ABF | To all members that are struggling with this decision

Concession Bargaining - How Not To

Except in the most extraordinary circumstances, there is no acceptable reason for a union to bargain concessions. In the case of a business that is profitable, there is absolutely no reason for concession bargaining. The results of concession bargaining over the last two decades should stand as proof that concessions do not benefit workers.

While concessions are often presented to workers as "necessary", something that the company needs to remain viable, let's keep one thing in mind: The objective of a business is to maximize profit. Wages and benefits are a drain on the bottom line so it stands to reason that if these can be reduced, profits will increase. Business, therefore, needs no reason to demand concessions beyond the fact that this will improve bottom line profitability. If you don't ask, you don't get. If a union has a history of concession bargaining, the company is that much more likely to ask. Concessions are not a matter of need, but a competitive advantage to be sought out where it may be achievable.

Whether or not concessions will be pursued aggressively by a business depends largely upon the reaction, official and unofficial, of the union leadership to the company's initial pitch for concessions. If company officials perceive that the union leadership is sympathetic or can be persuaded, the assault will begin. Dire predictions and gloomy forecasts about the future of the business will become a constant theme in management communications to workers. Where union leaders have bought in to management's campaign, "message discipline" from the union office will help to persuade the membership until it eventually capitulates and accepts the employer's terms. The gloom and doom is always positioned as if it were fact although for the most part, it is highly speculative, grossly oversimplified and designed to spread fear, uncertainty and a sense that cuts are inevitable and workers should be happy to have jobs on any terms. It's important not to fall prey to the psychological manipulation of "message discipline" or get caught up in distracting talk about unprofitable operations.
The Standard Pitch & What to Pitch Back

Understanding the strategy and a little about basic business principles can help you to keep yourself from getting sold down the river. Here are the stock arguments in favor of concessions and how you can respond to them:
"We're Poor"

If management insists on crying poor, union leaders can always ask that management "open the books" and prove it .If management won't open their books, information on how your employer is doing may still be available to you. For instance, if the company you work for is publicly owned (it sells shares on the stock market), it is required to publish an annual report and other financial data. In addition, many companies post financial data on their corporate web sites for the benefit of current and prospective investors. You can assume that this information is both current and accurate, as it is a serious thing to mislead investors.

It's highly unlikely that you will get the same gloom and doom being hawked around the bargaining table. And don't worry; you do not need to be a financial wizard to understand the picture. It is a simple equation you need to know for bargaining purposes: either the company is profitable or it isn't. If it's profitable, there is no need for concessions. If it isn't, there is probably still no good reason for you to accept them.
We'll Move/We'll Close

Employers looking for concessions often rely two age-old scare tactics to soften up union members prior to entering into negotiations. The threat of closure and lurking competition. In order to maximize profit, a business needs to be in the game. Leaving a market where it is a major player runs contrary to this objective. Few businesses ever pull out of a market where they are a major player so threats to this effect are more likely to be a bluff to leverage management's position at negotiations than statements of the business's true intentions.
We Can't Compete

Competition is a given in a free market economy. Businesses should expect the arrival of new competitors and new business concepts and be prepared to respond to them in ways that allow them to retain a competitive position. Responding to changes in the marketplace is management's responsibility and not the workers'. A business that can't handle competition will not be in business for long - no matter what you give up.

An employer's inability to compete or to meet the challenges presented by the arrival of new competitors is a failing of management. Some businesses are hampered by unhealthy management cultures that tolerate incompetent managers and generate poor management decisions. All things considered, management ineptitude is more likely to sink the business than the arrival of new competition. Rank and file workers should not be responsible for years of bad management. Concessions on the part of rank and filers will not save a business that is its own worst enemy. At the end of the day, it is management's job to deal with the challenges of being in business.

In short, a business that is failing because of inability to compete or because of a management decision to leave a particular market, will do so no matter what the workers give up. Concessions will only serve to reduce workers' severance and pension entitlements when the inevitable comes to pass.
What to do if you're hearing noises about concessions:

Find out what's going on: Be sure to attend any meetings management is holding with workers to talk about the business, and any meetings that your union is having, to discuss negotiations.
Ask your union leaders if management is going to be seeking concessions and what the union's position on this will be.
Make it clear that you are opposed to concessions. Get that message across every time the subject comes up.
Educate your fellow members about what's really up when it comes to concessions. By presenting a united front to management (and union leaders who may have bought-in) you can minimize the possibility that your hard-won gains will be bartered away because management isn't doing its job.

