August 31, 2007: Chief negotiators James Hoffa and Ken Hall announced today they will let UPS break out of the Central States Pension Fund in an early deal to be inked by October.

Then the issue will be in the hands of working Teamsters at UPS.

This is an issue that will affect every Teamster-not just UPSers. Every Teamster who is concerned about the future of our union's power and our benefit funds needs to make their voice heard and to call on local officers to take a stand to defend our union.

You can help make that happen by distributing this information to Teamsters where you work and at union meetings.

A hard-core sales job, by both the company and the union, is on the way. UPS Teamsters need to be prepared to evaluate any early settlement carefully and scrutinize the impact it would have on both Teamster benefits and working conditions.

Click here if you can help us alert other Teamsters and to send us your thoughts on this issue.

Click here to download the latest bulletin from Make UPS Deliver.

Click here to download the latest Central States Pension Update from TDU.

Working Conditions at Stake

One danger is that the pension issue will overshadow the many contract issues affecting UPSers' daily working conditions.

In surveys and contract meetings, working Teamsters at UPS made it clear that UPS should not get an early agreement unless it includes:

• Real protection from excessive overtime
• Strong language to ensure compliance with 8-hour requests
• Higher wages-especially for part-timers and combo workers
• Fairness for combo workers-including stronger bidding and seniority rights.
• Increased penalties for supervisors working
• Protection from unfair discipline based on new UPS spying technology
• A minimum of 10,000 new full-time jobs

UPS is prepared to spend billions to push through its pension grab and distract members from the critical language issues that determine the quality of our work lives.

The pressure is on the company, not us, to settle early. We need to win the improvements that we deserve or we will suffer the consequences for another five years.

Central States Pension Grab

UPS has been gunning for more control over our pensions for years. This year, they are taking a more incremental approach by focusing on Central States. If they get their foot in the door at Central States, the company will target other Teamster funds in the future.

We can expect plenty of bait to get Central States Teamsters to swallow the hook, including:

• Higher pension benefits than what Central States currently offers
• Real 30 & Out benefits (no 6 percent annual penalty for retiring before age 62)
• More affordable retiree healthcare
  

That's what UPS will dangle to get working Teamsters to take the bait. The hook will come later when UPS caps future pension increases going forward. UPS stands to save billions of dollars over the long-term by reducing future benefit costs. That's what the company's move against Central States is all about.

That's why UPS management will offer approximately a $6 billion payment to withdraw from Central States. UPS management knows they will make up these billions and more by paying working Teamsters lower benefits in the future.

A drug dealer is always willing to sell you your first score on the cheap. They know they'll make it up many times over once you're hooked.

We can win improved benefits and affordable retiree health care without letting UPS split the pension fund. Our union took that united position in 1997 and we won record pension increases.

Hoffa and Hall Shill the Company Plan

It's obvious why the company wants to destroy Central States, but why are Hoffa and Hall are cynically promoting this short-sighted deal?

They claim that actuaries hired by the union say that breaking up the Central States Fund is the "only option." Are these the same actuaries who promised that the "Best Contract Ever" would protect our benefits for the life of the agreement?

These actuarial studies are paid for by members' dues-so why isn't this information made available to Teamster members so it can be independently verified? Instead, UPS Teamsters are kept in the dark and told to take Hoffa word for it. That's what we did with the "Best Contract Ever" promises.

In 2002, Hoffa and Hall gave away the 30 & Out benefits that we fought for decades to win-and secured in our 1997 strike victory.. Now they are poised to give away the rest of our strike victory by giving up the Central States Pension Fund.

Concerned Teamsters Need to Act Now

An early deal is on the way and so is the biggest sales job ever. We need to prepare our fellow UPS Teamsters to carefully scrutinize any early settlement-and consider its long-term consequences, not just the short-term improvements.

Leading up to the settlement, TDU and the Make UPS Deliver campaign will be producing informational bulletins. When a tentative deal is reached, we will publish a detailed analysis so UPS Teamsters can make an informed decision.

You can help make that happen by distributing this information to Teamsters where you work and at union meetings.

