underpaid, what are my options?

[heaver]

when i was hired at ups i signed a contract that layed out how much i would be payed for the first 6 years of employment.
according to that contract, at year 6 i would be earning $16 an hour.
i am currently in year 7, and i am only earning $15.81, at year 6 it was $15.34. a 66 cent difference from what i should have been earning.
which probably adds up to about 2+ weeks that i worked, last year alone, for free.
during that time i talked to a couple of supervisors about it, both of whom brushed me off as soon as i brought it up.
i recently complained to my new lead supervisor, and he actually followed through with it instead of shutting me up, but his answer after a few days was that my current rate of pay is correct.
i asked him why there is a discrepancy between my "correct rate of pay" and what i was promised in the contract.
he said he'd look into it...

but i'm not anticipating him saying "you're right, here's a raise and here's all your money we owe you."
are there other avenues that i can take to be compensated fairly? i'm a great employee, for 7 years i've consistantly gone above and beyond what is expected of me. in fact, above and beyond IS now what is expected of me.
at this point i am just being taken advantage of, and as much as i'd hate it, i'll have to quit if i can't expect to be treated with some level of respect.
any ideas?

 

[PT Stewie]

What contract the IBT/UPS National Agreement ? I am assuming you are part time. 4 years progression ? Sort raise ? What ? Are you a Teamster ? Did you check with your steward? You left out a lot of important information.

 

[packageguy]

You should get your steward involved and union hall,
let them know what's going on. They show respect any more, in there minds there are hundreds of people who want your job. My advice is your not happy then leave, if not come to work everyday do your job and don't let them get to you. good luck

 

[heaver]

i haven't talked to a steward yet, i expect that to be the next step. i'm part time, started loading, and started picking off 6 months after i started. so i have my skilled worker's raise. i am a teamster. i don't remember what the contract i signed was called, i just remember that when i was hired (july '05) i signed a contract that said i'd be making 16 dollars an hour by my 6th year if i passed the pick off test.

also, i don't know if the contracts are different from place to place, but i work at the hub in greensboro, nc.
where it takes at least 9 years to make it to full time, from what i understand.

 

[packageguy]

i haven't talked to a steward yet, i expect that to be the next step. i'm part time, started loading, and started picking off 6 months after i started. so i have my skilled worker's raise. i am a teamster. i don't remember what the contract i signed was called, i just remember that when i was hired (july '05) i signed a contract that said i'd be making 16 dollars an hour by my 6th year if i passed the pick off test.

also, i don't know if the contracts are different from place to place, but i work at the hub in greensboro, nc.
where it takes at least 9 years to make it to full time, from what i understand.

just get with your steward and union they will answer all your questions. I'm from new york area, from what I UNDERSTAND AREAS ARE DIFFERENT. I DON'T WANT TO GET FALSE INFORMATION, Good luck

P.S. about driving full time be patience you come to fat to leave...

 

[CaliforniaPaul]

Post the "contract" you signed. Must be a new thing your signing a contract.

 

[heaver]

Post the "contract" you signed. Must be a new thing your signing a contract.

perhaps contract is the wrong word? in 2005, when i was hired, i signed a document that stated exactly what my pay increases would be for the next six years. i most likely no longer have a copy of this document, i was 21 and pretty disorganized at the time. so i cannot post it. but i signed the document and i know that other people who were hired within a year (at least) before and after me signed the same (or similar) documents.
maybe it wasn't called a contract, but that's what i've always heard it called. either way, the document explained how much money i would earn (among other things), i signed it, and now i am earning less.

 

[Socrates]

The shared contract of hundreds of thousands of us covers 1) workers hired BEFORE the new contract begin date (= bigger raises), and 2) workers hired AFTER the new contract begin date (= smaller raises) -- So for the two periods: 2003-2008, and 2008-2013, you were hired under the 2003 Contract. That means your raises would be listed as "Start, Seniority, 1 year, 2 year, 3 year, and 4 years" -- a 5th (or 6th, or 7th) isn't possible because that contract doesn't exist yet. In theory, our raises for 5-10 years from now could be 10 cents, or they could be $2/hour. Nobody knows.

