April 7, 2008: Our union is now nearly 10,000 members strong at UPS Freight, as members voted this weekend to ratify a new contract that brings them into our union.

This vote comes after years of organizing at UPS Freight that had its ups and downs. Our whole union can be proud of our victory there.

These brothers and sisters are joining our ranks to ensure a better future for themselves and their families.

Five out of every six UPS Freight workers are now Teamsters. Now we have to finish the job and organize UPS Freight coast-to-coast and wall-to-wall.

Click here to download the new UPS Freight contract.

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February 21, 2008: UPS Freight workers are joining our union by the thousands.
Our union can win big for them.

By mid-February UPS Freight workers have signed cards to become Teamsters at terminals that employ 5,600 drivers and dock workers. This means nearly half of UPS Freight terminals have joined the drive, and they are from all areas of the country.

Reports come in by the week from locals that get a majority of workers to sign Teamster cards. Since UPS management withdrew its opposition, it’s become a much easier effort.

Also in February, the International Union invoked Article 12, Section 2 of the IBT Constitution, asking each affected local to sign bargaining rights over to the International. Once a majority of locals sign the form, the International will control bargaining nationally.

Bargaining Power Growing

As the organizing drive spreads, so does our Teamster bargaining power. It’s likely that 10,000 or more UPS Freight Teamsters will be on board, joining some 240,000 Teamsters on the package side of the company.

This puts our union in a powerful position, and there is no reason we cannot win at least the National Master Freight Agreement.

That would mean bringing company-paid health care, through our union health funds. It would mean top-rung Teamster pensions. It would mean parity with 70,000 other Teamsters in our Freight Division.

It would mean that we are not signing a substandard deal that actually undercuts Teamsters in the Freight Division.

Why Settle Short?

The International Union has said they will instead settle short and use the Indianapolis agreement signed last year for 125 workers as the template for a national agreement. While that agreement has some gains (like overtime after eight hours), it does not have union pensions, it has company health care with an employee payment of $150 per month for family coverage, and low-wage part-timers.

We have the numbers. We have the power. The Teamsters Union should stand strong for the UPS Freight workers and for parity in the freight industry.

Defenders of the International Union’s plan have argued that a substandard contract at UPS Freight would at least give our union a foot in the door. They say we can bargain better terms in the second contract.

If the International Union is wedded to this strategy, then the first contract should be kept short so that UPS Freight Teamsters don’t have to wait five years to get up to Teamster standards.

A first contract of no more than two years would get our union’s “foot in the door” and we could start preparing now to win full parity in the next contract.

January 30, 2008: About two weeks after launching a major nationwide organizing campaign to represent truck drivers and dockworkers at UPS Freight, International Brotherhood of Teamsters has gained the support of bargaining units covering about 3,200 workers, or about 25 percent of the company's 12,600 eligible employees, union officials told BNA Jan. 29.

A majority of workers at 24 of the company's 91 freight terminals have signed authorization cards designating the Teamsters as their collective bargaining agent, according to IBT spokesman Galen Munroe. IBT to date has forwarded about 90 percent of the signed authorization cards to an independent arbitrator for verification as part of an IBT-UPS Freight card-check agreement reached last year that provides for union recognition without National Labor Relations Board-supervised elections, the union said.

Since announcing earlier this month that a majority of workers at seven of the company's New England trucking terminals had signed union authorization cards (12 DLR A-7, 1/18/08 ), the union said that it has attained authorization cards from workers at 17 more terminals across the country.

UPS Freight, a unit of United Parcel Service, has not formally recognized the union yet at any of the new sites, Ken Hall, director of the union's parcel division told BNA. But the union leader said he did not anticipate any problems, and that formal recognition of IBT bargaining units would begin soon.

No Contract Talks Scheduled Yet

UPS Freight spokesman Ira Rosenfeld confirmed Jan. 29 that no formal recognition had been extended to the union at any of the sites announced by IBT since the new organizing drive was launched Jan. 16.