Remind anyone trying to persuade you to accept rollbacks of the following three simple points:

The real financial position of the business as presented in their own documents.
That it is management's job to make the business profitable.
That wage concessions have never helped workers and you have no reason to believe that they will benefit you.

Concession Bargaining - How Not To
 
To all members that are struggling with this decision:

This is a Decision for you to make.

I mean this with no Disrespect to our Management, the IBT and local unions, but Management has their own agenda, as do the IBT, and our local unions, and that is to get a contract passed. They have nothing to lose if this passes. They won’t lose any wages, health benefits, or their pension.

What’s best for you:

Only you know what is best for you and your family. Read the facts, and vote on that, not what somebody is trying to sell. People are trying to sell that the end of the world is coming if this contract isn’t passed, they have their own agenda, and really are not worried about yours. ONLY YOU KNOW WHATS BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..... There will be life after this contract no matter how it turns out. BTW One vote is not going to pass this contract or defeat it. It will take the majority, so we all live with what happens good or bad……

The Contract:

This contract will be for 5 years. Do yourself a favor read every line, don’t assume, and if I was you I would look for the worst, hope for the best.

Fear

Don’t vote with Fear. The decision you make will be the right one for you. Don’t worry about YRC, They have their own problems. We need to decide this first, and then we can worry about what could happen later. I know the opponents of this are trying to put fear in your decision, DON’T LET THEM. You know what’s best for you and your family, nobody else knows your situation better. DON’T MAKE THIS DECISION ON THE FEAR TACTIC. READ AND DECIDE WHATS BEST FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not going to tell you to vote yes or no, that Is your responsibility to get the facts, and make an informed Decision

Good luck with your Decision, and whatever your decision is, it will be the right decision for you and your family.

At least they are not trying to add a whole new classification of line drivers like UPS is trying to do with us. 42 cents a mile and $15.00 an hour. Cuts in pensions, and no change in the unlimited subcontractors. And here is the clincher we are worried there is actually enough uninformed children that will pass it...
 
At least they are not trying to add a whole new classification of line drivers like UPS is trying to do with us. 42 cents a mile and $15.00 an hour. Cuts in pensions, and no change in the unlimited subcontractors. And here is the clincher we are worried there is actually enough uninformed children that will pass it...

One company lost 20 million while the other company made over 4 billion in profit!
 
The objective of a business is to maximize profit. Wages and benefits are a drain on the bottom line so it stands to reason that if these can be reduced, profits will increase. Business, therefore, needs no reason to demand concessions beyond the fact that this will improve bottom line profitability. If you don't ask, you don't get. If a union has a history of concession bargaining, the company is that much more likely to ask. Concessions are not a matter of need, but a competitive advantage to be sought out where it may be achievable.

Whether or not concessions will be pursued aggressively by a business depends largely upon the reaction, official and unofficial, of the union leadership to the company's initial pitch for concessions. If company officials perceive that the union leadership is sympathetic or can be persuaded, the assault will begin. Dire predictions and gloomy forecasts about the future of the business will become a constant theme in management communications to workers. Where union leaders have bought in to management's campaign, "message discipline" from the union office will help to persuade the membership until it eventually capitulates and accepts the employer's terms. The gloom and doom is always positioned as if it were fact although for the most part, it is highly speculative, grossly oversimplified and designed to spread fear, uncertainty and a sense that cuts are inevitable and workers should be happy to have jobs on any terms. It's important not to fall prey to the psychological manipulation of "message discipline" or get caught up in distracting talk about unprofitable operations.
The Standard Pitch & What to Pitch Back

Understanding the strategy and a little about basic business principles can help you to keep yourself from getting sold down the river. Here are the stock arguments in favor of concessions and how you can respond to them:
"We're Poor"

If management insists on crying poor, union leaders can always ask that management "open the books" and prove it .If management won't open their books, information on how your employer is doing may still be available to you. For instance, if the company you work for is publicly owned (it sells shares on the stock market), it is required to publish an annual report and other financial data. In addition, many companies post financial data on their corporate web sites for the benefit of current and prospective investors. You can assume that this information is both current and accurate, as it is a serious thing to mislead investors.