This is an issue that will affect every Teamster-not just UPSers. Every Teamster who is concerned about the future of our union's power and our benefit funds needs to make their voice heard and to call on local officers to take a stand to defend our union.

Remember, the 'Best Contract Ever' sounded good in the short term too. Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters paid the price through benefit cuts and diminished member confidence in our union.

We can't afford to let history repeat itself.

Click here if you can help us alert other Teamsters and to send us your thoughts on this issue.

Click here to download the latest bulletin from Make UPS Deliver.

Click here to download the latest Central States Pension Update from TDU.

Click here to download the statement from James Hoffa and Ken Hall.

Hoffa Announces He Will Cut Central States Deal

Chief negotiators James Hoffa and Ken Hall issued a statement today announcing they will let UPS break 42,000 Teamsters out of the Central States Pension Fund in an early deal to be inked by October 1.

Then the issue will be in the hands of working Teamsters at UPS.

This is an issue that will affect every Teamster—not just UPSers. Every Teamster who is concerned about the future of our union’s power and our benefit funds need to make their voice heard and to call on local officers to take a stand to defend our union.

You can help make that happen by distributing this information to Teamsters where you work and at union meetings.

A hard-core sales job, by both the company and the union, is on the way. UPS Teamsters need to be prepared to evaluate any early settlement carefully and scrutinize the impact it would have on both our benefits and working conditions.

Click here if you can help us alert other Teamsters and to send us your thoughts on this issue.

Click here to download the latest bulletin from Make UPS Deliver.

Click here to download the latest Central States Pension Update from TDU.

Central States Pension Grab

UPS has been gunning for more control over our pensions for years. This year, they are taking a more incremental approach by focusing on Central States. If they get their foot in the door there, the company will target other Teamster funds in the future. Other Teamster employers will follow suit, including ABF and others.

We can expect plenty of bait to get Central States Teamsters to swallow the hook, including:

• Higher pension benefits than what Central States currently offers
• Real 30 & Out benefits (no 6 percent annual penalty for retiring before age 62)
• More affordable retiree healthcare

That’s what UPS will dangle to get working Teamsters to take the bait. The hook will come later when UPS caps future pension increases going forward. UPS stands to save billions of dollars over the long-term by reducing future benefit costs. That’s what the company’s move against Central States is all about.

That’s why UPS management will offer approximately a $6 billion payment to withdraw from Central States. UPS management knows they will make up these billions and more by paying working Teamsters lower benefits in the future.

A drug dealer is always willing to sell you your first score on the cheap. They know they’ll make it up many times over once you’re hooked.

We can win improved benefits and affordable retiree health care without letting UPS split the pension fund. Our union took that united position in 1997 and we won record pension increases.

Working Conditions at Stake

One danger for UPS Teamsters is that the Central States pension issue will overshadow the many contract issues affecting UPSers’ daily working conditions.

In surveys and contract meetings, working Teamsters at UPS made it clear that UPS should not get an early agreement unless it includes:

• Real protection from excessive overtime
• Strong language to ensure compliance with 8-hour requests
• Higher wages—especially for part-timers and combo workers
• Fairness for combo workers—including stronger bidding and seniority rights.
• Increased penalties for supervisors working
• Protection from unfair discipline based on new UPS spying technology
• A minimum of 10,000 new full-time jobs

UPS is prepared to spend billions to push through its pension grab and distract us from the critical language issues that determine the quality of our work lives.

The pressure is on the company, not us, to settle early. We need to win the improvements that we deserve or we will suffer the consequences for another five years.

Hoffa and Hall Shill the Company Plan

It’s obvious why the company wants to destroy Central States, but why are Hoffa and Hall promoting this short-sighted deal?

They claim that actuaries hired by the union say that breaking up the Central States Fund is the “only option.” Are these the same actuaries who promised that the “Best Contract Ever” would protect our benefits for the life of the 2002 agreement?

These actuarial studies are paid for by members’ dues—so why isn’t this information made available to Teamster members so it can be independently verified? Instead, UPS Teamsters are kept in the dark and told to take Hoffa’s word for it. That’s what we did with the “Best Contract Ever” promises.

