UPS Freight Potential Strike? Through the Wire In J.O.C. 11-1-18

With no good benefits.. and no pension.. they can be making a 100k but best believe they putting atleast 15% back for retirement and the other going toward their high co pay healthcare..

 

I actually didnt really understand the pay progression until I was already on the job for a couple weeks. I didnt realize it took 4 FULL years before you hit top rate. I thought top rate was there at the beginning of year #4.

And any of you guys that were with ups before this contract didnt have as long of a progression, did you? I thought you only had a 3yr progression. And im not even sure how the legacy overnite guys went. Did they just automatically go to top rate after ups freight bought overnite and the union came in?

 

It took me 3 years. I started in 2013. Started at 15.00 he. I could have went somewhere else and made more money but you have to look at the long term. I was willing to take the low pay for the big prize at the end.

 

Im not gonna lie. After busting butt like I did for the company this summer, working in tractors that ran like crap with no a/c, I was soldiering through knowing the contract was up and it was going to be a good one. Thought there was no way they did any less then $20/hr for 1st yr progression. I thought, heck, maybe they even go to $22. Ya know, since xpo, saia, etc, are paying like $28-29/hr with a yr exp. But nope! I was wrong! Lol. Instead we get offered a $.30 pay raise with no change in top rate and the company trying to jack up the hours for a good year! And were expected to do back flips over it! Lol. Crazy stuff.

 

I pay $12/week for my non-union ppo which is less than your union dues. And my yearly deductible is 250. I get a half match for my 401k, which isnt as good as a company pension, but my employer doesnt close the doors on me as a power move either, nor do they have in house scabs that undercut my wages. Did I mention I make over 100k/year? Trust me, Im not trying to start a union vs non debate (especially since i have more credit years in the teamsters union than ANYBODY who got their card at upsf), my point is this FACT: non-union LTL wages/benefits have been on a rampant rise while union LTL wages have been relatively flat. FACT: Jimmy jr passed a parcel contract that his members voted no on. Are UPSF teamsters going to fold like theyre told by jimmy jr or will they fight against being undercut by cheap labor aka subcontractors

 

Exactly. I think some of this has to do with guys who really havent looked into other companies to find out what the real deal is as far as benefits and all that goes.

I know this: when the first contract came out, everybody was saying heck no. We were calling the contract a slap in our face. A couple weeks later, word comes down from the union basically blaming us for our predicament with the company announcing they are closing down freight leading up tothe 2nd vote of a TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT contract. Meanwhile, we have the feeling that jimmy and his crew are basically waving their fingers at us going tsk tsk tsk.

Now all the sudden they have people scared thinking theyre gonna starve to death if freight shuts down. Its insane how quickly the workers have turned around and now think the contract isnt so bad afterall. Well not me. Im sticking to my guns.

 

How is subcontractor labor "cheap"?

 

Those guys that are running loads for coyote are getting paid squat.

 

I hope you guys stick to your guns ! Cause if you don't they will they will poo all over you .

 

There are two ways it's cheap. As said above the workers get paid less so it devalues wages, and it upsets the current labor forces power so it becomes a long-term investment in establishing a wage ceiling. However, often quality declines when using less-committed workers, but that is a long-term thing and no one in manglement worries about such trifles if they can have a bonus today.

Other advantages have to do with the tax differences between CAPEX and OPEX, sometimes budgets won't allow a small amount to be spent on CAPEX, but substantially more doesn't matter if it can be OPEX. This is about taxes and is a primary reason for outsourcing and makes no sense no matter how it's explained, unless you are a CPA.

I went through a similar battle 20 years ago in another transportation field, we voted the contract down and the UTU put it through anyway after the second resounding NO vote. I switched to another union shortly after that and never went back. Meanwhile one of the industry magazines wrote a piece that union prez Charlie Little should have gotten an award for doing such a great job of mediating. And all the time they already knew we were being sold to another company anyway.

Later Charlie and company pleaded guilty to racketeering, but who's counting.

What it made me feel at the time was that not only was I fighting the company but the union I was paying to represent me. Lies from all sides. This is a great reason to choose a non-union LTL, you get the prevailing wage without the representation headaches. I wish it weren't so, but you all can see right now what can happen when the two sides butt heads. Or pretend to.