June 20, 2014: How to document violations and make Hoffa-Hall and UPS deliver on their SurePost promises.
The new contract includes restrictions on SurePost that are supposed to mean fewer packages diverted to the Post Office and more fulltime Teamster driving jobs.
So far, drivers report a different story. “I deliver to the Post Office on my route,” said Michigan Local 243 Teamster Marty Labut. “I still see SurePost packages on dead-end streets where I already have deliveries. I see SurePost packages right next door to stops on my route. We are supposed to be delivering these parcels.”
“Hoffa and Hall have had months to work out the details on enforcement. The SurePost language should have been implemented as soon as the contract was forced through,” Labut said.
Enforcement Tips
It’s time to enforce the contract. Under the new language:
- SurePost packages are contractually limited to 10 lbs. in weight and less than three cubic feet in size.
- SurePost service is for business-to-residential shipments only.
- SurePost packages are supposed to be put on a package car for final delivery by a Teamster whenever they are being delivered to the same address or in the vicinity of an address where there is a UPS package for delivery. If you deliver to the Post Office, you’re in the best position to help enforce the contract.
- Take a photo of any SurePost package you see that is addressed to a location close to where you deliver UPS Ground.
- Take a photo of any SurePost package that is more than three cubic feet or weighs more than 10 lbs.
If you’re a driver, use your smart phone to document these violations—when you're off the clock is best. Then file a grievance saying that the company is violating Article 26, Section 4 (SurePost).
Preloaders can help too by flagging oversized and overweight SurePost packages to the driver. Fewer packages going to the Post Office means more full-time jobs.
Contract Loopholes
In a glossy PR mailer to every UPS Teamster, Ken Hall claims the new SurePost language “puts more packages back on UPS trucks and protects Teamster work and jobs.”
A closer look at the new language in Article 26, Section 4 reveals the usual grey areas and loopholes that management loves to exploit.
Instead of strict restrictions there are vague promises that UPS will “use and develop new technology” to move SurePost packages out of the Post Office and on to package cars and implement the technology “when available.”
It will be up to UPS Teamsters to document violations, file grievances and put heat on the International Union to deliver on their SurePost promises.
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