October 17, 2007: The most secretive negotiations in Teamster history have produced controversial agreements with UPS and UPS Freight.
The agreements raise new questions about our union’s bargaining strategies just as negotiations are getting underway with freight employers and DHL.
UPS and our union have inked a tentative early deal that delivers $9 an hour in wage and benefit improvements for full-timers over five years—but also includes monumental concessions.
If approved, the contract would allow UPS to break 44,000 Teamsters out of the Central States pension plan. It would also put an end to the creation of the new full-time jobs we first won in the 1997 UPS strike along with numerous other givebacks.
President Hoffa and chief negotiator Ken Hall made these historic givebacks in exchange for a deal that will make it easier to organize UPS Freight—something our union can and must do.
Our union needs to organize the nonunion competition, win strong contracts and good pensions.
The 1997 UPS contract campaign showed we can do this from a position of strength, by mobilizing Teamster members and public support to win our demands without givebacks.
The Hoffa administration has chosen a different route: using secret talks to trade away historic union gains in exchange for what the company is willing to offer.
Teamsters who have doubts about this strategy need to get united. Contact TDU today about how we can work together to rebuild Teamster Power.
Click here to read more about UPS bargaining.