April 10, 2009: New Jersey Local 177 bargained groundbreaking contract language on supervisors working in the new contract.

Now that language is being put to the test.

Representing more than 8,000 Teamsters in New Jersey, Local 177 is one of the largest and most powerful UPS locals in the Eastern Region.

Local 177 is one of a handful of large locals with its own supplement to the UPS national contract. In the last bargaining round, the local used its clout to negotiate new supplemental language that imposes stiffer penalties for supervisors working than the national contract.

Now the local is headed to arbitration on cases that will put this language to the test.

Under the Local 177 Supplement, UPS has to pay two times the hourly rate for the actual time worked by the supervisor. This is the same language as the national contract.

Tougher Penalties

But the Local 177 Supplement imposes stiffer penalties on subsequent violations. The second time the same supervisor is caught doing bargaining unit work, the contract imposes a penalty of double-time pay for a minimum of two-hours—or the actual hours worked, whichever is greater.

The third time that the same supervisor is caught working, the minimum double-time pay penalty is increased to four hours at double time—or the actual hours worked, whichever is greater.

Documenting Violations

Local 177 stewards, members and business agents have worked together for months to document supervisors working violations. Business agents even have photos of repeat violators—which will make it pretty difficult for the company to deny the violations.

To protect members from discipline, only local union staff photograph violations.

The local has a number of arbitrations coming up, each one targeting multiple violations by individual supervisors. Focusing on individual supervisors will enable the local to use the 2-hour and 4-hour minimum double-time penalties negotiated in the supplement.

The first arbitration is scheduled for April 24.

April 10, 2009: Drivers and our families are being hurt by the new Opt-In/Opt-Out guidelines agreed to by the Hoffa administration. The new system has led to more intimidation, more excessive overtime and more layoffs. It’s wrong.

Intimidation

Aaron Nightingale, Local 150In my building, intimidation is a major factor in keeping drivers off the 9.5 Excessive Overtime list. Drivers have been told they will be subject to extra reports and will basically have a camera in their face if they go on the list.

This causes many drivers who don’t want the excessive overtime to just suck it up. They don’t want to sit down with the center manager to get on the 9.5 list.

This isn’t the way it was supposed to work. The contract we voted on stated that we sign a list twice a year to opt in or out of excessive overtime.

Safety in Numbers

There is safety in numbers, especially when an aggressive center manager is involved. A group list is the union way to go, not forcing drivers to sit down with their center manager. What the hell was our International Union thinking when they agreed to that?

With the economy down, I think the union caters to management even more than usual. Management cuts jobs and sends the rest of the workforce out with a 10 or 11 hour day and our union’s response is to weaken excessive overtime protections instead of strengthening them.

If the excessive overtime list was more user-friendly, drivers who want more time with our families could be protected from unwanted excessive overtime. And more Teamsters could be working instead of being laid off.

That’s the kind of pro-Teamster solution our union should be fighting for.

By Aaron Nightingale, Local 150 Package Car Driver, Sacramento.

April 10, 2009: Good full-time jobs are at a premium in this economy.

Enforcing Article 22.3 would make UPS create thousands more full-time jobs.

So why isn’t the International Union doing it?

In 1997, UPS Teamsters went on strike to tell the company, “Part-Time American Won’t Work.” Today, UPS Teamsters are teaming up in a national petition drive to make UPS create the full-time jobs we’re owed under the contract.

The 1997 strike forced UPS to combine 40,000 part-time jobs into 20,000 full-time “combo” positions by August 1, 2008.

Article 22.3 of the contract requires the company to maintain the 20,000 full-time combo jobs no matter what. Declining volume does not allow UPS to lay off combo Teamsters or to eliminate these full-time positions through vacancies and attrition. But UPS is doing just that.

Grievances Deadlocked

The International Union has left it up to individual members and local unions to file grievances. Management is deadlocking these grievances and eliminating more full-time jobs.

The International Union has the power to put a stop to this by filing one national grievance and demanding that UPS fill all 20,000 full-time combo positions immediately. The result would be an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 more full-time jobs for Teamsters who need them.

National Petition Drive

Members have launched a national petition drive that calls on the International Union to file a national grievance and to conduct a national audit to document full-time job elimination.

The contract requires UPS to give the International Union a detailed list of the 20,000 combo jobs the company is maintaining under Article 22.3. The International Union should give every local union a copy of this list to document the status of each of these jobs.

That way the International Union can present indisputable evidence to win the national grievance and force full-time job creation.

The next national grievance panel is June 8-11 in Philadelphia. The International Union has plenty of time before then to put a national grievance on the docket and complete a national audit.

Good full-time jobs are at a premium in this economy. Our union is in the unique position of having contract language at UPS that legally requires the company to create more full-time positions. Enforcing this language is a no-brainer. It’s time for the International Union to act.

Do you have question or a comment about the petition drive? Would you like to set up a meeting or conference call in your area with other UPS Teamsters? Click here to send us a message and we will get back to you.