Before the new drive, UPS Freight had recognized IBT as the bargaining agent for employees at only one of the company's freight terminals, Rosenfeld said. The company recognized IBT as the collective bargaining agent for workers at its Indianapolis terminal last year and quickly negotiated a first contract to cover those workers, he said (196 DLR A-7, 10/11/07).

Rosenfeld said he had no information on the schedule for recognition at the new sites or the beginning of bargaining toward first contracts.

Numerous Bargaining Units

Munroe said the union had collected authorization cards from a majority of workers at 17 other terminals since the union announced the beginning of the drive with the proposed designation of a single bargaining unit at seven New England terminals.

Those 17 terminals are located in Memphis, Tenn.; Detroit; San Leandro, Calif.; Tukwila, Wash.; Los Angeles; Fontana, Calif.; Commerce, Calif.; Rialto, Calif.; Minneapolis; Milwaukee; Louisville, Ky.; Lexington, Ky., Farmingdale, N.Y.; Newburgh, N.Y.; Atlanta; Lawrenceville, Ga.; and Marietta, Ga., Munroe said.

Hall said the union would seek to negotiate separate contracts for different bargaining units according to local conditions. In some cases, the union will seek to negotiate a single contract at an individual terminal, such as in Memphis, which is one of UPS Freight's largest individual terminals. But in other cases, the union will seek to negotiate a single contract to cover multiple smaller terminals in the same geographic regions, such as in New England, he said.

January 30, 2008: The "Vote No" campaign on the freight contract plus the new organizing at UPS Freight could be a one-two punch to protect Teamster standards in freight.

The proposed freight concessions and the substandard UPS Freight contract in Indianapolis are blows aimed at the heart of Teamster Power: the National Master Freight Agreement. But there is hope yet for union standards in our industry—thanks to a nationwide Vote No campaign and the growing movement of UPS Freight workers to join our union.

Thousands of UPS Freight workers are signing union cards. When UPS Freight is organized nationally, our union will have the bargaining leverage we need to bring the company under the National Master Freight Agreement.

The question is: can we get the Hoffa administration to use that bargaining leverage to build Teamster power in freight?

Right now, our International Union is committed to negotiating conditions and benefits at UPS Freight that are substandard to the NMFA. They have called the substandard contract in Indianapolis the “template” for the future.

But the contract in Indianapolis only covers 125 Teamsters—less than one percent of UPS Freight’s workforce. It is only logical that our union will have more bargaining power when we represent the company’s 15,000 employees. Shouldn’t we use that power to demand more than what was won in Indianapolis?

The International Union does not even intend to negotiate a national contract at UPS Freight. Instead, chief negotiator Ken Hall says he will negotiate a series of local and regional agreements. How will that maximize union power?

The International Union says we need to give Yellow-Roadway concessions so it can compete with competitors like UPS Freight. Thousands of freight Teamsters have a different plan in mind.

The first step is to vote down the concessionary deal with Yellow-Roadway.

The second step is to pressure our International Union to launch a campaign to win a strong National Master Freight Agreement that also covers UPS Freight.

Instead of slashing our contract standards to UPS Freight’s level, let’s bring UPS Freight’s substandard wages, benefits and working conditions up to ours.

Read more at Freight2008.org.

January 29, 2008: A majority of workers at terminals employing more than 3,200 UPS Freight employees have signed Teamster cards.

UPS Freight workers in Georgia, New York, Kentucky, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Detroit, Memphis, New England, Southern California, Oakland and Seattle have all submitted union cards.

These new Teamsters join the 125 UPS Freight employees who now have a union contract in Indianapolis.

Ken Hall, the Parcel and Small Package Division Director for the Teamsters, will head up bargaining with UPS Freight.

Hall has already negotiated a local contract for the UPS Freight Teamsters in Indy—a contract with lower standards than the National Master Freight Agreement.

With more members our union now has more bargaining power. We can and must use that power to win a stronger contract than that first contract in Indianapolis.

