Here’s the truth like it or not!
We older guys that have been here awhile, We fought to keep the union out of big O. some more than once. Good old boys doing what ever it took to get the job done. They let us get away with a lot of things that UPS would not, because we took care of them and they took care of us. NO it wasn't perfect but, there was more good than bad.
Then Leo Sluggs(lol) sold us out! Was had just got Motor Cargo and we where going to make it big time. (I thought)
Then UPS bought us. Some of us took them at there word, "we want a non union ltl company and where going let us be what we going to be and just change the name". Again, a lot of us said this will be good for big O and Motor Cargo with UPS behind us we would get bigger and be around longer with them rather than without.
UPS went back on there word to us. Rules and more rules. Yes the safety things where ok, I didn't like a lot of them but ok. They worried about how they got things done rather than doing them. They took from this and they took from that. Little things at first and maybe it was there way, Not! (remember the x-mas pay thing?)
They screwed up central dispatch, big O dispatchers where moved to doing the Motor Cargo stuff and the other way around. Dumb stuff, then it got worse. No more running long for the extra board, cutting runs that had a lot of freight on them both ways. Letting other terminals run your freight rather than our own guys setting at home.
They worried to death about getting you out on time but not doing anything about it. You would get out late and they would put you out on time.(made us look bad not dispatch) Not paying you for your drops and hooks right and the delay pay thing was something the killed us on. The dock, city and yard had it just as hard.
Then UPS bought the central states union retirement plan and give us a card check thing to get into the union. We where so mad at UPS at the time. We had no other way out. I don't know about the rest of you all, we got our copy of the contract the day before and some didn't get it till days after the vote. We asked questions about the contract before the vote because we didn't understand most of it. Most of us had never seen one before. We didn't know what this was or what that meant and why this was worded one way and maybe meant something else. We didn't know. It was put this way "vote today or maybe get back to us when it was all over."
we where told NO subcontractors unless it was to a end of the line terminal(like fort Myer’s fla) or when we had used EVERY man till he was out of hours. NOT!
Paid for all time spent in service of your job. NOT!
Red and yellow cards?
Company time for everyone but the road drivers. ( sorry if I have hit a sore spot on that) I worked on the dock a couple of years, jockeyed 3 or so more, city for 16 years and out on the road for a little more than 5. sorry if I worked my but off and will not get to retire with my money's worth. Yes I could have went to the road earlier but what if had stayed on the dock for 20 plus and went to the city. would I not moved to the front of the line there? Not on the road.
Sorry I got off track but, that needed to be said too.
UPS is not even doing dock, city, jockey on one board yet. It took a act of congress to let us keep what we had with vacation's and lay offs to be company time.( we had that in the big O days)
NO local work rules, then it was going to be regional work rules then back to local and still NO work rules. This was to be done in 60 days after ratification of the contract.
The ADHOC thing is not to be believed. first of all it was to be what was called a dock cdl. work on the dock till they needed you in the city or on the road. NOT! they did it to the road too. full time people, some with 25 years with the company and 2 on the road now working as a part timers. to this day they are doing this. till last week when they worked it all out, they called it something else but, it is still ADHOC!
A wreck, when it is not your fault is not a chargeable wreck. NOT anymore. If someone t-bones you at a light but it is a chargeable wreck.
I heard last night if you get a speeding ticket it is a chargeable! I heard it from a guy in Louisville, they have all ready done this to a guy up there. should I go on?
Some guys are still mad at UPS to this day over what they have done. Some guys are mad at the union for not going fast enough or doing what they said they would do. Some guys are still scared of the union because of what they went thru back in the big O days and others they just don't care anymore.
We all need to stick together on this thing. UPS is using a old big O deal on us. divide and conquer. the city against the road, the road against the city, the jockey's against the road and the city and jockeys, road and city against the dock.
united we stand OR divided we fall!
If this OUR union then they need to listen, explain and work for us! $55 dollars a month times 12,500 = $687,500 a month, times 12 = $8,250,000 that should buy a good lawyer or two or at least get this contract fixed in a short amount of time. GO to the craft meetings, talk to your shop stewards or your union hall on the phone, in person!
it's up to us