November 21, 2012

Brownout Hits Local Unions

The International Union's information brownout is even keeping local officers in the dark.

The International has not given Local Unions a copy of the company's bargaining proposals or the Union's own proposals on production harassment and 9.5, which Ken Hall says are priority issues.

It's tough for members to back our bargaining committee when we don't even know what's being negotiated.

Last time, the Information Brownout ended with Hoffa and Hall giving UPS a concessionary contract even though the company was making record profits.

TDU makes sure UPS Teamsters get information about what's happening in contract negotiations so we can stand united for the improvements we need.

Click here to sign up for contract updates at www.MakeUPSDeliver.org.

UPS Forecasts Higher Profits

UPS has upgraded its projected profits for the year.

The company's third-quarter profits met Wall Street expectations. UPS said its overall profit for the third quarter would have been about $1.66 billion, down just a fraction from $1.67 billion last year. This comes to after-tax profits of $1.03 billion.

Once again, UPS Teamsters drove the company's revenue. International package volume dropped by 3.7% or 400,000 packages a day. U.S. package revenue increased $94 million over last year, driven by a 3.7% gain in daily volume.

On a conference call with investors and analysts, UPS's chief financial officer, Kurt P. Kuehn, said the company was raising its profit projections for the year.

"Given our performance and greater confidence in fourth-quarter execution, we have enhanced our full-year earnings guidance," Kuehn said.