September 19, 2008: The new UPS Pension Fund covering 44,000 Teamsters in the Central States not only offers the lowest benefits; it also has no reciprocal agreements with Teamster pension plans around the country.

That means that UPSers in the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest who have substantial years worked under other pension plans will face stiff pension reductions when they retire.

Most (though not all) Teamster pension funds have reciprocal agreements. For example: a Teamster who worked 15 years for UPS in California and then 15 years at UPS or another Teamster employer in Ohio can retire with a 30 and out pension. That’s because the Western Conference Pension Fund and Central States Pension Fund have a reciprocal agreement.

But the new UPS Pension Plan has no such agreements. That may not be a problem right now because no one has substantial time in the new UPS Pension Fund yet. But going forward, Teamsters who accumulate less than a full pension in the UPS Plan will suffer big pension reductions even if they have 25, 30 or even 35 years of time served in the Teamsters.

Didn’t our negotiators see this coming? It’s a problem that needs to be fixed before working Teamsters suffer irreparable pension losses.

August 21, 2008: The Central States Pension Fund lost $3.1 billion in assets during the first six months of this year—half the $6.1 billion UPS paid to leave the fund in December.

In the first half of 2008, the fund lost $2.2 billion on their investments, or eight percent of their assets. At the same time, they suffered a $287 million loss of income, compared to the first half of last year, because UPS is no longer contributing to the fund.

The investment losses during the first half of 2008 came as stocks dropped dramatically. Central States fared worse than most other pension funds due to their aggressive investment strategy: their Quarterly Report provides a comparison to the average of other large funds.

When the Hoffa administration gave UPS management the pensions of 44,000 full-time UPSers, they told Teamster members that the deal would work out well for the Central States Fund, because of the $6.1 billion received.

Just six months later that claim is not standing up to the test of time.

Central States has lost $600 million per year in contribution income that UPS would have had to pay in. And that income figure would grow rapidly each year, with the higher employer contributions bargained in the last contract.

Central States assets stood at $23.7 billion as of June 30, so there is still plenty of money to sustain benefits.

You can download a copy of the Quarterly Report of the Independent Special Counsel, and the Quarterly Financial and Analytical Information.

TDU members won an order in federal court that requires the Central States Fund to provide us with this information. Previously, the fund kept this information secret from members.

Have a question? Click here to send a question to Teamsters for a Democratic Union, or call (313) 842-2600.

You can support TDU’s work to safeguard our pensions by joining TDU. Click here to join today.

August 19, 2008: The new UPS Pension Fund covering 44,000 Teamsters in the Central States not only offers the lowest benefits. It also has no reciprocal agreements with Teamster pension plans around the country.

That means that UPSers in the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest who have substantial years worked under other pension plans will face stiff pension reductions when they retire.

Most (though not all) Teamster pension funds have reciprocal agreements. For example: a Teamster who worked 15 years for UPS in California and then 15 years at UPS or another Teamster employer in Ohio can retire with a 30 and out pension. That’s because the Western Conference Pension Fund and Central States Pension Fund have a reciprocal agreement.

But the new UPS Pension Plan has no such agreements. That may not be a problem right now because no one has substantial time in the new UPS Pension Fund yet. But going forward, Teamsters who accumulate less than a full pension in the UPS Plan will suffer big pension reductions, even if they have 25, 30 or even 35 years of time served in the Teamsters.

Didn’t our negotiators see this coming? It’s a problem that needs to be fixed before working Teamsters suffer irreparable pension losses.

August 18, 2008: UPS is violating our contract and ducking its obligation to create and maintain 20,000 full-time combo jobs.

It's time for union action to make UPS deliver all 20,000 full-time combo jobs that we are owed and that working Teamsters have been waiting for.

You can help make it happen by downloading the Make UPS Deliver grievance action packet.

Across the country, members are filing grievances and distributing informational leaflets. We need your help to put pressure on UPS and top Teamster officials to deliver the 20,000 full-time combo jobs the company owes us.

Click here to download an informational leaflet.

Click here to download sample grievance language.

Click here to tell us what is happening with Article 22.3 jobs in your local.



UPS Violates Obligation to Create Full-Time Jobs

Under the contract, UPS was required to create 20,000 full-time combo jobs as of August 1, including 2,500 new full-time combo positions since August 2007.

