Make UPS Deliver Higher Pensions
May 22, 2012: Teamsters in the Central Region, the South and the Carolinas are uniting to make UPS deliver higher pensions. The bad news is that the IBT-UPS Pension Plan has locked 48,000 Teamsters into the lowest pension benefits of any UPSers in the country. The good news is that the upcoming contract negotiations provide a direct route to winning a pension increase. For most UPS Teamsters, the contract only defines how much money the...
UPS Pension Viewpoint: Bargaining Improved Pensions
June 22, 2012: UPS always advised drivers with the safety tip to "keep their eyes on the big picture." I've learned that's really important when it comes to our pension and retirement. Everybody talks about retiring after 30 years with a monthly pension check of $3,000. It's important to remember that federal and state taxes will come out of that. Then there's medical coverage including dental and vision if you need it (which most of...
UPS Teamsters Speak Out
May 22, 2012: The International Union and UPS will start contract negotiations this fall. UPS Teamsters say if the company wants an early deal, they need to address the problems in the current contract. Our union contract with UPS does not expire until July 31, 2013. But the International Union and UPS will start early negotiations on a new agreement this fall. The last time the Hoffa administration settled early with UPS, they also settled...
UPS Profits Up Again
May 22, 2012: UPS made just under a billion dollars in the first quarter of 2012. Brown reported profits of $970 million for the first three months of the year, up 6 percent from last year. Who delivered most of these profits? Working Teamsters, that's who. UPS's domestic revenue was up 6.1 percent. UPS's International operations grew at a slow pace, just 2.3 percent, disappointing analysts. UPS made $4.2 billion in profits after taxes in...
UPS Part-Timers Launch Contract Petition Drive
June 1, 2012: Part-timers and inside workers got sold out in the last contract. This time, they're organizing to win higher wages, more full-time jobs and a contract that makes UPS deliver for every Teamster. UPS part-timers and inside workers have launched a national petition drive to demand better pay, more full-time jobs and a contract that delivers for every UPS Teamster. Click here to download the petition. Click here to download the Contract Bulletin....
Get Involved and Make UPS Deliver
May 22, 2012: Working Teamsters at UPS are working together through the Make UPS Deliver network to mobilize for a fair contract. There's no reason to settle the contract with UPS early if it means settling short. Any contract offer from UPS has to be put to a vote of the members. Our Right to Vote gives us leverage to win a better contract. If UPS sees that we will vote to reject a bad...
Hoffa Sells-Out Central States Pension Fund Again
May 25, 2012: In May the Hoffa administration signed a national contract in the pipeline industry that lets all construction contractors pull out of the Central States fund. The deal establishes a new company plan, just as Hoffa and Hall let UPS start a company plan in 2008. Unlike other Teamsters, pipeline Teamsters don't have the right to vote on their contract. The IBT Constitution contains a loophole that lets local union leaders approve national...
Is Your Pension Fund In the 'Red Zone'?
May 22, 2012: In April, hundreds of thousands of Teamsters received an "Annual Funding Notice" from their Teamster pension plan. For many, the news was not good. If you are concerned about your pension, read on. For some—those in the Western Conference of Teamsters Plan—the notice stated that their fund is in the "green zone." But for the majority of others, the notice included the words "red zone" and "critical status." From some Teamsters, such...
Central States Fund: Where are the Quarterly Reports?
May 22, 2012: The Central States Pension Fund last issued a quarterly financial and analytical statement for the second quarter of 2011, which is nearly a year behind. The Independent Special Counsel to the Fund prepares these reports, and they are provided to Paul Alan Levy, counsel to TDU members and retirees who went to court to end the secrecy about this information. Teamsters for a Democratic Union makes the information available. But late last...
International Union to Increase Payments to Officer Only Fund
May 22, 2012: The amount of members' dues money that goes to an officer-only pension fund will nearly double next year to $9 million. And an even more exclusive plan, which is reserved for International officials only, is taking another $12.5 million in dues. This announcement came in the April Funding Notice of the Teamster Affiliates Pension Plan. The International Union will pay $5 million in dues money in 2012, and increase the annual payment...