Acting Collectively

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
Didn't you read the first post on this thread. "Act Collectively" and all you dreams will come true. Dont' forget to click your ruby red slippers. You are all going to be rich and famous... Just "Act Collectively" and pay your dues.. Crowbar Promises...

One of my Supes once told me the more we get as Union members the more he gets as Mgmnt. The better our wages and benefits, the better yours. Now shut the hell up and go back in the basement and fold the laundry your mom washed.
 

UPSSOCKS

Well-Known Member
One of my Supes once told me the more we get as Union members the more he gets as Mgmnt. The better our wages and benefits, the better yours. Now shut the hell up and go back in the basement and fold the laundry your mom washed.

Well if one of your supervisors said it, then it must be true. You definitely are the teamster poster child. Did you hear that local 2727 disarmed a WMD?

I train my sups to lie to the union folk all the time. It keeps them in the dark. No one ever knows what to believe. I buy a couple extra hoagies for the stewards and things seem to work out. Greivances disappear, production goes up. It's beautful thing.
 

hypocrisy

Banned
Over allowed, and stops per car

Union steward your in my way

there is too many grievances

and too much overtime

look what's goin on around you

chorus

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you



Angel of darkness is upon you

stuck an Article 37 in your arm

(you fool you)

So take another toke

have a blow for ya nose

one more grievance will drown you

(yeah you)

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you



They call you prince charmin

can't speak a word when your drivers question you

say it will be all right come tommorrow

but tommorrow might not be here for you

yeah you

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you



Stick those warning letter in your arse

I know i been there before (and those before are all gone)



One little problem that confronts you

got a workforce that won't take it

just one more lie, lord

might do the trick

one hellofa cost for you to get your kicks

( yeah you )

just one more lie lord, might do the trick

one hellofa cost for you to get your kicks

hell yeah

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you


With apologies to Lynyrd Skynyrd "That Smell"
 

Brownman

Member
I want to print this out and pass it out to each member in my hub. This was perfectly written for what we are going through now.. Management constantly pushing the flow, so you have to stack out, management constantly "helping" load trucks, telling us we have to leave before our 3.5, and using intimidation on employees constantly. I am sick of it. I stand up for my own, but everyone else needs to stop being afraid and stand up for what is in their contract. A few memebers are sick and tired of this and do and are willing to take stands but we need everyone!
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Well if one of your supervisors said it, then it must be true. You definitely are the teamster poster child. Did you hear that local 2727 disarmed a WMD?

I train my sups to lie to the union folk all the time. It keeps them in the dark. No one ever knows what to believe. I buy a couple extra hoagies for the stewards and things seem to work out. Greivances disappear, production goes up. It's beautful thing.

Damn socks-------you crack me up:rofl:
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
I want to print this out and pass it out to each member in my hub. This was perfectly written for what we are going through now.. Management constantly pushing the flow, so you have to stack out, management constantly "helping" load trucks, telling us we have to leave before our 3.5, and using intimidation on employees constantly. I am sick of it. I stand up for my own, but everyone else needs to stop being afraid and stand up for what is in their contract. A few memebers are sick and tired of this and do and are willing to take stands but we need everyone!

Too many are worse than not enough.

One good lesson I learned along the way was to keep the resentment and relatiation out of the workplace.
 

bigblu 2 you

Well-Known Member
Well if one of your supervisors said it, then it must be true. You definitely are the teamster poster child. Did you hear that local 2727 disarmed a WMD?

I train my sups to lie to the union folk all the time. It keeps them in the dark. No one ever knows what to believe. I buy a couple extra hoagies for the stewards and things seem to work out. Greivances disappear, production goes up. It's beautful thing.
promise you will only use your super powers for good and never evil.
 

Bubblehead

My Senior Picture
Acting Collectively

“What is the Union doing for me? What are my dues going for if they can’t fix my problems? “

Sometimes it seems we forget what the Union is all about. The Union is not the President of the Teamsters, not the President of your Local, your Business Agent or your Steward. The Union’s true strength is in it’s members.

This mentality of “Why isn’t the Union doing it for me?” is part of what has lead to the weakening of the Teamsters at UPS today. You should be asking yourself “What can I do to give my Union leadership power at the negotiating table?” The Grievance process is a necessarily slow one but by acting collectively you can have a greater impact upon your workplace.

Know your members

In this technological age there are multiple ways to reach out to each other. It’s easy now to build a text message list so you can keep in contact with your membership. Email, cell phones, even social network sites like Facebook can help you organize.

