UPS announced it made $8.7 billion in profit last year on the same day that the company will reduce its workforce, primarily part-time positions. Why is this happening and how can Teamsters fight back?

This is not happening because UPS is in trouble – and it’s not happening because we won record pay increases in the last contract. Profitability is not an issue. UPS made nearly $9 billion in profits for the second year in a row. 

The company is reducing Amazon deliveries to make even more. It’s the same reason that UPS is closing rural buildings and older facilities and building modern, automated hubs. 

This is all part of the company’s “better not bigger” strategy which puts more emphasis on profit margins than on volume and job creation. 

UPS makes less profit per Amazon package. UPS is reducing the amount of Amazon volume to increase the company’s profits per package and overall operating margins. 

UPS Teamsters want the company to be successful to protect and create good union jobs.

CEO Carol Tome wants higher profit margins for Wall Street. UPS paid out $6.4 billion to shareholders and another billion on stock buybacks. 

Fight Layoffs With Contract Enforcement

Job cuts and layoffs are coming. Most of the job cuts will come from part-timers not being replaced when they leave the company. But there will also be seasonal layoffs when volume drops after peak and Surepost is reintroduced. 

As union members, we need to focus on what we can control. That’s not volume. It’s contract enforcement.

When volume and excessive overtime surges, 9.5 rights and 8-hour requests are tools we have to fight excessive overtime. When volume drops, they become tools to protect jobs by distributing the work. 

Inside workers have other tools, including supervisors working grievances and protecting our daily guarantee and enforcing Surepost language. 

The company has their agenda which is higher profit margins. Our agenda is enforcing our contract and uniting as Teamsters to protect good union jobs.