The UPS Freight contract has been kept completely secret from the members. Now, we know why. TDU has obtained a copy of the proposed deal and it is the worst UPS Freight contract ever negotiated.
UPS Freight Teamsters entered contract negotiations with a clear list of priority issues. On each and every one, the proposed contract sells out the members, including subcontracting, healthcare, wage increases, pensions, casuals, and the broken grievance procedure.
Not only did the Hoffa administration fail to negotiate improvements. The proposed contract is loaded with givebacks.
The contract will be reviewed by local officers on August 9 and ballot materials will go out in the mail to all members following that.
Teamsters at UPS Freight need to be ready to Vote No in record numbers to send the negotiators back to the bargaining table with a mandate to fix this broken deal.
Contract lowlights include:
More Subcontracting
Subcontracting is destroying Teamster road jobs. Hoffa’s negotiator Kris Taylor promised members on a conference call that the contract would not be settled without fixing this issue.
But under the proposed deal, the number of subcontracted jobs will be allowed to increase, not decrease—as long as the percentage of subcontracted loads goes down by 1% a year.
This is a trick. As volume increases, the number of subcontracted loads will go up, not down.
UPS agreed to hire just 100 road drivers over five years. That’s a drop in the bucket, compared to the hundreds of Teamster road driver jobs that have been lost through subcontracting. We were promised real protection; we got lipstick on a pig.
Paying for Our Healthcare
Teamsters at UPS and other national contracts pay nothing for their healthcare. But UPS Freight Teamsters pay out of pocket every week. The Union said the goal was to bring down healthcare premiums to $0. Instead, healthcare premiums will remain exactly the same.
Raises Fall Behind Inflation
The proposed wage increases are an insult. Road mileage rate goes up 1/4 cent per year and split into 1/8 and 1/8 to make it worse. Last contract, road mileage rates went up by 1.25¢ every year. This time, road mileage rates go up by 1.25¢ over five years. That’s five times less!
Cartage wages go up 40¢-40¢-45¢-45¢-50¢, less than last agreement and far below the rate of inflation.
No one expected fat wage increases, but we did expect to keep up with inflation!
Two Tier Wages
For the first time ever at UPS Freight, the Hoffa administration is proposing to have some Teamsters get lower pay for the same work.
New hires in cartage will top out at $28.05 (dock) or $28.65 (driver).
By the end of the contract, a current driver will make $30.85 and work next to a driver who makes $28.65, and who will never catch up!
Future new hires will be even lower paid. This will create division and put a target your back, because the company will save money if they can replace you with a cheaper labor.
Other Givebacks
Pension: If this contract goes through, you will have to work 1,800 hours instead of 1,500 hours to get a pension credit. The pension accrual goes up from $100 to $105, and three years from now to $115.
Vacations: In another concession, it will now require 182 shifts, instead of 156, to qualify for a full vacation.
Casuals: The abuse of casuals will continue. The contract contains more words, but the same old loopholes. The starting wage for dock casuals is $13 an hour—less than what McDonalds is paying in some areas.
Grievance Procedure: Members were promised strong language to put teeth in the grievance procedure so the contract can be enforced. It’s just not there.
Vote No!
Local union officers will review the proposed contract on August 9. Then, the contract offer will go to UPS Freight Teamsters for a vote.
Teamsters at UPS will be voting at the same time. They are gearing up to Vote No and send their contract back to have their issues addressed.
UPS Freight Teamsters need to Vote No, too, and in record numbers. We need to send a strong message to the company and the Hoffa administration that we will not put up with the same problems for the next five years.
Click here to get involved with UPS Freight Teamsters who are organizing to Vote No.