Start small

More than anything, Management fears an organized and galvanized bargaining unit. Look around your work place tomorrow: who is flying the Teamster flag? These signs may seem benign to you but they are as clear as a flashing strobe to Management.

Start by organizing your work group to pick a specific day to wear in Union T-shirts prior to start time. A brown or white T-shirt is a good choice because it can be worn under the uniform shirt, which can be buttoned up prior to start time. Over time you can spread this practice to other work groups, centers, and eventually the whole Building.

If you live in a Right-to-Work (for less) State you can encourage non-members to show their support for co-workers by wearing a plain shirt on your chosen day. Perhaps as your movement progresses you may encourage them to join. Use positive peer pressure to encourage participation and have a supply of cheap T-shirts ready to hand out to the excuse makers.

Later you might expand this to the wearing of Union pins or message specific buttons which can be mass-produced at minimal cost.

Expect push back

Management will notice your early attempts to organize and push back right away. As they say, “things will get a lot worse before they get better”. It’s important to stay the course and dig in. Identify your more motivated members and assign them a list of others to motivate. Try not to include only those in their circle of work friends but instead look to have senior members reach out to younger, less experienced ones and so on. Management will surely be doing this too so it’s important to stay one step ahead.

Expect some discipline and some members may be limited in their participation because of this. However, there is safety in numbers so it’s important to stay the course and dig in.
Make sure your members “clean their own house” and don’t invite opportunities for discipline. Surely someone will leave this door open but don’t let it dissuade the majority from continuing with your campaign. It’s natural for people to fear for their jobs but use their anger and frustration to motivate them to rise above it. Are they satisfied with the way things are now (and getting worse)? Can they live with this the rest of their career? Isn’t it better to fight for the way you want the job to be than to shut up and take it?

Send a Stronger Message

Once you have identified your core issue you must address it in the most specific, simplest terms possible. We’ll use the 9.5 issue here for example:

Two Steward’s in Arizona came up with a great campaign. They purchased T-shirts with their own money that had a red circle with a slash through it, the universal sign for “NO!” and “9.5” within the circle. Below this it read “What’s it going to take?” in white lettering. These Stewards handed the shirts out at the gate asking for donations so they could purchase more. Impressed with their creativity, the Local took up the cause and had shirts printed for other buildings in the area.

The message “What’s it going to take?” was a strong one. The message meant “Today it’s a T-shirt, tomorrow a picket line, the next day could be a Brownout. Fix the problem!”

So now that you have your T-shirt day started, try amping it up with message shirts. Organize your members to meet at the gate and walk in as a group. When that gets going, organize them to walk an informational picket line for an hour prior to going in. Take a page from the Pilot’s Unions and call all your local news shows to come film your picket line (they love putting that on the evening news). Have a clear message on your picket signs and be peaceful yet loud.

Workplace action

Acting collectively in the workplace will send the strongest message to Management.

Organize your members to refuse to do any work prior to start time. Here again, positive peer pressure will keep those who can’t seem to help themselves in line. Organize a “no-cell phone” campaign. Have an “Over 70 Day” where everyone requests help with Over 70’s as we won that right in our Contract and with a 1 day strike.

Look around at your co-workers during their pre-trip routine. Is it “kick the tires and light the fire?” Not only is this unsafe, it’s illegal. Educate your members to perform a full proper D.O.T. pre-trip/post-trip to their vehicle. Work closely with your local D.O.T. to find out what their Level 1 inspection requires and about how long they would expect it to take (typically 15 minutes). This should be your model.

Familiarize yourself with OSHA rules and file complaints wherever possible. Publicize these complaints to the news organizations you call for your informational pickets. Any discipline for attempting to perform more thorough safety inspections should be followed with a grievance and an OSHA complaint.

File NLRB charges wherever possible and bury the Company with as many grievances as you can muster up.

Do only specifically what you are asked to do and don’t bail the Company out. Let them fall on their own sword wherever possible.

Brownouts should be a last resort and must be handled carefully. Besides opening up an avenue for discipline, the Local could be sued for such actions. The Stewards should openly discourage such action regularly.

Expect Incremental Change

We’d all like to see the day that nasty Center Manager is walked out the gate and the sun shines in your Center again. This is unlikely to happen. However, even your current center manager can be pressured to change. Celebrate each of these changes as a victory, however small, and use them to motivate the membership.

Perhaps the answer is adding a few more Drivers or more routes, anything that takes the pressure off. This should let you scale back your collective action to an appropriate level. Keep the Solidarity going by sticking with “Union shirt day” etc always ready to tap your contact network to ramp it up if needed.