In "2005" (assuming it was before August), you would have started at about 8.50. After 90 days, you'd be up to $9. Pass split test, up to $10. After a year (2006), $10.50. 2 more years at 50c each, $11.50. --- then you would transition to the 2008 contract, which has higher raises; to date, .70, .75, .75, .85, and (so far) half of .95. So far, that's around $15. -- this all does not count any regional/local per-hour raises you might have had, which could account for the 84 cent difference.

Your pay is not that far off from what it should be. The take-home is that there is no reason for you to have seen raises for 4+ years out, because such raises have yet to be negotiated.

 

[brown bomber]

Post the "contract" you signed. Must be a new thing your signing a contract.

so now you're expected to "sign the paper"...prior to employment,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and after that DON'T sign anything.........I'm confused

 

[UPSGUY72]

when i was hired at ups i signed a contract that layed out how much i would be payed for the first 6 years of employment.
according to that contract, at year 6 i would be earning $16 an hour.
i am currently in year 7, and i am only earning $15.81, at year 6 it was $15.34. a 66 cent difference from what i should have been earning.
which probably adds up to about 2+ weeks that i worked, last year alone, for free.
during that time i talked to a couple of supervisors about it, both of whom brushed me off as soon as i brought it up.
i recently complained to my new lead supervisor, and he actually followed through with it instead of shutting me up, but his answer after a few days was that my current rate of pay is correct.
i asked him why there is a discrepancy between my "correct rate of pay" and what i was promised in the contract.
he said he'd look into it...

but i'm not anticipating him saying "you're right, here's a raise and here's all your money we owe you."
are there other avenues that i can take to be compensated fairly? i'm a great employee, for 7 years i've consistantly gone above and beyond what is expected of me. in fact, above and beyond IS now what is expected of me.
at this point i am just being taken advantage of, and as much as i'd hate it, i'll have to quit if i can't expect to be treated with some level of respect.
any ideas?

Here is a three step program to solve your problem.

1. Stop smoking pot...

2. Stop wasting you Steward, BA and SUP time on nonsense. You don't have a copy of this so called side deal contract you say you signed. So you have no proof.

3. Open up your contract book and read Article 22. Section 5. (a) that how you get your yearly raises.

 

[heaver]

Here is a three step program to solve your problem.

1. Stop smoking pot...

2. Stop wasting you Steward, BA and SUP time on nonsense. You don't have a copy of this so called side deal contract you say you signed. So you have no proof.

3. Open up your contract book and read Article 22. Section 5. (a) that how you get your yearly raises.

of course! it all made so much sense after i put down my weed bongs.

thanks, socrates. your answer was helpful!

 

[MenInBrown]

perhaps contract is the wrong word? in 2005, when i was hired, i signed a document that stated exactly what my pay increases would be for the next six years. i most likely no longer have a copy of this document, i was 21 and pretty disorganized at the time. so i cannot post it. but i signed the document and i know that other people who were hired within a year (at least) before and after me signed the same (or similar) documents.
maybe it wasn't called a contract, but that's what i've always heard it called. either way, the document explained how much money i would earn (among other things), i signed it, and now i am earning less.

Im from the Edenton, NC center...Not saying you didnt do that, but I have never heard of anyone at our center doing that...You should just get your union contract book and it should tell you.

 

[DiligentUPSer]

For some perspective, I've worked for UPS as a part-timer for 8 years. At year 7 I was making $15.265 and that went up to $15.695 at the February 2012 raise, which marked about 7 1/2 years at that point. As of the recent August raise, I am 8 years in and at $16.165. So you're at a slightly higher rate than I was at year 7, but basically on the same track, and I know that my pay is correct per the national contract.