In 2002, Hoffa and Hall gave away the 30 & Out benefits that we fought for decades to win—and secured in our 1997 strike victory. Now they are poised to give away the rest of that victory by giving up the Central States Pension Fund.

Concerned Teamsters Need to Act Now

An early deal is on the way and so is the biggest sales job ever. We need to prepare our fellow UPS Teamsters to carefully scrutinize any early settlement—and consider its long-term consequences, not just the short-term improvements.

This is an issue that will affect every Teamster—not just UPSers. Every Teamster who is concerned about the future of our union’s power and our benefit funds need to make their voice heard and to call on local officers to take a stand to defend our union.

You can help make that happen by distributing this information to Teamsters where you work and at union meetings.

Leading up to the settlement, TDU and the Make UPS Deliver campaign will be producing informational bulletins. When a tentative deal is reached, we will publish a detailed analysis so UPS Teamsters can make an informed decision.

Remember, the ‘Best Contract Ever’ sounded good in the short term too. Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters paid the price through benefit cuts and diminished member confidence in our union.

We can’t afford to let history repeat itself.

Click here if you can help us alert other Teamsters and to send us your thoughts on this issue.

Click here to download the latest bulletin from Make UPS Deliver.

Click here to download the latest Central States Pension Update from TDU.

August 23, 2007: Sept. 19 will mark the one-year anniversary of the most secretive UPS contract negotiations in Teamster history. Before the month is out, Teamsters at UPS may have a contract to vote on.

Teamsters at UPS need to be prepared to evaluate any offer carefully to make sure it includes the improvements in wages, benefits and contract language that members deserve.

UPS management has a proven track record of floating weak offers to see if we’ll bite. In 1997, we rejected management’s “Last, Best and Final” offer and won 10,000 new full-time jobs and record wage and pension improvements.

In 2002, Hoffa and Hall settled two weeks early. Their “Best Contract Ever” resulted in the worst benefit cuts in Teamster history.
The slow pace of negotiations and the “Brownout” on information have been designed to lower membership expectations. But the pressure is on the company, not us. Shippers and stockholders are pressuring UPS to settle early. This gives us leverage.

If UPS comes up short, there is no reason for us to accept a weak contract. With our current contract in place until July 31, 2008, we can vote No and send our negotiators back to the table.

Last contract, we settled two weeks early and came to regret it. We should not settle many months early this time unless we’re sure we’ve made UPS deliver.

Our future is on the line. Get informed and get involved. As contract talks heat up, TDU and Make UPS Deliver will be sharing information. When a tentative deal is reached, we’ll get you the facts so you can make an informed decision.

August 23, 2007: The assets of the Central States Pension Fund are on the rise and our union will lose long-term power in dealing with management if we let UPS split from the fund. Those are the findings of pension experts and industry observers according to areport in this month’s Traffic World magazine.

That’s exactly why our union should reject UPS’s bid to break up the Central States fund. Instead, we should be negotiating benefit improvements that will immediately restore affordable healthcare and provide a roadmap to higher pension benefits as Central States continues to improve.

Consider these facts reported by Traffic World, a leading industry publication read by shippers and investors:

• “The Central States Pension Plan shows significant increase in assets” with an estimated “$700 million increase in assets through the first six months of the year.”

• “Central States’ total assets—about $21.4 billion—represent a significant increase over the $18.7 billion reported by the fund in 2005....The total could tally $22 billion by the year’s end.”

• “The ratio of active Teamsters to retirees has almost stabilized. There are 212,000 retirees and 146,000 active (full-time) Teamsters.”

These figures all come from the June Central States Fund’s Financial and Analytical Information report—and they have pension experts optimistic.

UPS Teamsters who suffered pension cuts and saw our fund’s assets drop might wonder, “What’s happening here?” Part of the answer is that the 2003 benefit cuts helped restore the fund’s assets. But pension experts also say “Multi-employer funds usually run in cycles.”

