Teamsters Take on UPS in Louisville
UPS Teamsters in Louisville look to be on a collision course with the company over the mammoth Local 89 Air Rider which covers 9,300 UPS Teamsters at UPS Worldport, the company’s central air hub in the country, as well as other UPS buildings. Local 89 stewards and the Executive Board have unanimously opposed the national contract. As we go to press, the local reports that talks on the Air Rider are at a virtual standstill. Local 89's website details the reasons they oppose the national contract.
Four 10-Hour Days in Package?
The Western Penn. Supplement would allow UPS to bid package car routes of four 10-hour days with overtime after 10 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. If no one bids the routes, UPS must repost them as five 8-hour day routes. The Atlantic Area Supplement would also allow four 10's by mutual agreement. Ken Hall had the power to stop these changes. Should we be opening the door to four 10-hour days in package?
Central Region Loophole Still Wide Open
The Central Region Supplement fails to close the dreaded 17(i) loophole that allows UPS to suspend members for "other serious offenses," a much-abused catch-all phrase. The supplement does eliminate other outdated language that defined a serious accident as anything that involves as little as $4,400 in damages.
Fat Profits, Lean Contract
On the same day that UPS reached tentative agreement on a new contract, the company announced after-tax profits for the first quarter rose to $1.04 billion. This is up from $970 million made during the same period last year. For the year, UPS is projecting to haul in $4.6 to $4.8 billion in after-tax profits.