Why are GWI stagnant when starting wages are 30% higher?

noazrk

Union Steward
.....or more here in the Phoenix, Arizona area as the starting wage has been $14 an hour for a few months now.

HOPEFULLY I'm wrong about this here in the valley as I don't know for sure what our contract is going to look like until Sunday morning when we're having our town hall meeting to learn what was negotiated. I'll post an update if our Southwest Rider has GWI higher than the tentative Master Agreement.

The GWI (General Wage Increases) proposed are not high enough and here are the facts to support my opinion :
The 2018 GWI proposed is $0.70 while the lowest starting wage in the country is $13.00.
Let’s look at past contracts, in 2008 the starting wage was $8.50 and the GWI was $0.70. In 2013 the starting wage was $10.00 an hour and the GWI was $0.70. Here we are 10 years later with the starting wage in that time going from $8.50 all the way up to $13.00 (or more) and our first wage is going to be the same as it was 10 years ago? Percentage wise it’s a significant drop! Once again, supposedly union negotiators were going to hold strong for $1.00 a year and didn’t. I find it peculiar both sides agreed to $1 increases in the pension yet most of us would rather have a $1 pay increase and a $0.70 pension increase. We’ve all heard the tax parables about how the poor and rich don’t pay taxes, just the middle class. This contract proposal is similar, the new hires and top-rate employees make out great in this contract, the senior part-timers in the middle are the ones losing out.

I'm heading to work early while on vacation to hand out flyers encouraging the part-timers on my shift to head down to the meeting Sunday morning and let our concerns be heard!
 

BrownRecycler

Well-Known Member
.....or more here in the Phoenix, Arizona area as the starting wage has been $14 an hour for a few months now.

HOPEFULLY I'm wrong about this here in the valley as I don't know for sure what our contract is going to look like until Sunday morning when we're having our town hall meeting to learn what was negotiated. I'll post an update if our Southwest Rider has GWI higher than the tentative Master Agreement.

The GWI (General Wage Increases) proposed are not high enough and here are the facts to support my opinion :
The 2018 GWI proposed is $0.70 while the lowest starting wage in the country is $13.00.
Let’s look at past contracts, in 2008 the starting wage was $8.50 and the GWI was $0.70. In 2013 the starting wage was $10.00 an hour and the GWI was $0.70. Here we are 10 years later with the starting wage in that time going from $8.50 all the way up to $13.00 (or more) and our first wage is going to be the same as it was 10 years ago? Percentage wise it’s a significant drop! Once again, supposedly union negotiators were going to hold strong for $1.00 a year and didn’t. I find it peculiar both sides agreed to $1 increases in the pension yet most of us would rather have a $1 pay increase and a $0.70 pension increase. We’ve all heard the tax parables about how the poor and rich don’t pay taxes, just the middle class. This contract proposal is similar, the new hires and top-rate employees make out great in this contract, the senior part-timers in the middle are the ones losing out.

I'm heading to work early while on vacation to hand out flyers encouraging the part-timers on my shift to head down to the meeting Sunday morning and let our concerns be heard!

According to Article 22 - wouldn't you be able to keep your whatever higher wage?

I agree that GWI is a little lower compared to $1 an year for everyone.
 
.....or more here in the Phoenix, Arizona area as the starting wage has been $14 an hour for a few months now.

HOPEFULLY I'm wrong about this here in the valley as I don't know for sure what our contract is going to look like until Sunday morning when we're having our town hall meeting to learn what was negotiated. I'll post an update if our Southwest Rider has GWI higher than the tentative Master Agreement.

The GWI (General Wage Increases) proposed are not high enough and here are the facts to support my opinion :
The 2018 GWI proposed is $0.70 while the lowest starting wage in the country is $13.00.
Let’s look at past contracts, in 2008 the starting wage was $8.50 and the GWI was $0.70. In 2013 the starting wage was $10.00 an hour and the GWI was $0.70. Here we are 10 years later with the starting wage in that time going from $8.50 all the way up to $13.00 (or more) and our first wage is going to be the same as it was 10 years ago? Percentage wise it’s a significant drop! Once again, supposedly union negotiators were going to hold strong for $1.00 a year and didn’t. I find it peculiar both sides agreed to $1 increases in the pension yet most of us would rather have a $1 pay increase and a $0.70 pension increase. We’ve all heard the tax parables about how the poor and rich don’t pay taxes, just the middle class. This contract proposal is similar, the new hires and top-rate employees make out great in this contract, the senior part-timers in the middle are the ones losing out.