This is UPS?

Success is achieved and you have a new center manager who is motivated to follow the contract and work with the membership. Run with it! Use your collective action to show them that we work together as Teamsters and it’s a lot better working with us than against us. Use your positive peer pressure to get the habitual bad apples in line (and out of discipline’s way).

Will this be quick and easy? No, struggles never are; but by showing the Company that you are organized, galvanized, and ready for action you will give your Steward, Business Agent and up the power to get issues resolved quicker and more leverage at the negotiating table.

I read some of the rhetoric, in regards to the union, and all I can think about is this post.
When will we realize that this is the key to our sucess?
I think the disconnect is a result of us somehow still being on top of the heap.
I ask, how do you think we got here?
When we will stop the backslide and maintain what we have by guarding it in the very means in we which got it?
It all starts on the front line with YOU!
Your union is powerless until you empower them to act on our behalf.
WAKE UP UPS TEAMSTERS!!!!
 

OptimusPrime

Well-Known Member
I truly worry now that Indiana has gone "right to work". Could easily see the Union membership of part timers in my building cease to exist. And these will be the people coming up for full time jobs. And they will pay no dues, not give an ish of the collective mindset, but yet will be able to call foul, and turn to Union representation. For free! Ugh.
 

104Feeder

Phoenix Feeder
Anyone notice the Teachers seem to be following this with great success? Our Teachers in Arizona are on the brink of striking for the first time ever!
It works!
 

eats packages

Deranged lunatic
old thread but I like how hypocrisy
Over allowed, and stops per car

Union steward your in my way

there is too many grievances

and too much overtime

look what's goin on around you

chorus

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you



Angel of darkness is upon you

stuck an Article 37 in your arm

(you fool you)

So take another toke

have a blow for ya nose

one more grievance will drown you

(yeah you)

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you



They call you prince charmin

can't speak a word when your drivers question you

say it will be all right come tommorrow

but tommorrow might not be here for you

yeah you

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you



Stick those warning letter in your arse

I know i been there before (and those before are all gone)



One little problem that confronts you

got a workforce that won't take it

just one more lie, lord

might do the trick

one hellofa cost for you to get your kicks

( yeah you )

just one more lie lord, might do the trick

one hellofa cost for you to get your kicks

hell yeah

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

ooh that smell

can't you smell that smell

the smell of desperation surrounds you


With apologies to Lynyrd Skynyrd "That Smell"
is now banned after this masterpiece
 

BigBrown87

If it’s brown, it’s going down
Well if one of your supervisors said it, then it must be true. You definitely are the teamster poster child. Did you hear that local 2727 disarmed a WMD?

I train my sups to lie to the union folk all the time. It keeps them in the dark. No one ever knows what to believe. I buy a couple extra hoagies for the stewards and things seem to work out. Greivances disappear, production goes up. It's beautful thing.
Sound like a guy I would swerve to hit on the side of the road. No officer I did not see him by his broken down car, I'm just so upset and sorry.
 

happyman2018

Well-Known Member
Acting Collectively

“What is the Union doing for me? What are my dues going for if they can’t fix my problems? “

Sometimes it seems we forget what the Union is all about. The Union is not the President of the Teamsters, not the President of your Local, your Business Agent or your Steward. The Union’s true strength is in it’s members.

This mentality of “Why isn’t the Union doing it for me?” is part of what has lead to the weakening of the Teamsters at UPS today. You should be asking yourself “What can I do to give my Union leadership power at the negotiating table?” The Grievance process is a necessarily slow one but by acting collectively you can have a greater impact upon your workplace.

Know your members

In this technological age there are multiple ways to reach out to each other. It’s easy now to build a text message list so you can keep in contact with your membership. Email, cell phones, even social network sites like Facebook can help you organize.

Start small

More than anything, Management fears an organized and galvanized bargaining unit. Look around your work place tomorrow: who is flying the Teamster flag? These signs may seem benign to you but they are as clear as a flashing strobe to Management.

Start by organizing your work group to pick a specific day to wear in Union T-shirts prior to start time. A brown or white T-shirt is a good choice because it can be worn under the uniform shirt, which can be buttoned up prior to start time. Over time you can spread this practice to other work groups, centers, and eventually the whole Building.

If you live in a Right-to-Work (for less) State you can encourage non-members to show their support for co-workers by wearing a plain shirt on your chosen day. Perhaps as your movement progresses you may encourage them to join. Use positive peer pressure to encourage participation and have a supply of cheap T-shirts ready to hand out to the excuse makers.