Every Teamster needs to get behind our union’s drive to organize all 15,000 employees at UPS Freight nationwide and to win contracts that protect our union standards in the industry and provide for the best possible wages, benefits and working conditions for UPS Freight employees.

A Message to UPS Freight employees:

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is a national network of Teamster members. We are 100 percent pro-union and dedicated to building a stronger Teamsters Union by informing and involving the rank-and-file.

Our national network of Freight Teamsters works together to defend and improve union standards in the industry and to secure strong contracts, good pensions and a better future for freight workers.

We stand behind you in your efforts to unionize at UPS Freight and win the wages, benefits and working conditions that you deserve.

Click here if you have a comment or question about the Teamsters Union, TDU or the organizing drive at UPS Freight. All emails will be kept confidential and answered promptly.

January 5, 2007: The Teamsters Union is about to launch an organizing drive at UPS Freight, which all Teamsters should support and help as much as we can.

Just as important, all Teamsters should support negotiating an industry-leading contract.

The question is will the UPS Freight contract set the same standards as the National Master Freight Agreement, or will it be substandard?

Although it will be a freight contract, and for the most part freight locals will do the organizing, Ken Hall of the Parcel Division will head the bargaining. On a conference call with local unions, Hall stated that the UPS Freight contract at the Indianapolis terminal will be the “template” for the national contract he wants to negotiate.

Many officers and members want to aim higher. On that same call a number of officers said they wanted to bargain to get Teamster pensions and benefits into the contract. Many in the Freight Division are concerned about any contract that could undercut the NMFA.

We believe that with a strong organizing drive, our union can have solid bargaining strength at UPS Freight, and certainly enough clout to win a better contract. Teamster locals and members should support the organizing drive, and also unite behind winning a contract that is up to Teamster standards.

October 17, 2007: The most secretive negotiations in Teamster history have produced controversial agreements with UPS and UPS Freight.

The agreements raise new questions about our union’s bargaining strategies just as negotiations are getting underway with freight employers and DHL.

UPS and our union have inked a tentative early deal that delivers $9 an hour in wage and benefit improvements for full-timers over five years—but also includes monumental concessions.

If approved, the contract would allow UPS to break 44,000 Teamsters out of the Central States pension plan. It would also put an end to the creation of the new full-time jobs we first won in the 1997 UPS strike along with numerous other givebacks.

President Hoffa and chief negotiator Ken Hall made these historic givebacks in exchange for a deal that will make it easier to organize UPS Freight—something our union can and must do.

Our union needs to organize the nonunion competition, win strong contracts and good pensions.

The 1997 UPS contract campaign showed we can do this from a position of strength, by mobilizing Teamster members and public support to win our demands without givebacks.

The Hoffa administration has chosen a different route: using secret talks to trade away historic union gains in exchange for what the company is willing to offer.

Teamsters who have doubts about this strategy need to get united. Contact TDU today about how we can work together to rebuild Teamster Power.

Click here to read more about UPS bargaining.

Click here to read more about DHL negotiations.

Click here to read about the new freight proposals.

October 10, 2007: On Oct. 7, UPS Freight workers at the Indianapolis terminal voted 107-1 to approve a new contract that will last six years, until Aug. 1, 2013. The International Union will use it as a model for other UPS Freight terminals around the country.

In a conference call with local unions on Oct. 2, Ken Hall and James Hoffa reported that there is a "card check" deal with UPS Freight, which will make it easier to organize the various terminals. If the majority of workers at a terminal sign Teamster cards that are independently verified, the company will recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union at that barn.

The union agreed to management's demand to make that card check agreement conditional on ratification of the UPS national contract, including the break-out of 44,000 Teamsters from the Central States Fund. That was management's central demand in national bargaining. As reported on the call, signing of cards cannot start until after the whole UPS contract process is done.

Contract Terms

The UPS Freight contract will not be under the National Master Freight Agreement, or a supplement to it, but a white paper contract. Wages go up 65¢ immediately, and then 70-75-80-85-90¢ over the next five years (the wage increases are split in half each year, in January and July). It has company pension, apparently with no improvement, and company health benefits. A Teamster must pay $150 per month to get family health coverage. No change in sick days, personal days or vacations.