I'm heading to work early while on vacation to hand out flyers encouraging the part-timers on my shift to head down to the meeting Sunday morning and let our concerns be heard!

Your PT raise isn't very high because the poor don't pay taxes, you get your other $.30 in tax savings.
 

llamainmypocket

Well-Known Member
They've been screwing over party timers for decades. It's not as bad this contract but the trend is the same. Worse than last contract.

As good as these start rates are supposed to be there still a whopping 50 cents over minimum wage by the end of the contract. With diminishing GWI.
 
They've been screwing over party timers for decades. It's not as bad this contract but the trend is the same. Worse than last contract.

As good as these start rates are supposed to be there still a whopping 50 cents over minimum wage by the end of the contract. With diminishing GWI.
You will be earning minimum wage and paying Union dues while a FT driver is making over $40/hr.
 

Time for change

Well-Known Member
Your PT raise isn't very high because the poor don't pay taxes, you get your other $.30 in tax savings.

Hahaha, some of us “part timers” with two jobs pay WAY more in federal income tax than we get back. If there is one thing I would show my daughters in life, it was to never be reliant on the taxpayer and government. You all can ridicule me all you want, but I rely on nobody.
 

noazrk

Union Steward
According to Article 22 - wouldn't you be able to keep your whatever higher wage?

I agree that GWI is a little lower compared to $1 an year for everyone.

Yes, even though the National starting wage will say $13 our starting wage is $14 and I've heard other areas of the country have $15. Oddly enough I heard an HR rep giving out seriously false information on tours in Phoenix. He was overheard telling them they will start at $14 now and DROP to $13 when the new contract starts! That is undoubtedly wrong. I'm guessing the SW rider will list the starting rate at $14?

Here's the weird part though, not even the whole state of Arizona went up to $14.00. A lot of the smaller hubs and I heard even Tucson is still at $10.50, just the main Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa hubs went up to $14. Sounds like a big mess to me!

Anyways, I wasn't concerned about that. I just brought up $14 to reinforce how much the starting wage has risen in a short amount of time compared to the GWI staying the same for 10 years (or 15 if it passes like this).
 

noazrk

Union Steward
Hahaha, some of us “part timers” with two jobs pay WAY more in federal income tax than we get back. If there is one thing I would show my daughters in life, it was to never be reliant on the taxpayer and government. You all can ridicule me all you want, but I rely on nobody.

Now now, every driver knows all part-timers live in a trailer park popping out babies to max out food stamps and working JUST enough hours to get the maximum EIC refund. Then we put on our pizza stained shirts, wrap more duct tape around our 10 year old boots and ride our bikes to work stoned, holding in our breath as we go through the guard shack. It's just a fact of life (especially on Preload), thank a driver today for everything we have ;-)

One more thing FT drivers need to know is this. Even though we're PT, we are expected to put UPS first just like them. Most of us in Tempe Twilight are working close to 30 a week. We are expected to show up every day and stay until all work is done regardless of our day job or school schedule. During peak season we're expected to work 6 days a week until the work is done, just like them. The last 3 weeks, our Thursday shift which is one of the lighter ones has been 6.5-7 hours before going down. Myself, I'm over 1200 hours already. Yes, full-timers should make more than part-timers but the question is by how much? I guess double isn't good enough? Why are some FT drivers so callous about our opinions and desires of the contract?

Let's see, I heard about 8-10 drivers came off the road for an inside Load/Unload combo job in Phoenix and most went back to driving within a week! What? The job was too easy?
 
Now now, every driver knows all part-timers live in a trailer park popping out babies to max out food stamps and working JUST enough hours to get the maximum EIC refund. Then we put on our pizza stained shirts, wrap more duct tape around our 10 year old boots and ride our bikes to work stoned, holding in our breath as we go through the guard shack. It's just a fact of life (especially on Preload), thank a driver today for everything we have ;-)

One more thing FT drivers need to know is this. Even though we're PT, we are expected to put UPS first just like them. Most of us in Tempe Twilight are working close to 30 a week. We are expected to show up every day and stay until all work is done regardless of our day job or school schedule. During peak season we're expected to work 6 days a week until the work is done, just like them. The last 3 weeks, our Thursday shift which is one of the lighter ones has been 6.5-7 hours before going down. Myself, I'm over 1200 hours already. Yes, full-timers should make more than part-timers but the question is by how much? I guess double isn't good enough? Why are some FT drivers so callous about our opinions and desires of the contract?

