January 24, 2011: Under fire for weak contract enforcement at UPS, Hoffa and Ken Hall convened a national conference call last summer to brief shop stewards and promise International Union action.
But more than six months later, Hoffa and Hall remain out of touch and missing in action.
Compare for yourself the Hoffa administration’s promises and what UPS Teamsters have to say.
Source: Conference call with UPS Teamsters hosted by James Hoffa and Ken Hall, July 29, 2010. Recording available from TDU upon request.
Production Harassment
The Empty Promise: “Whether it’s part-timers who they’re harassing over production issues or package car drivers who are out on the road, I have put the company on notice: You either fix your problem or we’re going to make this a national issue for you.”
Members Respond: “Production harassment is at an all-time high. Members face daily threats of harassment, discipline and discharge. We are being held hostage.
“If we wait for panel hearings it’s a month before the union hears our case and most always there is no back pay. Our panels are weak. We need a national response from our union—not empty talk.“
Patricia DePietro, Local 773, Allentown
9.5 Rights / Excessive Overtime
The Empty Promise: “The 9.5 language isn’t perfect, but it is getting better.”
Members Respond: “Hoffa and Hall have watered down the 9.5 language twice—the second time in the middle of the contract. Together with management, they’ve made it harder to enforce our 9.5 rights. No wonder drivers are out on the road until all hours.”
Rich Arnold, Local 449, Buffalo
Subcontracting
The Empty Promise: “Our position is zero tolerance for subcontracting.”
Members Respond: “Subcontracting is rampant. The new loopholes Hoffa and Hall negotiated opened the floodgates. We’re prohibited from even filing grievances if the work doesn’t originate out of our hub. We police subcontracting to the best of our ability locally, but to really be effective we need coordination from the IBT.”
John Youngermann, Local 688, St. Louis
UPS Pension Plan Info
The Empty Promise: “For those of you in the UPS pension plan, I am reviewing next week a new website that will be available for you for your pension plan and they are working on a calculator that will be added to that website so you can calculate your pension sometime by the end of this year.”
Members Respond: “The UPS Pension Plan covers 44,000 Teamsters and still doesn’t have a website or easy access to info. The only address or phone I know of is an 800 number at UPS headquarters in Atlanta. You’re lucky if you can get through and then it’s hard to get a straight answer to the most basic questions.”
Todd Hartsell, Local 90, Des Moines