It's highly unlikely that you will get the same gloom and doom being hawked around the bargaining table. And don't worry; you do not need to be a financial wizard to understand the picture. It is a simple equation you need to know for bargaining purposes: either the company is profitable or it isn't. If it's profitable, there is no need for concessions. If it isn't, there is probably still no good reason for you to accept them.
We'll Move/We'll Close

Employers looking for concessions often rely two age-old scare tactics to soften up union members prior to entering into negotiations. The threat of closure and lurking competition. In order to maximize profit, a business needs to be in the game. Leaving a market where it is a major player runs contrary to this objective. Few businesses ever pull out of a market where they are a major player so threats to this effect are more likely to be a bluff to leverage management's position at negotiations than statements of the business's true intentions.
We Can't Compete

Competition is a given in a free market economy. Businesses should expect the arrival of new competitors and new business concepts and be prepared to respond to them in ways that allow them to retain a competitive position. Responding to changes in the marketplace is management's responsibility and not the workers'. A business that can't handle competition will not be in business for long - no matter what you give up.

An employer's inability to compete or to meet the challenges presented by the arrival of new competitors is a failing of management. Some businesses are hampered by unhealthy management cultures that tolerate incompetent managers and generate poor management decisions. All things considered, management ineptitude is more likely to sink the business than the arrival of new competition. Rank and file workers should not be responsible for years of bad management. Concessions on the part of rank and filers will not save a business that is its own worst enemy. At the end of the day, it is management's job to deal with the challenges of being in business.

In short, a business that is failing because of inability to compete or because of a management decision to leave a particular market, will do so no matter what the workers give up. Concessions will only serve to reduce workers' severance and pension entitlements when the inevitable comes to pass.


That it is management's job to make the business profitable.


Concession Bargaining - How Not To

First off, your either stealing from Docker's previous post or you're Docker posting as PapaJohn. Anyway, I read this post before and believe it to be pretty true.

You see, ABF is not making a profit. It is a publicly traded company and it has been losing money for years. And yes, if you fake your numbers with a publicly traded company you will get in trouble. It almost always works the other way, that is faking your profit to increase shareholder value. For some reason, many ABF Teamsters seem to think the company has purposely driven down their stock to get concessions at the table. The only plausible exception to drive the price down would be to take the company private. This is a slight possibility but would require major deep pockets once you go away from the capital markets (stock market) as sources of revenue for capital. Anyway, our Union has closely examined ABF's books and realize they are not profitable.

This takes us to the "inevitable coming to pass" as you put it which is the end of the road as the company closes it's doors. The point of your posting says any concession "will only reduce workers' severance and pension entitlement. So the priority is no longer PRESERVING JOBS! Wow, Docker or PapaJohn, whomever is posting this, I am glad you have put this on the table and told us you're not concerned about keeping our jobs.

I hope others share my priority of keeping my job as priority one but I do realize I am just one vote among many. Others may prefer the Docker/Papajohn perspective of not reducing workers severance or pension entitlements. We all get to vote!
 
I haven't a clue on the exact details of the UPS Freight contract, but are you saying there is no limit what so ever on subcontracting? If that's the case, it is a sad reflection of our union brothers to allow such contracting when the company is profitable into the BILLIONS!
 
I haven't a clue on the exact details of the UPS Freight contract, but are you saying there is no limit what so ever on subcontracting? If that's the case, it is a sad reflection of our union brothers to allow such contracting when the company is profitable into the BILLIONS!

They call it one and two way freight. When they want to make more profit the two freight all of a sudden becomes one way freight.
That affects line haul more local P&D. Which of course out number us by quite a bit. That is not all that is very bad about this contract.
But I afraid the P&D and dock won't look into their future.
 
First off, your either stealing from Docker's previous post or you're Docker posting as PapaJohn. Anyway, I read this post before and believe it to be pretty true.