Let's see, I heard about 8-10 drivers came off the road for an inside Load/Unload combo job in Phoenix and most went back to driving within a week! What? The job was too easy?

I'm not callous about PT opinions, but I do take exception to hearing "we've been getting screwed every contract since...blah blah blah...words words words..."

PT workers haven't been "getting screwed" by anyone but themselves. PT apathy and silence has resulted in this wage disparity and all of the other inequities brought up. I'm not saying there isn't anything to be upset about, but PT has been the majority if this membership for a long time, they should have been making a difference all along. Now we get the "it's all about the FTers" rhetoric. Just stop bitching and show me.

PT thoughts and concerns are useful and I feel need to be addressed, but don't say PT unrest today is my fault.
 

WTFm8

Well-Known Member
Are we talking before or after tax rebate? Because 12% is kind of low. Am getting 22% including state tax at the low income bracket.

Federal only, before. State ranges too much.

My state is a flat 3.7%, 6% sales but we have crazy road/fuel tax.
 

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noazrk

Union Steward
I'm not blaming FT workers for PT concerns not being addressed in a tentative contract, all scrutiny is addressed to Denis T and his committee. Thus, I don't understand the comment "Your PT raise isn't very high because the poor don't pay taxes". Why would the bargaining committee be ok with weak raises and no catch-up raises just because of what tax brackets we're in? I don't remember much resistance to the contract 5 years ago, a .70 raise based on $10 starting wage seemed ok. Now the same raise based on a $14 starting wage just doesn't make sense. Neither does keeping people who've been here four years at the new starting rate. From the older guys I talked to the starting wage has been fairly similar for the last 20 years so this is new territory. Maybe there was apathy and silence before, I'm trying to change that in my hub at least. I handed out flyers today to all the part-timers coming in letting them know about the contract meeting, I am realistic knowing we'll be lucky to have 15% representation down there but at least the two stewards will be there!
 

BrownRecycler

Well-Known Member
Yes, even though the National starting wage will say $13 our starting wage is $14 and I've heard other areas of the country have $15. Oddly enough I heard an HR rep giving out seriously false information on tours in Phoenix. He was overheard telling them they will start at $14 now and DROP to $13 when the new contract starts! That is undoubtedly wrong. I'm guessing the SW rider will list the starting rate at $14?

Here's the weird part though, not even the whole state of Arizona went up to $14.00. A lot of the smaller hubs and I heard even Tucson is still at $10.50, just the main Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa hubs went up to $14. Sounds like a big mess to me!

Anyways, I wasn't concerned about that. I just brought up $14 to reinforce how much the starting wage has risen in a short amount of time compared to the GWI staying the same for 10 years (or 15 if it passes like this).

Because the Article 22 have to protect some union member that were living on UPS payscale ($1 a year) because the old agreement payrate language doesn't applied to them. I know this because we were together and had check the Teamster local book even phoning the BA.

I try to keep in touch with the seniors because it wouldn't have made any sense to remove their $25 payrate after working that many year as a package handler. I even brought up to them that some Teamsters want to take away the second tier wage. And, they like, NOPE! And, that's good enough for me for being on the right page.

So, the Article 22 should protect your and anybody who above $13 per wage balancing overhaul system. It is basically eliminating anybody's wage that is less than $13 and match it with the whatever new agreement get voted in.

But, that's my interpretation and should be clear with it up with other.
 
I'm not blaming FT workers for PT concerns not being addressed in a tentative contract, all scrutiny is addressed to Denis T and his committee. Thus, I don't understand the comment "Your PT raise isn't very high because the poor don't pay taxes". Why would the bargaining committee be ok with weak raises and no catch-up raises just because of what tax brackets we're in? I don't remember much resistance to the contract 5 years ago, a .70 raise based on $10 starting wage seemed ok. Now the same raise based on a $14 starting wage just doesn't make sense. Neither does keeping people who've been here four years at the new starting rate. From the older guys I talked to the starting wage has been fairly similar for the last 20 years so this is new territory. Maybe there was apathy and silence before, I'm trying to change that in my hub at least. I handed out flyers today to all the part-timers coming in letting them know about the contract meeting, I am realistic knowing we'll be lucky to have 15% representation down there but at least the two stewards will be there!

would rather have a $1 pay increase and a $0.70 pension increase. We’ve all heard the tax parables about how the poor and rich don’t pay taxes, just the middle class. This contract proposal is similar, the new hires

This is where my comment came from. It's a joke.
 

noazrk

Union Steward
Ah! I get it now, thanks for clarification. I thought it was going to turn in to FT vs. PT as that's something I'm trying to avoid. I just want to rally anyone who agrees with my points to share them with their members, raise awareness and vote no IF our issues aren't addressed.

