UPS Re-Ups With the Teamsters

cheryl

I started this.
Staff member
UPS Re-Ups With the Teamsters - Motley Fool

Coming 11 months before the current agreement is set to expire, it would result in average $9-an-hour boost in employee compensation over its five-year life for about 240,000 full- and part-time covered employees. That compares to an $8.75-an-hour gain earned by the union on the current contract, which expires on July 31, 2008.
 

prsman12059

Well-Known Member
This Is One Of The Worst Contracts I Have Seen In My 24 Years..its Loaded With Give Backs At A Time When The Company Is Making Huge Profits Hoffa Sold Us Down The River ..the Raises Are A Joke But I Could Live With It As Long As The Pensions Were Fixed...all These Give Back Were Unwarranted..im Voting No
 
M

miketheupsman

Guest
I dont think its going to matter to much either the way fed x is going we will be lucky to have a job in 5 years
 

double R

Member
Im hearing about a two teir pay scale; which has no benefit to anyone who lives in that brown uniform. Im looking down the line and I don't like what I see. Think about it; If you're that guy who got hired after everything that you had to do just to find out you'll never be @ $30/ hr?
*** ? who wants to get pd $22 / hr when the guy next to you is makin' $34 / hr. This is the beginning of the end. This is sad. I can only hope that each member takes the time and READS and discusses each issue at hand. I realize that the 6 Billion in cash to C.S. from brown probably had sumthin to do with it. But, how could you prove it? This is an issue where we are giving back to a company; whose CEO Mike Eskew makes (not earns) 1 M $ a year; plus other bene's. GUYS...GALS... There's something wrong with an organization (teamsters) who thinks its a good idea for us to take this contract; knowing that the ppl who come to work after we get old, yes we're gonna get OLD, aren't going to enjoy the same opportunity that we have had.
:nono::nono:
SF






UPS Re-Ups With the Teamsters - Motley Fool
Coming 11 months before the current agreement is set to expire, it would result in average $9-an-hour boost in employee compensation over its five-year life for about 240,000 full- and part-time covered employees. That compares to an $8.75-an-hour gain earned by the union on the current contract, which expires on July 31, 2008.
 

hoser

Industrial Slob
I dont think its going to matter to much either the way fed x is going we will be lucky to have a job in 5 years
if that were the case, why would you get raises?

i work for an airline where the wages are still reflective of the concessions our union had to give while that union was in receivership 4 years ago. and the airline is turning large profits now. and to make it better, as per an arbitrator's decision, our union can't discuss wages until the contract is up in july 2009.

history tends to repeat itself, and ups' history compared to many airlines is much brighter for its employees. so be careful to conclude the end is near when it really isn't.

Im hearing about a two teir pay scale; which has no benefit to anyone who lives in that brown uniform. Im looking down the line and I don't like what I see. Think about it; If you're that guy who got hired after everything that you had to do just to find out you'll never be @ $30/ hr?
*** ? who wants to get pd $22 / hr when the guy next to you is makin' $34 / hr. This is the beginning of the end. This is sad. I can only hope that each member takes the time and READS and discusses each issue at hand. I realize that the 6 Billion in cash to C.S. from brown probably had sumthin to do with it. But, how could you prove it? This is an issue where we are giving back to a company; whose CEO Mike Eskew makes (not earns) 1 M $ a year; plus other bene's. GUYS...GALS... There's something wrong with an organization (teamsters) who thinks its a good idea for us to take this contract; knowing that the ppl who come to work after we get old, yes we're gonna get OLD, aren't going to enjoy the same opportunity that we have had.
:nono::nono:
SF
very curious as to where you heard this. if it's true, you are correct, it is a sad fact. but i don't know how you can argue $34/hr for this job is fair. it's great, don't get me wrong, but i think $30/hr for someone in a high-rent area is fair.
 
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boxer 705

Guest
As a 26 year ups teamster Imust say having read the "Very best contract" onTDUs website it is certainly the worst contract Ive seen. The company got all it wanted and the leadershio gave it to them.As a member and steward in 705 I will do all I can to get this voted down.
 

Liberty Bear

New but not Naive
10 Reasons to Vote NO

I'm currently running for public office and am thinking about using my campaign to publicize the contract, adding a web page listing "Ten Reasons to Vote No." I haven't yet brainstormed those reasons, but I suspect they won't be hard to find.