The company has NOT created these jobs. In fact, UPS is thousands of jobs short of the 20,000 minimum number of combo jobs. As a result, thousands of UPS part-timers are being denied full-time jobs.

Full-Time Positions Being Destroyed

UPS should be creating thousands of full-time combo jobs until it creates the 20,000 required by Article 22.3. Instead, the company is destroying existing 22.3 positions.

Some local unions report that management has refused to fill Article 22.3 positions that are vacant. In some areas, the company has even started laying off Article 22.3 employees and forcing them to go back to part-time.

No one reports that significant numbers of Article 22.3 jobs have been created in the last year as required by the contract.

National Grievance Campaign

Members are calling on our International Union to conduct a nationwide audit and take national grievance action.

Through the Make UPS Deliver network, members are filing grievances to make UPS and our International Union deliver all 20,000 full-time combo jobs we are owed under the contract.

Will you participate by filing a grievance or collecting signatures on a group grievance? Across the country, members are filing similar grievances demanding that UPS:

* Create and fill all 20,000 full-time Article 22.3 jobs nationally.

* Post and fill all vacant Article 22.3 jobs. UPS has no right to lay off any Article 22.3 workers or keep any 22.3 jobs vacant as long as they are not maintaining 20,000 combo jobs nationally.

* Pay full backpay to members who were unfairly denied the opportunity to go full-time because UPS did not create and maintain the 20,000 full-time jobs they owe us. Part-Time America Won't Work, but union action can. Let's work together to win and protect full-time jobs.

Click here to download an informational leaflet.

Click here to download sample grievance language.

Click here to tell us what is happening with Article 22.3 jobs in your local.

August 12, 2008: The Central States Pension giveback may fuel the full-time jobs takeaway at UPS.

The company chair of the Nor Cal UPS Grievance Panel told Teamster local officials at panel hearings that UPS would not be filling vacant Article 22.3 positions in Northern California locals and that the company would not fill future Article 22.3 positions in Nor Cal when they become vacant.

According to some sources, UPS wants to move as many full-time combo jobs to the Central and Southern Regions, where the company’s pension costs are greatly reduced because full-time UPS Teamsters are no longer covered by the Central States Pension Plan.

When the contract was being voted on, UPS Teamsters in the West were told that the Central States pension giveaway would not affect them. Was that wishful thinking?

The new UPS-Teamster pension plan in the Central States is a defined benefit plan, rather than a defined-contribution plan. As a result, UPS stands to save money if they can move full-time combo positions there.

However, Teamsters in the Central and Southern Regions, covered by the new plan do not report that new 22.3 jobs are being created. The UPS Full-Time Jobs Takeaway may just be a shell game.

Nor Cal Teamster Officials: “Protect Our 22.3 Jobs.”

In a letter dated Aug. 8, the head of the Teamsters Nor Cal Grievance Committee Marty Frates alerted all Nor Cal Teamster locals that, “UPS has made a decision in some areas to eliminate Article 22.3 jobs and is returning those employees to part-time status. In addition, UPS is not replacing vacant Article 22.3 jobs.”

The Teamster Nor Cal Committee has asked all locals to do an audit of the full-time 22.3 jobs in their local. Frates also wrote a letter to Ken Hall on the same day, requesting a copy of the report that UPS was required to submit to the International Union detailing and identifying the Article 22.3 jobs in Nor Cal that the company will maintain under Article 22.3 of the new contract.

UPS was required to submit that report to the International Union in February. To date, Teamster locals have not been provided with a copy, making it much more difficult to enforce the contract.

UPS was required to have created 20,000 full-time combo jobs nationwide by Aug. 1. The company is clearly in violation of this requirement. Stewards and members across the country report that all 2,500 new combo jobs due by Aug. 1 have not been created, and in some areas UPS is eliminating positions through layoffs and not filling all vacant positions.

International Union Needs To Take the Lead

The International Union needs to provide the list of 20,000 combo jobs to every UPS local and coordinate a national audit.

Our union needs to file a national grievance demanding that UPS immediately fill all vacant Article 22.3 positions and pay full back pay to members who were denied access to these jobs.