I disagree with some FT drivers who say we don't work hard enough or support the union enough to get substantial raises but I also disagree with some PT insiders who say we work just as hard as drivers and should make the same money as them.

I will admit that in my hub the union membership between PT and FT is drastically one sided, probably 95% in FT vs. maybe 40% in PT so maybe we should thank a driver! There are guys with 10+ years seniority who obviously aren't going anywhere and no matter how much I keep bringing up the pensions, free benefits etc. I still can't get them to join.

Sorry for getting off track
 

Time for change

Well-Known Member
This is where my comment came from. It's a joke.
Ah! I get it now, thanks for clarification. I thought it was going to turn in to FT vs. PT as that's something I'm trying to avoid. I just want to rally anyone who agrees with my points to share them with their members, raise awareness and vote no IF our issues aren't addressed.

I disagree with some FT drivers who say we don't work hard enough or support the union enough to get substantial raises but I also disagree with some PT insiders who say we work just as hard as drivers and should make the same money as them.

I will admit that in my hub the union membership between PT and FT is drastically one sided, probably 95% in FT vs. maybe 40% in PT so maybe we should thank a driver! There are guys with 10+ years seniority who obviously aren't going anywhere and no matter how much I keep bringing up the pensions, free benefits etc. I still can't get them to join.

Sorry for getting off track

Most drivers that have done both know per hour many part time jobs are tougher. Put a 30 year seniority fat driver in a 130 degree trailer for 5 hours to unload lol. Now I don’t think we should be paid 36 an hour, but the ridiculous gap needs to be narrowed.
 

AwashBwashCwash

Well-Known Member
I see this argument so many times
"Yes being a part-timer at UPS sucks but lmao deal with it because it's your fault for not voting"
Yeah let's just completely ignore the fact that the part-time ranks are (intentionally) a revolving door. WHO is supposed to be voting? The guy who started a month ago? These guys don't vote because they probably don't even know that there is a :censored2:ing union. No one is educating these people. In fact, most of the time the people around them are making their job harder than it has to be.

Let's face it - UPS takes pride in breaking people and making them quit. It gives the lifers a sick sense of satisfaction, watching that newbie walk out the door and deluding themselves into thinking they are better than him. I've seen it over and over again. And what better way to save on benefits than by implementing a 1 year waiting period and then shuffling people in and out the door as fast as possible.
This is what I've seen at my hub - constantly understaffed, bring a few people in, demand they work themselves to death to compensate for the understaffing, they predictably leave, bring more people in, and repeat. It's an endless cycle. There's no training, there's no system, the equipment is broken, and no one cares. That's UPS.
 
I see this argument so many times
"Yes being a part-timer at UPS sucks but lmao deal with it because it's your fault for not voting"
Yeah let's just completely ignore the fact that the part-time ranks are (intentionally) a revolving door. WHO is supposed to be voting? The guy who started a month ago? These guys don't vote because they probably don't even know that there is a :censored2:ing union. No one is educating these people. In fact, most of the time the people around them are making their job harder than it has to be.

Let's face it - UPS takes pride in breaking people and making them quit. It gives the lifers a sick sense of satisfaction, watching that newbie walk out the door and deluding themselves into thinking they are better than him. I've seen it over and over again. And what better way to save on benefits than by implementing a 1 year waiting period and then shuffling people in and out the door as fast as possible.
This is what I've seen at my hub - constantly understaffed, bring a few people in, demand they work themselves to death to compensate for the understaffing, they predictably leave, bring more people in, and repeat. It's an endless cycle. There's no training, there's no system, the equipment is broken, and no one cares. That's UPS.
But there seems to be an endless supply of polo shirts for the new PT sups who seem to work harder then the hourly's they are suppose to be training.
 

542thruNthru

Well-Known Member
Most drivers that have done both know per hour many part time jobs are tougher. Put a 30 year seniority fat driver in a 130 degree trailer for 5 hours to unload lol. Now I don’t think we should be paid 36 an hour, but the ridiculous gap needs to be narrowed.

Put a 30 year seniority fat clerk in a 130 degree trailer for 5 hours to unload Lol!

Don't hate drivers because you envy their pay and they didn't want to be PT their whole career.
 
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