Click here to download the petition and an informational leaflet to pass out to other Teamsters.

No Excuses

“Part-timers deserve a chance at a full-time job and a real career. There’s no excuse for not enforcing the contract and making UPS create all 20,000 full-time combo positions.”

Landy Butler, UPS Local 804 Shop Steward, New York

Hope for Our Future

“The company has eliminated some full-time combo jobs by not filling vacant positions. Now management is talking about layoffs. I’m worried about the future. The petition drive and the information from TDU gives me hope that we can enforce the contract and win full-time jobs.”

April 16, 2009: UPS’s attack on full-time combo jobs has moved to Chicago. Local 705 Teamsters are fighting back to protect the jobs we won in the 1997 strike.

Local 705 members on strike for full-time jobs in 1997.UPS has laid off 13 full-time combo Teamsters in Chicago Local 705 and eliminated more than 20 other full-time combo jobs by not filling vacant positions.

The layoffs and job eliminations directly violate Local 705’s contract, which requires UPS to maintain 1,100 full-time combo jobs in Local 705’s jurisdiction. Local 705 negotiates its own contract covering 10,000 UPS Teamsters—which is separate and independent from the national agreement.

The 1,100 combo jobs that UPS has to maintain in Chicago are over and above the 20,000 full-time combo jobs that UPS has to maintain under Article 22.3 of the national agreement.

Local 705 has filed grievances and is demanding that the company immediately fill 1,100 full-time combo positions with full backpay for members who have been denied full-time work in violation of the contract.

To back up the grievances, Local 705 is conducting a local-wide audit to track the status of each and every one of the 1,100 combo jobs required by the contract. As we go to press, management has signed off on grievances and begun to put vacant 22.3 jobs up for bid.

April 10, 2009: More than 50 Local 804 members turned out for a day-long educational seminar sponsored by 804 Members United.

The conference focused on the problems UPSers are facing at work and what members and our union can do about them.

“This is exactly the kind of thing our local should be doing,” said feeder driver Neil O’Brien. “Sharing information, building unity and making plans to build union power. That’s what it’s all about.”

Local 804 represents over 7,000 UPS Teamsters in New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island. Drivers packed a workshop on Working Safe and Working Smart.

“Management is cracking down on drivers, riding guys. We talked about what drivers can do to protect themselves,” said shop steward Chris Sabatino.

In another workshop, inside employees talked about the epidemic of supervisors working and strategies that other Teamster locals are using to stop the violations and make UPS pay.

Another hot topic was the elimination of the full-time combo jobs—across the country and in Local 804. Members made plans to participate in a national petition drive to make UPS create all 20,000 full-time jobs that the membership is owed under the contract.

Building a Movement For Change

This year is an election year in Local 804. Teamsters at the Education Conference made it clear that the membership is ready for change.

Shop steward Tim Sylvester told the crowd, “804 Members United will be putting forward a leadership team that can lead this local, strengthen representation and unite members to defend our contracts and benefits.

“The slate will answer to a reform platform and will work hand in-hand with a rank-and-file network of members from every building and classification in the local,” Sylvester said.

That network has been building since the members voted down the last contract.

Upholding a Proud Tradition

Local 804 has a proud history of being one of the strongest locals in our union, and the home of Ron Carey, the first democratically-elected Teamster president.

Carey’s son, Dan Carey, addressed the Education Conference and congratulated members on keeping his father’s fighting spirit alive in the local.

Local 804 Members United brought members together to vote down a concessionary UPS contract and save 25-and-out pensions for new employees.

“804 Members United is about more than a slate. We are about building a rank-and-file movement for a stronger union. And we want every member to be a part of it,” said Jim Reynolds.

Doug Corbett, a package steward from 43rd Street, was one of dozens of members who filled out volunteer forms at the Education Conference. “If you want change, you’ve got to get involved,” Corbett said.

For more information visit www.804MembersUnited.org

March 25, 2009: FedEx Corp is threatening to cancel the purchase of billions of dollars worth of new Boeing Co cargo planes if Congress passes a law that would make it easier for unions to organize at the package-delivery company, the Wall Street Journal said.

FedEx may cancel plans to buy as many as 30 new Boeing planes should Congress pass a bill that would remove truck drivers, couriers and other employees at FedEx's Express unit from the jurisdiction of the federal Railway Labor Act of 1926, the paper cited the company spokesman as saying.

In January, FedEx said its express unit exercised options to buy 15 more Boeing 777 freighters, worth $3.75 billion at list prices.

However, the company deferred delivery of some of the planes as the U.S. economy faces a bleak outlook.

FedEx's actions raise the stakes in an increasingly bitter battle involving chief rival, United Parcel Service Inc, and the Teamsters union, which has been trying for years to organize at FedEx, the Journal said.

FedEx and Boeing could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

March 23, 2009: The national petition drive to make UPS create more full-time times is picking up steam.