In fact, here are ELEVEN items that jumped into my mind...

1) New hires will still be starting at $8.50 an hour, with no paid vacation or sick leave and no medical benefits, in the year 2013. My God.

2) New hires have no one to speak for them since they haven't even been hired yet.

3) Split Pay Raises - What corporate attorney came up with that sleazy strategy to scr*w workers? We get a 35 cent pay raise just in time for peak season. How generous.

4) Substance vs Promises - We know we're going to get split pay raises, and we know new hires will still get $8.50 an hour. The Teamsters are telling us, "Yes, this stinks...but it's balanced out by the wonderful pension plan we've planned for you!"

The problem is that pension plans are much more complex than pay raises, and there's more opportunity to deceive voting members and later plunder even good pension plans.

I'm new to UPS, and I'm no expert on such things - but how many of us are? I just smell a rat.

5) UPS jobs can't easily be outsourced - If you're shipping a package from Nebraska to California, you're not going to send it from Nebraska to India, THEN on to California. That gives us a lot of leverage. UPS is doing business on OUR turf, and we could and should use that advantage to pressure them.

6) UPS is reportedly earning record profits. If major corporations can't give their employees fair pay even when the company is flush with cash, then what hope is there?

7) Deceptive (or Stupid) Statements by our "Leadership" - Jim Hoffa was quoted as saying "This tentative agreement with UPS addresses our members' concerns, and is an example of how the Teamsters are moving forward faster and stronger than ever." What a bald-faced lie. And...

"hall, chief negotiator for the Teamsters with UPS, said that under the agreement full-time union members at UPS were expected to enjoy a total increase in wages and benefits of $9 per hour over the course of the new 5-year contract, compared to gains of $8.75 per hour in the last six-year contract."

What exactly does that mean? I think I recall an article that mentioned a reporter pressing Hall for details, but Hall wouldn't comment. You know what they say - figures don't lie, but liars do figure.

8) Threats - When your employer and union both start threatening you to sign OR ELSE, it's time to be scared. No - it's time to get ANGRY and fight back. Now I may just be repeating rumors, but a co-worker told me that the Teamsters told an audience that had gathered to learn about the new contract that if they didn't vote YES, the next contract would be worse. I also heard that UPS had threatened to do a hatchet job on UPS employees' pensions if this contract doesn't pass.

Again, these are rumors. I'd like to know if other UPS employees have heard similar threats.

9) Solidarity - First they came for the communists, then for the Jews... The UPS/Teamsters juggernaut is clearly using a divide and conquer strategy against us. So who are they going to target once they've purged part-timers? And how can the Teamsters refer to themselves as an "International Brotherhood" when they stab their brothers in the back.

10) Let's Destroy Morale from Day 1! - I actually enjoy my job to an extent. I like hard work, I love the flexibility, and I get along with my supervisors just fine. But I have a chip on my shoulder. Why?

When I started working for UPS, I barely earned enough money to pay rent. But the salary was only my second biggest complaint. What really burned me was the fact that the Teamsters were sucking money out of my paycheck even when I wasn't getting any union protection or benefits. Another pet peeve is co-workers who are lazy, whining you-know-what but who get special protection by the union. So what exactly is it that the Teamsters do for us???

People who hire on with UPS after this contract takes effect are not going to be happy campers once they read the fine print. And after they discover that their own union sold them out, they may be even angrier. And who could blame them?

11) Globalization - When you look at the big picture and put this contract in its proper context, it appears to be another corporate strike against workers. For example, it appears to me that the corporate media have joined the UPS and Teamsters in cheerleading for this contract; they certainly haven't published many dissenting opinions.

I saw the same thing happen when I was a teacher, and my "union" sided with local corporations, both supported by the media. Teachers lost that battle, and public education has now effectively been privatized.

* * * * *

Some people lament that UPS has no choice but reduce labor costs if it wants to compete with Fedex, but I'm not convinced. Even if it's true, I would still not submit. If UPS goes out of business after it's forced to pay fair wages, someone has to take over their business, and we can all go work for Fedex.

It would also be interesting to compare Fedex's salary and benefits to UPS. I have a friend who worked for Fedex for several years. He said he never really missed not having a union, as he never needed protection from management. I THINK their wages are also competitive, though I'm not sure about benefits.

Anyway, there's lots to think about here. Let's not make a hasty decision!
 
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