You see, ABF is not making a profit. It is a publicly traded company and it has been losing money for years. And yes, if you fake your numbers with a publicly traded company you will get in trouble. It almost always works the other way, that is faking your profit to increase shareholder value. For some reason, many ABF Teamsters seem to think the company has purposely driven down their stock to get concessions at the table. The only plausible exception to drive the price down would be to take the company private. This is a slight possibility but would require major deep pockets once you go away from the capital markets (stock market) as sources of revenue for capital. Anyway, our Union has closely examined ABF's books and realize they are not profitable.

This takes us to the "inevitable coming to pass" as you put it which is the end of the road as the company closes it's doors. The point of your posting says any concession "will only reduce workers' severance and pension entitlement. So the priority is no longer PRESERVING JOBS! Wow, Docker or PapaJohn, whomever is posting this, I am glad you have put this on the table and told us you're not concerned about keeping our jobs.

I hope others share my priority of keeping my job as priority one but I do realize I am just one vote among many. Others may prefer the Docker/Papajohn perspective of not reducing workers severance or pension entitlements. We all get to vote!

This came from Docker with his permission, As far as keeping our Jobs we all are trying to keep it, but I choose not to do it with fear as you are trying to do. I still am not convinced on the amount of money that has been lost.

I just choose not to give up everything that has been worked for by Teamsters before me, as we will never get them back. If they were just about money they would not be going after all the extra work rules, and supplements. I could understand them going about wages(not that I agree). but to go after all, that is to much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
Nothing in the pension was lost. Just no increases for 5 years according to the link
 
I can see that for a year or two. But five? That is a very long time and so much can change...
That is what I am trying to tell folks over here at UPSF.

Some are trying so hard to spread fear, that they will go to any length to do it. I am not sure what they are afraid of, but they will vote yes for anything
 
Some are trying so hard to spread fear, that they will go to any length to do it. I am not sure what they are afraid of, but they will vote yes for anything

Yes, I can't understand it either. All I know is this is a real war against the working middle class. There is nothing about this contract that is good. It's not about our wages. I wish the people could see what the company and union are doing. Our teamster work is going outside the company. That is union work and the teamsters are allowing it. They are telling us UPSF has to to be able to compete. They are starting a new classification line board 42 cents a mile $15.00 an hour. Does that sound like the teamsters? Are we in Wisconsin? I wonder where all the growth is going to be in the next five years. I could go on and on about this embarrassing contract.

All I can say to the teamsters is Wisconsin is your future...
 
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"--FDR I will not be a victim, I will vote NO & I'm ready to live with whatever circumstances come with my decision. I would not however be able to look at the man in the mirror if I voted for what I truly believe to be wrong out of fear or the feeling of being powerless !!

I FEAR, if this thing passes. How the teamsters let article 26, setion 2 get in there, I dont know. Five years of not calling a stupidvisor, stupid, because you might be on audio. Five years of ten minute breaks because you might be on video. Five years of being well rested before you come in, drive,and don't stop, we're tracking you. Do not ask a co-worker how their parent, spouse, or child is doin, they'll have you on tape stealing company time. I know of no worker that comes to work for eight to fourteen hours and couldn't be fired on any given day. Senoirity and job security were the big selling points for union companies, along with pension and insurance. What we have to sell to the non-unions is getting smaller and smaller. I'm counting on all my brothers that voted NO three years ago to lead the way again, for those that don't know better.
 
These wages are the going rate for the Ltl market. Be thankful u get free insurance, ot, full pension. The good ole days r gone and abf is in survival mode. Give it a while, it'll sink in
 
I have no idea why u care about what we do or how we vote...

Maybe because some of you do not realize how the nons operate. U can't compete against us. In order to have a job, Ur gonna have to adjust to the times. It sucks I know. Livin it everyday. This is the new way. Plus my app is being processed right now for a casual position at abf. Hope u guys get the yes vote. Top out in 2 years will be sweet
 
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Maybe because some of you do not realize how the nons operate. U can't compete against us. In order to have a job, Ur gonna have to adjust to the times. It sucks I know. Livin it everyday. This is the new way. Plus my app is being processed right now for a casual position at abf. Hope u guys get the yes vote. Top out in 2 years will be sweet
Your are ride along rollie, your just waitng us to do heavey lifting for you still got your foot in the old Conway door!!!
 
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