UPS is violating Article 22.3 of our contract which requires the company to maintain 20,000 combo jobs nationally. The company is thousands of jobs short of the 20,000 quota—and is eliminating more full-time combo jobs every day.

Petitions are circulating in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, Sacramento, San Diego—and other locals large and small.

The petition calls on the International Union to file a national grievance to make the company create all 20,000 full-time combo jobs that UPS Teamsters are owed under the contract. Click here to learn more about the issue and see how it’s affecting members across the country.

You can help. Click here to download the petition and a leaflet that explains UPS’s contract violations and the petition drive.

Completed petitions can be returned by fax to 1-866-860-9331 or mailed to Make UPS Deliver c/o TDU, 104 Montgomery St, Brooklyn NY 11225.

Do you have question or a comment about the petition drive? Would you like to set up a meeting or conference call in your area with other UPS Teamsters? Click here to send us a message and we will get back to you.

Click here to download the petition and an informational leaflet to pass out to other Teamsters.

March 17, 2009: United Parcel Service Inc. boosted Chairman and CEO Scott Davis’ total compensation by 115 percent in 2008. This is the same year that UPS Teamsters got a 35 cent raise.

In all, Davis made a whopping $5.6 million last year, including $3.2 million in stock awards. Davis’s salary was hiked to $1 million, including a $40,000 bonus.

Chief Operating Officer David Abnet also got a healthy pay hike in 2008. His total compensation rose 27 percent to $1.9 million.

All these figures come from the company’s own records—a proxy statement filed by UPS with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

UPS Gets Lean & Mean in 2009—At Least With Us

UPS announced that it is freezing management salaries in 2009 and suspending its 401K match. But don’t feel bad for Brown’s CEO. With his pay more than doubling in one year from $2.6 million to $5.6 million, Davis should probably be able to scrape by.

Working Teamsters in the meantime are taking it on the chin.

Feeder, package car drivers, and even part-timers are being laid off. Thousands of full-time combo positions are being eliminated in violation of the contract.

Stronger Contract Enforcement Needed

The massive pay hikes show that UPS top brass look out for their interests. Our union needs to do a better job of protecting members’ interests.

More aggressive enforcement of our contract—especially excessive overtime, supervisors working and Article 22.3 (full-time combo job preservation) would put laid off Teamsters back to work.

UPS made $5 billion in operating profit last year and $3 billion in profit after taxes. If the company can find the money to massively increase executive pay, they can find the money to respect our contract and keep members working.

If you agree, join Teamsters for a Democratic Union. TDU and Make UPS Deliver are the number one source of independent information for UPS Teamsters. We work together to enforce our contract and rebuild our union’s power at UPS.

Click here to Join TDU. That’s forty bucks well spent. Membership includes a subscription to our newspaper Convoy Dispatch.

Click here to read the Atlanta Business Chronicle: UPS Chairman’s Total Comp More Than Doubles.

What’s Happening in Your Local?

Are sups working and drivers being forced to work more than 9.5 in your area while other Teamsters are laid off? Click here and fill us in on what’s happening.

March 6, 2009: A confidential memo obtained by TDU reveals that a UPS boss in Chicago is apparently drinking too much coffee. Either that, or he thinks he’s General Patton.

Check out this management memo, “March Cost Cutting Initiatives,” that went to UPS building managers in the Chicago area.

It’s worth reading to get a feel for what the tie-guys often do when pressure comes down from above: they stick it to the employees.

The first part on overtime, over-allowed, job elimination and driver harassment is especially educational. But it’s chock-full of crap all the way through. For non UPSers, allows us to translate some of this UPS speak:

Point #1. Put the hammer to anyone not running at 110%. Harass them relentlessly and don’t let up. This is management at its ugliest – hammering away at the employees they consider “least best.”

The problem is that there are always employees on the “least best” list, so they get all the attention from management and it isn’t good attention. The goal of hammering the “least best” employees is so that, as the memo states, “others will fall in line.”

In several of the points you can see the hammer coming down on part time employees— no overtime, reduced hours and more production harassment.

Incredibly, the manager openly advocates violating the contract by stating that full-time combo employees (22.3s) be laid off.

Safety spending? “Keep it cheap.”

Read it over and share it with your fellow employees. This is why we need a union with leaders who have a backbone and educated Teamster members.

Remember, Local 705 has the right to strike in their contract; if you have it, you don’t have to use it too often.

Click here to read the management memo, “March Cost Cutting Initiatives” that went to UPS building managers in the Chicago area.

March 2, 2009: The decisions from the February meeting of the National Grievance Panel in Ft. Lauderdale are now available online.

Click here to download the decisions.

The UPS National Grievance Committee settles national disputes and grievances that have been deadlocked at both the local and regional levels.

The Package Division has a computerized record of all panel and arbitration decisions. Why don’t they make it available to stewards and members to help with contract enforcement?

The panel will meet two other times this year: June 8-11 in Philadelphia and Oct. 12-15 at the Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa.

TDU will continue to make the docket and decisions available to the rank and file.