UPS won critical new leverage in their campaign to take over our pension funds when the House and Senate passed the misnamed Pension Protection Act. The Act includes UPS’s baby, the “Red Zone” amendment, which legalizes cutting pension benefits that employees have already earned.

The New York Times called UPS “another of the bill’s winners”. The Times reported that, “U.P.S. had been eager to increase its control over such troubled plans as the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund. The pension measures could have that effect in the next few months, when U.P.S. will begin contract negotiations with the Teamsters.”

For a year the Hoffa administration openly supported the Red Zone amendment. Then, under pressure from TDU, rank and file members and progressive locals, Hoffa did a 180 and came out against the Red Zone at the last minute.

But by the time Hoffa’s legislative department took any action, it was too late. Now members face the threat of even more pension cuts. And UPS management has new clout over our union as we enter early contract talks.