It will be much more difficult for UPS to move filled Article 22.3 jobs than empty ones. The International Union also needs to back local unions in their fight to maintain full-time job opportunities under Article 22.3 in all areas of the country.

The UPS contract only requires the company to maintain 20,000 full-time Article 22.3 positions nationally. Only a few exceptions exist where UPS is required to maintain a minimum number of positions in specific locals.

Louisville Local 89 has this language in their rider. Chicago Local 705, which is a separate agreement from the national contract, also has this language, and has 22.3 jobs over and above the 20,000.

Our International Union should work to secure agreements that UPS will not reduce Article 22.3 jobs in areas where those jobs are under attack.

August 11, 2008: Chicago Local 705 has posted a draft of their tentative agreement with UPS for members to review.

This agreement is still in draft form and some corrections will be made.

Click here to download and read the agreement.

Click here to see the schedule of pay increases.

Click here to read a letter of understanding on air drivers to be signed after the agreement is ratified.

August 1, 2008: UPS Teamsters got a 35¢ raise on August 1, the smallest raise in many years. Another 35¢ raise will follow in six months, for a total of 70¢ over the next year.

Last August 1, UPS Teamsters received a $1 raise. How much did gas and food cost then, compared to now? The contract also didn’t provide for a cost of living improvement this year, a serious problem when inflation has run at 4.5 percent. For a full-time Teamster, a 35¢ raise is just 1.25 percent, meaning a big loss in real wages.

One group of Teamsters involved with our UPS contract did get taken care of. They are the top union negotiators. James Hoffa received a $12,500 cost of living adjustment on July 1.

Ken Hall’s cost of living adjustment on July 1 was $5,786. That’s a much less bitter pill to swallow than 35¢.

August 1, 2008: Interviews with shop stewards and members in local unions across the county reveal that UPS is violating the contract when it comes to full-time job creation.

Teamster members are standing up by filing grievances and demanding that UPS create the full-time jobs the company owes us. Our International Union needs to back up members and local unions with a nationwide full-time jobs audit and contract enforcement campaign.

UPS is obligated by Article 22.3 of the contract to maintain 20,000 full-time combo positions. The contract requires the company to have completed this full-time job creation by Aug. 1—including 2,500 new full-time jobs that UPS had to create in the last year.

Not only has UPS failed to create the 20,000 jobs, but stewards across the country report that the company is destroying full-time combo jobs by not bidding the jobs when they go vacant.

Reports from UPSers

Teamsters in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Sacramento, Spokane, New York, Cincinnati, Orange County, Calif., Toledo, Seattle, Memphis, Baltimore, Roanoke, Va., Little Rock, North Carolina and other local unions report that the company has created few, if any, full-time Article 22.3 jobs since Aug. 1 of last year.

When combo jobs are vacated, they say management will delay posting the position, and when possible, not fill the job at all.

Stewards in Seattle Local 174 report that management has eliminated 10 percent or more of the full-time combination jobs in the Redmond Hub alone by refusing to fill vacant positions.

In a few cases, members report that combo employees have been laid off.

UPS managers and even some Teamster business agents have claimed that the company has the right to eliminate combo jobs because of “loss of volume.”

No language exists in the contract to back up this claim. In fact, this argument was specifically rejected by an arbitrator when the company tried to use it to back out of its obligation to create full-time jobs after we won the 1997 strike.

In some cases, management claims that it has relocated the full-time jobs to other locals. But our follow up investigations into these locals indicate otherwise.

Thousands of Missing Full-Time Jobs

We don’t know exactly how many Teamsters UPS is cheating out of a full-time combination job. Reasonable estimates climb into the thousands. Management has created few of the 2,500 full-time jobs it was required to fill in the year ending Aug. 1. Include the jobs that have been allowed to go vacant and the numbers add up fast.

But there is no reason that stewards have to wonder. Our contract gives our union a powerful tool for enforcing our right to 20,000 full-time combo jobs.

Article 22.3 requires the company to give the International Union a list that details and identifies all 20,000 combo jobs the company will maintain. The contract says that UPS had to turn this list over to the IBT sixty days after the contract was ratified.

That was more than five months ago. But as we go to press, the International Union has never provided this list to local unions, making contract enforcement much more difficult.

What the IBT Can Do

Our International Union needs to act now to stop UPS’s full-time jobs takeaway. The Parcel Division must launch an immediate and comprehensive nationwide audit of Article 22.3 jobs.

