Labor group tries to court UPS workers
Association seeks to replace Teamsters, stumps for vote
By Bill Wolfe
[email protected]
The Courier-Journal
June 1, 2007
A new labor group that wants to replace the Teamsters in representing UPS drivers and package handlers visited the Worldport sorting hub in Louisville yesterday campaigning for a national union-selection vote.
The Association of Parcel Workers of America hopes to collect about 73,000 signatures -- representing about 30 percent of the eligible UPS workers nationwide -- to prompt the vote under federal labor laws.
More than 5,000 employees have returned signed cards, and several thousand more will be distributed in the next few weeks, APWA President Van Skillman said in a telephone interview.........
SOURCE
This is the only number I have that's printed in black and white. Its dated June 1, and they started signing cards for Parcel in late March/May. I'm not an officer or accountant for the APWA so I don't know the membership numbers.
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Apostolic,
Those are questions and considerations that each of you must look at when deciding who will be your CBA. For me and my PARCEL co-workers, the IBT has ruined the strong name that they've worked so hard to establish over the years. We're not debating what was done in the past, but who is poised to serve us better in the future. To us, the Teamsters are seen at UPS as a leach. Their service has declined over the years-- grievances take months to get resolved. The cronyism and favoritism (ie..corruption) has become too widespread. The Parcel side has a good contract when it comes to working condition, but we need a CBA who will enforce the damn thing!
And then there is the pension. The guys who have been around and were preparing to retire got reamed in the CS plans. Between the pension reductions and the increase in insurance premiums/copays, we would have nothing left to live off of each month.
Now this dependency that the IBT has on UPS membership dues has them backpeddling in negotiations. For the past two years, IBT has been crying that if UPS withdrew from the plans with a CBA switch to APWA, the plans would go under. Seems like their story has changed now that UPS is wanting to buy out of the plans to set up a UPS Parcel-only plan. So what carrot do you think UPS is dangling in front of the IBT to go for that withdrawal?? Card check agreements at all the UPSF facilities...... and all that new membership due money and new pension contributions. And those are contributions that the IBT won't have to pay benefits on for at least five or ten years. That's what all this is about to the IBT....
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Union Fund Exit Would Cost UPS Up to $4 Billion
By Daniel P. Bearth, Staff Writer
Transport Topics
5/28/2007
UPS Inc., which is negotiating to leave the underfunded Teamsters Central States Pension Fund, would have to pay about $3.6 billion to $4 billion to cover its share of the fund’s obligations, according to industry sources.
Teamsters officials said the parcel giant has offered to create a new, jointly administered, company-funded pension plan for full-time employees to replace the existing plan. The company would pay an unspecified lump sum to withdraw from Central States, but would continue to contribute to other Teamsters pension and health and welfare funds....
SOURCE