“They’re working their way back,” from the post 9-11 stock market slump, says pension expert Michael Cagnina, who manages $199 billion in pension assets for nearly 500 clients.

UPS wants to break out of the Central States plan to save billions in benefit costs—a move that would reduce our union’s long-term power in dealing with the company.

“It is the Teamsters’ pension—and particularly the multiemployer plan—that gives the union much of its draw and power,” industry analysts told Traffic World.

“It would take away from the union’s voice—the workers’ voice,” pension manager Michael Cagnina said.

Click here to read the entire report from Traffic World.

August 23, 2007: If UPS or ABF or any other corporation says they will do better than a $3,000 pension at 30 years, keep in mind that with the increased funding, that’s not hard to do. The Central States Fund is paying that now—and will be paying a lot more in a few years.

A Teamster under the national contracts, or contracts with similar pension contributions, now accrues $132 per month pension for each year of service. And in four years, that accrual will be at least $174 per month pension for each year of service. And going up each year after that.

Those amounts are only payable in full at age 62, because of the cuts Central States imposed at the beginning of 2004 in 30-and-out benefits. For each year under age 62 that a Teamster retires, that amount is cut by six percent. For example, if you retire at age 58, you have to cut that amount by 24 percent.

So if you retire at 58 this year, you lose 24 percent of that $132 and get $100 for this year. But in four years, you can retire at 58 and accrue about $132, which is 24 percent off of $174.

Timetable to Restore Teamster Benefits

TDU is urging all Teamsters to demand that the trustees of Central States give us a timetable or benchmarks that lead to restoration of unreduced 30-and-out pensions that our union fought hard to win. We should not settle the UPS contract without the immediate restoration of affordable healthcare and a roadmap for eliminating the six percent early retirement penalty.

Our pensions are going up. There is more money going into the fund, lots more. A few years ago the Central States took in $1 billion per year from employers. Now it takes in $1.5 billion and in four years it will reach $2 billion. The assets of the fund are going up.

So if UPS or ABF or any other employer tells you about some great pension they will offer, keep in mind that they may be comparing what they’ll give you in the future to what you can get now in the Teamster pension plan.

UPS’s first pension offer included a $3,000 a month after 30 years of service. In four years, the Central States plan will pay $5,220 a month for a new Teamster who puts in 30 years of service.

We need to be smart, check the numbers and not fall for a corporate sales job—especially with the future of our pension funds and union at stake.

August 23, 2007: In 1997, Teamsters at UPS made history by forcing the company to create 10,000 new full-time jobs by combining 20,000 part-time jobs. Now UPS is trying to turn back the clock by stopping new full-time job creation—and even eliminating existing full-time jobs.

Ask Nicky Gladwin. In April, UPS management at the San Marcos hub in San Diego told this combo worker and 11-year Teamster that she was being laid off and reduced to part time. Within days, she was dropped to 25 hours a week.

Gladwin is not alone. UPS Teamsters from San Diego to Spokane report the same problem: combo workers being laid off while part-time Teamsters with less seniority work full-time hours.

Under Article 22.3, the company cannot eliminate combo jobs without proving a loss of volume. Gladwin has steadily filed grievances, but five months later she is still working part time.

“When I got my full-time job, I thought this is it. I’ll be able stop living paycheck to paycheck,” Gladwin said. “I saved money and was going to start shopping for a home this summer. Now, the rug has been pulled out from under me. My life has been put on hold.

“The idea of our contract was to create full-time jobs, not to eliminate them. If we let UPS continue to get away with this, that will be the end of combo jobs. Our union needs to take a stand,” Gladwin said.

Violating Article 22.3

In metro Philly, UPS is taking a different tack to violate its obligations under our contract to create full-time jobs.

At the Willow Grove (Local 384) and Lawnside (Local 676) facilities, management is creating so-called Article 22.3 jobs that include shifting as a portion of their day.
But Article 22.3 states that “new full-time jobs” are to be created “from existing part-time jobs.” Neither local had existing part-time shifter positions.