Later you might expand this to the wearing of Union pins or message specific buttons which can be mass-produced at minimal cost.

Expect push back

Management will notice your early attempts to organize and push back right away. As they say, “things will get a lot worse before they get better”. It’s important to stay the course and dig in. Identify your more motivated members and assign them a list of others to motivate. Try not to include only those in their circle of work friends but instead look to have senior members reach out to younger, less experienced ones and so on. Management will surely be doing this too so it’s important to stay one step ahead.

Expect some discipline and some members may be limited in their participation because of this. However, there is safety in numbers so it’s important to stay the course and dig in.
Make sure your members “clean their own house” and don’t invite opportunities for discipline. Surely someone will leave this door open but don’t let it dissuade the majority from continuing with your campaign. It’s natural for people to fear for their jobs but use their anger and frustration to motivate them to rise above it. Are they satisfied with the way things are now (and getting worse)? Can they live with this the rest of their career? Isn’t it better to fight for the way you want the job to be than to shut up and take it?

Send a Stronger Message

Once you have identified your core issue you must address it in the most specific, simplest terms possible. We’ll use the 9.5 issue here for example:

Two Steward’s in Arizona came up with a great campaign. They purchased T-shirts with their own money that had a red circle with a slash through it, the universal sign for “NO!” and “9.5” within the circle. Below this it read “What’s it going to take?” in white lettering. These Stewards handed the shirts out at the gate asking for donations so they could purchase more. Impressed with their creativity, the Local took up the cause and had shirts printed for other buildings in the area.

The message “What’s it going to take?” was a strong one. The message meant “Today it’s a T-shirt, tomorrow a picket line, the next day could be a Brownout. Fix the problem!”

So now that you have your T-shirt day started, try amping it up with message shirts. Organize your members to meet at the gate and walk in as a group. When that gets going, organize them to walk an informational picket line for an hour prior to going in. Take a page from the Pilot’s Unions and call all your local news shows to come film your picket line (they love putting that on the evening news). Have a clear message on your picket signs and be peaceful yet loud.

Workplace action

Acting collectively in the workplace will send the strongest message to Management.

Organize your members to refuse to do any work prior to start time. Here again, positive peer pressure will keep those who can’t seem to help themselves in line. Organize a “no-cell phone” campaign. Have an “Over 70 Day” where everyone requests help with Over 70’s as we won that right in our Contract and with a 1 day strike.

Look around at your co-workers during their pre-trip routine. Is it “kick the tires and light the fire?” Not only is this unsafe, it’s illegal. Educate your members to perform a full proper D.O.T. pre-trip/post-trip to their vehicle. Work closely with your local D.O.T. to find out what their Level 1 inspection requires and about how long they would expect it to take (typically 15 minutes). This should be your model.

Familiarize yourself with OSHA rules and file complaints wherever possible. Publicize these complaints to the news organizations you call for your informational pickets. Any discipline for attempting to perform more thorough safety inspections should be followed with a grievance and an OSHA complaint.

File NLRB charges wherever possible and bury the Company with as many grievances as you can muster up.

Do only specifically what you are asked to do and don’t bail the Company out. Let them fall on their own sword wherever possible.

Brownouts should be a last resort and must be handled carefully. Besides opening up an avenue for discipline, the Local could be sued for such actions. The Stewards should openly discourage such action regularly.

Expect Incremental Change

We’d all like to see the day that nasty Center Manager is walked out the gate and the sun shines in your Center again. This is unlikely to happen. However, even your current center manager can be pressured to change. Celebrate each of these changes as a victory, however small, and use them to motivate the membership.

Perhaps the answer is adding a few more Drivers or more routes, anything that takes the pressure off. This should let you scale back your collective action to an appropriate level. Keep the Solidarity going by sticking with “Union shirt day” etc always ready to tap your contact network to ramp it up if needed.

This is UPS?

Success is achieved and you have a new center manager who is motivated to follow the contract and work with the membership. Run with it! Use your collective action to show them that we work together as Teamsters and it’s a lot better working with us than against us. Use your positive peer pressure to get the habitual bad apples in line (and out of discipline’s way).

Will this be quick and easy? No, struggles never are; but by showing the Company that you are organized, galvanized, and ready for action you will give your Steward, Business Agent and up the power to get issues resolved quicker and more leverage at the negotiating table.
Comical at best...
 
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