MostHelpNeeded
Well-Known Member
Language is always key
Unfortunately the only thing many people see is how much of a pay increase we are getting
While I agree language is key, because it is, we simply cannot forgo significant pay increases over the life of the contract to get better language. If not for the present, for the future. Our income is not keeping up with inflation, and has actually been receding for years now. $40/hr or even $50/hr 5 years from now is "good money" to a lot us us because of what we're used to. The sad truth is it just isn't what it used to be for a vast majority of the country now. The cost of everything has and will continue to rise, and if we don't rise with it, our newest and future employees will not enjoy the same lifestyle we are accustomed to. We're already seeing it with new drivers. Even at full rate, houses have become unattainable, budgets are stretched thin, life is becoming stressful, especially with the added stress of this job. TALK to them, ask them. It used to be, once you made it driving, you knew you were pretty much "set." No matter what BS they threw at you, at least you knew you'd never have to worry about money. That is not the case anymore.
We need better language in a lot of areas; Excessive overtime, forced weekends, progression, technology, etc.. A lot of areas. But we absolutely need better wage increases as well. 10% the first year, 4%/yr after. Minimum. That, or language for profit sharing. 30% of profits go back to the employees, every year. We need to be ready to strike over this. If not, we're throwing our newest and future career employees, as well as the concept of UPS as a career, under the bus.
We need to get the concept of 'good money' out of our heads. Stop comparing ourselves to other companies employees. UPS continues to increase their 'record profits' year after year. It's because they're effectively paying their employees less and less every year. We don't make a product, we don't invent anything. We move boxes. The people who run this company are sitting wealthy because of and only because of the work we do. If we stop, every single one of them loses. The company loses. They can afford to give us a percentage of those profits to keep this company, and it's employees standard of living at least at the status quo.
We all need to see the bigger picture here. There is a fight coming. We're seeing it everywhere. Minimum wage jobs offering $18-20/hr and can't find employees. It's not that they don't 'want to' work, it's they don't want to give up all their time to be broke. We are the biggest private sector union in the country. We need to be a leader here, to reintroduce the concept of a middle class and to show the advantages of a union to everyone who will be watching. Let UPS brag about our income to the media. Bring it on. If we as a labor union are not willing to fight to raise the standard of living in this country, then who will be? I cannot reiterate enough, we need to be willing to fight over this.
It is not unreasonable to take one of those billions in profit and distribute it amongst the employees to raise the standard for all.