

Now just because you havent seen a UPS truck delivering water or supplies does not mean we are doing nothing.

As for the UPS employees that are out of work for a while, there is much for them to do. It would not suprise me to know that UPS is paying them to help rebuild the comunity. I have seen that type of support from the company before when they have seen the need.

While Mike might not have a clue on how to help, there are others that would have access to his ear that would.

d

I would like to see UPS match donations as they have in the past. I am a firm believer in the Salvation Army rather than the Red Cross as they seem to get more out of each dollar. The Salvation Army is getting out the red kettles that they use at Christmas and have set up donation centers outside of various businesses.

I agree . UPS and upsers have always jumped in and helped during these times of crisis. This subject is a touchy one. We obviously don't want to advertise our relief efforts for the victims since it then would appear like we are trying to commercialize our support.

Myself and many others experienced UPS's "help" during the aftermath of hurricane Isabell. Isabell was NOTHING compared to what our fellow Americans are experiencing in the Gulf Coast.

Some of our local folks lost everything, the area had no power for days. The district's operations manager came to the center and promised the company would "take care" of it's own. Ice and other desperately needed supplies would be provided. Absolutely NOTHING was provided.

Sorry if I'm a little skeptical of UPS'ers getting help from big brown.

My thoughts exactly.

Dannyboy does make a valid point about knee jerk reactions but what frustrates I'm sure all of us is to see all these people hurting and all of us willing to help in some way. UPS has issued a PCM today concerning the hurricane and the effects on UPSers but for the good or bad it's doesn't provide much. To be fair the picture isn't complete either but I do hope once more is learned something will come forth where we can help out our own first and directly.

UPS is setting up a fund to help UPSers hurt by the hurricane and making a large donation to start it off with. You should be seeing a pcm / flyer on it tommorrow.

Here you go:

UPS Donates $1.25 Million to Hurricane Relief
Separate Effort to Help Employees Starts with $250,000
ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2005 - In response to the destruction from Hurricane Katrina, The UPS Foundation is donating $1,250,000 toward relief efforts and UPS is taking separate steps to assist its employees and their families in the affected areas.

The $1.25 million donation will include $500,000 in cash and up to $750,000 of in-kind services for the shipment of medical and health-related items. The funds will be divided between The American Red Cross, America's Second Harvest and other relief organizations that assist with long-term rebuilding activities.

"With thousands of employees and several facilities affected in the stricken areas of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, UPS knows first hand of the destruction caused by this hurricane," said Mike Eskew, chairman and CEO. "We are committed to helping individuals in the communities in which we live and work to overcome this immediate crisis and then rebuild their lives."

In addition to the efforts of The UPS Foundation, UPS is establishing a separate relief fund to which the company and other UPS employees will contribute to support fellow UPSers who have lost their homes and belongings. The UPS Employee Hurricane Relief Fund will start with an initial $250,000 contribution from the company, which also will match contributions from other employees.

UPS has more than 2,200 employees in the hurricane impact area and has been working since Katrina struck to contact each one to assess their situation. To date, no injuries have been reported.

Other activities to support its employees in the affected areas include extending medical benefits to those employees who may not be working for the next 30 days; making it easier to obtain medical and pharmaceutical assistance away from home, and opening a specially staffed toll-free phone number for its employees needing assistance.

Donations provided by The UPS Foundation will help meet urgent needs for housing, personal care items, food, water and emergency shelter. Organizations receiving immediate financial aid are:

$125,000 to the Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross: The national chapter of the Red Cross will disperse these funds to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to hurricane victims.


$125,000 to America's Second Harvest: Monies will go to its emergency hunger relief activities to assist with donated food and other essential grocery items being directed to the impacted areas.


$250,000 to support ongoing recovery efforts: These funds will be distributed to relief organizations providing long-term rebuilding activities in the affected areas.
UPS will provide its in-kind assistance to efforts being coordinated by official relief and governmental agencies. The company is not in a position to handle individual requests for free shipping.

UPS also is urging other individuals or organizations seeking in-kind shipping assistance to review product donation guidelines provided by the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Gifts-in-Kind International before conducting any drives. Previously used personal property generally does not benefit the affected communities and may make it more difficult for the critically needed items to reach those in need.

Founded in 1951 and based in Atlanta, Ga., The UPS Foundation identifies specific areas where its support will clearly impact social issues. The UPS Foundation's major initiatives currently include programs that support increased global volunteerism, literacy and hunger relief. In 2004, The UPS Foundation donated more than $39.9 million to charitable organizations worldwide. Visit community.ups.com for more information about UPS's community involvement.