Now, there may be one issue with your pay rate. You said you started in July of '05. If your official seniority date is really in July then I wonder if you did not receive both your 4th/final year of progression raise on your seniority date in '09 and the August 1, 2009 raise. Your pay rate suggests that you only received the 4th/final year of progression raise on your seniority date. That's what I received and why our pay rates are on a similar track. However, I started in September so I just missed getting the August 1, 2009 raise, whereas you should have received that raise if your official seniority date is before August. The difference for not receiving that raise would have been thirty seven and a half cents, I think.

 

[DiligentUPSer]

For some perspective, I've worked for UPS as a part-timer for 8 years. At year 7 I was making $15.265 and that went up to $15.695 at the February 2012 raise, which marked about 7 1/2 years at that point. As of the recent August raise, I am 8 years in and at $16.165. So you're at a slightly higher rate than I was at year 7, but basically on the same track, and I know that my pay is correct per the national contract.

Now, there may be one issue with your pay rate. You said you started in July of '05. If your official seniority date is really in July then I wonder if you did not receive both your 4th/final year of progression raise on your seniority date in '09 and the August 1, 2009 raise. Your pay rate suggests that you only received the 4th/final year of progression raise on your seniority date. That's what I received and why our pay rates are on a similar track. However, I started in September so I just missed getting the August 1, 2009 raise, whereas you should have received that raise if your official seniority date is before August. The difference for not receiving that raise would have been thirty seven and a half cents, I think.

Thinking about it further, I must correct myself. It does appear as though you received both the final progression (4th yr.) raise in July plus the August raise in 2009 looking at your pay rate compared to mine ($16.165) with me having one more year in. You were just in time by starting in July, while I missed out by starting in September and that is why your rate is close to mine since you received that one extra raise. All together, I am pretty certain that your rate of $15.81 is where you are supposed to be. My apologies for being so confusing...haha

 

[heaver]

ha, it's cool. i get what you're saying.
i suppose there is a good chance i was wrong about this.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Here is a three step program to solve your problem.

1. Stop smoking pot...

2. Stop wasting you Steward, BA and SUP time on nonsense. You don't have a copy of this so called side deal contract you say you signed. So you have no proof.

3. Open up your contract book and read Article 22. Section 5. (a) that how you get your yearly raises.

(1) wha?

 

[PiedmontSteward]

when i was hired at ups i signed a contract that layed out how much i would be payed for the first 6 years of employment.
according to that contract, at year 6 i would be earning $16 an hour.
i am currently in year 7, and i am only earning $15.81, at year 6 it was $15.34. a 66 cent difference from what i should have been earning.
which probably adds up to about 2+ weeks that i worked, last year alone, for free.
during that time i talked to a couple of supervisors about it, both of whom brushed me off as soon as i brought it up.
i recently complained to my new lead supervisor, and he actually followed through with it instead of shutting me up, but his answer after a few days was that my current rate of pay is correct.
i asked him why there is a discrepancy between my "correct rate of pay" and what i was promised in the contract.
he said he'd look into it...

but i'm not anticipating him saying "you're right, here's a raise and here's all your money we owe you."
are there other avenues that i can take to be compensated fairly? i'm a great employee, for 7 years i've consistantly gone above and beyond what is expected of me. in fact, above and beyond IS now what is expected of me.
at this point i am just being taken advantage of, and as much as i'd hate it, i'll have to quit if i can't expect to be treated with some level of respect.
any ideas?

I work under the same supplemental and have the same years of service and make the same wage.. $15.815/hour. We were probably hired within months of each other and I don't remember a "wage contract" - the only wage contract we have is the collective bargaining agreement.

 

[Buck Fifty]

If you quit going above and beyond, you would have made much more money. Even if you were making the extra 19 cents an hour. My advice to you is to quit working at a pace to where you feel taken advantage of, and start working at a pace to where you feel worthy of your pay. Remember at your current rate you are making around 26 cents a minute. If your work would take you 5 minutes longer everyday, thats when you'll start feeling the respect.