The idea behind Article 22.3 was not just to create full-time jobs—but to increase the ratio of full-time to part-time jobs by combining part-time positions. Without this language, there would be 40,000 more part-time jobs and 20,000 fewer full-time jobs at UPS today.

Local 384 feeder drivers have written the International Union to protest the improper side deal between their local and UPS management.

Draw the Line at the Bargaining Table

Management wants to turn back the clock on full-time job creation at UPS. We can’t let that happen.

Our union needs an action plan for good full-time jobs at UPS:

1. Create a minimum of 10,000 full-time jobs in the contract by combining 20,000 positions. This is the minimum. A higher goal of 15,000 is achievable.
2. Improve combo jobs by increasing the rate of pay and strengthening seniority and bidding rights.
3. Enforce the contract by stopping side deals that violate Article 22.3 and returning all laid-off combo workers to full-time with full back-pay.
   

UPS management is under pressure to settle our contract early. This gives us leverage to win more and better full-time jobs. It’s up to UPS Teamsters to make sure our union leadership doesn’t settle short.

August 23, 2007: As previously reported in Convoy, UPS is preparing to implement new technology that will enable management to monitor drivers like never before.

Our National Negotiating Committee began negotiations by submitting strong new language to protect Teamsters from discipline resulting from the new spy technology. UPS Teamsters need to make sure this language is in the final agreement.

The case of Local 391 Teamster Ron Revels—a 21-year Teamster who was fired for cutting his lunch short to help the company— shows why this new contract language is so important.

On July 12, Revels entered a one-hour lunch into his DIAD. But realizing that he would miss business stops, he cut his lunch short. Revels made his business stops. But rather than thanking him, management fired him—after they spotted that Revels had activity on his DIAD during his lunch break.

The termination defies common sense and violates Article 37 language that says “No employee shall be disciplined for exceeding personal time based on data received from the DIAD/IVIS or other information technology.”

It also shows why stronger protections from technology abuse—and stronger contract enforcement—are needed.

The National Negotiating Committee proposed language that would ban management from using information obtained solely from the DIAD, GPS or any monitoring technology as evidence that an employee violated the contract or company policy.

We need to make sure this new language is in any final agreement.

As we go to press, Revels has been returned to work—but without back pay for the six weeks he missed while terminated.

August 20, 2007: Industry experts say that pension assets are up, but our union’s power will be down if UPS is allowed to break out of Central States.

Industry experts report in this month’s Traffic World that the assets of the Central States Pension Plan are on the rise. They warn that the Teamsters Union will lose long-term power in dealing with employers if we UPS split from the fund.

Traffic World is a leading industry publication read by shippers and investors. Its latest report on UPS negotiations concludes that:

"It is the Teamsters’ pension—and particularly the multiemployer plan—that gives the union much of its draw and power…Wages at nonunion competitors are comparable. It’s the promise of long-term security that will get and keep union members." (Traffic World, 8/17/2007)

The stakes couldn’t be higher as our union bargains with UPS over the future of our pensions.

The good news is that Central States assets are on the rise according to the report.

• "The Central States Pension Plan shows significant increase in assets" with an estimated "$700 million increase in assets through the first six months of the year."

• "Central States’ total assets—about $21.4 billion—would represent a significant increase over the $18.7 billion reported by the fund in 2005…The total could tally $22 billion by the year’s end."

• "The ratio of active Teamsters to retirees has almost stabilized. There are 212,000 retirees and 146,000 active (full-time) Teamsters."

These figures, all of which come from the June Central States Funds Financial and Analytical Information report, have pension experts optimistic.

"They’re working their way back," says pension expert Michael Cagnina, who manages $199 billion in pension assets for nearly 500 clients.

Industry observers say that a withdrawal by UPS from Central States would undermine our union’s power and appeal to nonunion workers—and pension analysts agree. “It would take away from the union’s voice—the workers’ voice,” Cagnina says.

Click here to read the entire report from Traffic World.

Click here to see the fund’s latest Financial and Analytical Report. Note that this report is only available because TDU members went to court and forced the fund to reveal this information, which TDU makes available to participants.