Each local union should be provided with a list of the Article 22.3 jobs that UPS claims it is maintaining. Business agents and shop stewards could then compare the company’s list with the full-time jobs that are actually filled in the local union.

Grievances can be filed locally and the Parcel Division could file a national grievance to demand that UPS immediately post all vacant positions until at least 20,000 combo jobs are filled.

Eligible Teamsters who were denied access to a combo position by the company’s violation of the contract should receive full back pay.

Failing to create and fill full-time jobs saves the company many millions of dollars a year. This money belongs in the pockets of the working Teamsters who have been cheated out of their full-time job. Only by demanding backpay will we give the company a financial incentive to follow the contract.

What Members Can Do

Concerned Teamsters are taking action to protect full-time jobs. You can too.

Make a list of all the full-time combo jobs that have gone vacant and not been filled in your building.

File a grievance. Your grievance should state that the company is violating Article 22.3 of the contract by failing to create and maintain 20,000 full-time jobs nationwide.

Your remedy should state that the company should cease and desist from violating Article 22.3, immediately post and fill all vacant Article 22.3 positions, and make affected Teamsters whole in every way including but not limited to restoration of full-time job opportunities and full backpay.

Ask your local union to get UPS’s Article 22.3 full-time jobs list from the Parcel Division and to share it with members and stewards so the contract can be enforced.

Your local union can also file an information request. Federal law requires UPS to comply with a request from the local for the list of jobs that UPS is maintaining in the local’s jurisdiction under Article 22.3.

For advice and a sample grievance and information request, call Teamsters for a Democratic Union at 313-842-2600 or go to www.MakeUPSDeliver.org

Together, we can make UPS deliver the 20,000 full-time jobs they owe us.

July 31, 2008: A tentative agreement has just been reached between Chicago Local 705 and UPS on a new contract covering some 11,000 Chicagoland Teamsters.

The union bargained down to the wire, negotiating to the last day before expiration. Management was forced to start diverting packages away from Chicago, and major shippers were near to canceling shipping contracts.

The union also put nearly 200 deadlocked grievances on the table, to end management stonewalling.

On the last day of negotiations, the company dropped its hard-line approach and agreed to some key union demands.

Details on the tentative agreement are still sketchy. The union reportedly won an extra personal day off each year, and an extra week vacation (8 weeks total) at 30 years seniority. The union also won a large number of new feeder shuttle jobs.

A priority union goal was to win stronger contract language, and Local 705 reportedly won improvements on such issues as seniority and bidding rights, air operation and an improved grievance procedure.

Local 705 retained the right of package car drivers to limit workdays to 9.5 hours, without the language in the national contract that requires a driver to opt in or opt out of excessive overtime protections for five-month periods.

Chicago Local 705 is not party to the national contract and bargains separately. Generally the economic package has been the same, but there are serious differences in contract language.

Local 705 did not settle early when the International Union did but used the contract expiration deadline to maximize their bargaining leverage. Thousands of members wore T-shirts printed with “8-1 We’re Done” and on July 20 over 3,000 members turned out to vote by 93 percent to give the union strike authorization.

One steward told us that the fact that the union put the union and company proposals on the union website helped educate and unite the membership.

 

We expect the details of the agreement to be available soon. Check www.tdu.org for information.

July 29, 2008: In the quote of the week, a CNBC host told viewers that UPS “pantsed” and “pummeled” the Teamsters in the new contract.

Here is what Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money on CNBC, had to say:

“The company got a new labor agreement with the Teamsters, effective August 1, that will let UPS pay new drivers less than it does veterans. This is a classic example of a union hosing people who aren’t members yet, and one that could save UPS $640 million over the next five years.

“I cannot overemphasize the importance of this contract to UPS. Personally, of course, I love unions. But professionally, I love companies that have crushed unions. And UPS, you know what they just did? They pantsed the Teamsters! Jimmy Hoffa must be rolling over in his Giants Stadium grave!’”

Click here to watch the video of Cramer on Mad Money. Fast forward to the six-minute mark to hear Cramer go off on the givebacks negotiated by Jim Hoffa and Ken Hall.

Click here to read the full story at www.MakeUPSDeliver.org