The company previously provided matching money for a 401(k), and that was given up in the contract. That and the co-pay for health insurance are two of the issues that a number of UPS Freight drivers have forcefully objected to on the internet forum truckingboards.com.

But they now get union protection: a grievance procedure (not the freight panels, a company-based procedure) and seniority rights.

Some in the Freight Division have expressed concern that relief given to UPS, the most profitable transport corporation in the world, will weaken our bargaining power with freight carriers which compete with UPS Freight. On the conference call, Hall appealed to them to hold their fire and "trust us."

Organizing Drive

Organizing by locals at UPS Freight terminals could start by the end of the year, if the UPS national contract and the pension fund break-out are approved. The "card check" deal has a three-year duration, so our union has that period to sign up the majority at as many terminals as possible. Many locals are eager to take a crack at bringing some of the 15,000 UPS Freight workers into the Teamster fold.

Attempted Decertification in Reno

A potential sour note in the organizing effort was struck a week earlier at the Reno Nevada UPS Freight terminal. This is one of a few UPS Freight terminals under Teamster contract; it was formerly Motor Cargo, a company bought by Overnite, which later became UPS Freight.

On Sept. 25 a vote was held to decertify the Teamsters and go nonunion. Fortunately the union won 32-31, but there are three challenged ballots to be resolved. Hopefully Local 533 will hold onto that Teamster unit.

If management gets its way in contract negotiations, UPS will soon be diverting packages to UPS Freight, the company's nonunion freight carrier.

Sources close to the negotiations have told Traffic World, a leading industry publication, that UPS is pushing for work rule changes that would allow them to move packages from its parcel to freight divisions.

Corporate consultants love the idea.

“It's nonunion. It would be more cost effective,” said one industry expert.

It would also destroy Teamster jobs.

Traffic World broke the story in a report called, “Union Trading Parcels? UPS, Teamsters negotiations could shift to talks about shifting small packages to UPS Freight.”

The Teamsters Union could easily put the issue to rest by saying clearly that we will never agree to such a concession. Instead, our union refused to comment for the story. This only fueled speculation that the Hoffa administration is considering the deal in exchange for the right to organize UPS Freight.

“That is one carrot that could be offered” sources familiar with the negotiations told Traffic World.

While pension talks have gotten the most attention, analysts say these work rule changes could have the bigger impact.

Analysts confirmed that “UPS has to have negotiations done quickly” because shippers “will not understand a protracted negotiations. They still remember the last strike.”

This gives us leverage. We should be using it to win the improvements Teamsters were promised under the "Best Contract Ever"—without new historic givebacks like the Central States pension grab or letting UPS take our work away and give it to UPS Freight.

Read the entire Traffic World report.

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Contact us with your opinion on this issue.

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August 8, 2007: The Association of Parcel Workers of America (APWA) lost an organizing election at the big Kansas City terminal of UPS Freight by a margin of 3-1. The vote was 66 for the APWA, 202 for No Union.

Despite considerable pro-union sentiment, UPS Freight drivers and dock workers are not ready to vote for an association that has no track record and is staffed by a management law firm.

In the Kansas City vote, which ended on August 7, the Teamsters Union was in the uncomfortable position of sitting on the sidelines during a union vote. The APWA has also filed for an election at the 400-worker UPS Freight breakbulk in Gaffney, South Carolina.

For UPS Freight workers who want power and justice on the job there’s a clear alternative: the Teamsters Union. Our union needs to get off the sidelines with a coordinated campaign to organize UPS Freight nationally.

UPS Freight Senior Vice President Jack Holmes in a June 28 letter to UPS Freight workers, made clear that management will oppose unionization by the Teamsters or any other union.

Our International needs to answer management’s attack and make it clear that the Teamsters will not settle for anything less than NMFA standards and Teamster pension benefits for all UPS Freight employees.