TForce | UPS Freight to ‘empty network’ ahead of potential strike

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UPS Freight to ‘empty network’ ahead of potential strike

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Nov 01, 2018 7:32PM EDT

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LTL shippers must scramble to find alternatives and anticipate higher pricing, as UPS Freight stops taking freight ahead of a Teamster vote on its ‘last, best, final’ contract offer. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.

US shippers of palletized freight are bracing for a truck price spike as UPS Freight, the fifth-largest US less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, begins to empty its network of freight, refusing inbound shipments starting Thursday in anticipation of a Teamsters union strike.

The unprecedented move by UPS Freight will force shippers to find other LTL carriers at a time when LTL capacity in general is stretched thin. Freight is unlikely to be stranded, but it will probably move at a premium, as LTL carriers prioritize freight from existing customers.

Industrial shippers likely to be hit hardest
Any disruption will likely hit industrial shippers hardest, as industrial products represent the majority of LTL freight. But the LTL sector has been moving further into the retail business as e-commerce fulfillment and replenishment demand more frequent and smaller shipments.

There will be no impact on the UPS express and ground parcel network, operated separately from the industrial freight division. The Teamsters union ratified a new five-year package contract with UPS Oct. 5, even though a majority of those who voted opposed the deal.

In a letter to customers obtained by JOC.com, UPS Freight said it will stop accepting new shipments and work to empty its network of freight by Friday, Nov. 9, the eve of a vote on the LTL carrier’s “last, best, and final” contract offer. An initial proposal was rejected last month.

“Because we do not have a guarantee against a work stoppage, we cannot afford to put our customers’ volume at risk of being stranded in our system,” the LTL trucking arm of UPS said in the note. “We simply can’t afford to take the chance of stranding our customers’ volume.”

The fifth-largest US LTL operator said it would stop pickups on a phased schedule based on shipment length, starting Nov. 1 for five-day shipments and ending on Nov. 7, next Wednesday, for one-day shipments. UPS Freight Teamsters vote on the contract proposal Nov. 7-11.

A 30-day contract extension expires Monday, Nov. 12. “If you reject this final offer … there will be a strike at a time and location(s) determined by the negotiating committee,” the UPS Freight National Negotiating Committee said in an Oct. 25 memorandum sent to members.

In its memorandum, the negotiating committee admitted it had not been able to reach a revised tentative agreement, although it said it had won some minor concessions on vacation time, pension credits, and pay rates for drivers who also occasionally work on the docks.

Big issue: amount of work that can be subcontracted
The amount of work that can be subcontracted to other freight haulers is a major issue for UPS Freight Teamsters and was a stumbling block in contract talks. The company proposed reducing the amount of work subcontracted by 4 percent over the life of the five-year contract.

Subcontracting is a “huge” issue for the UPS Freight rank and file, but not the only one. “It’s a long list of concerns with these contracts, it’s not just the big items,” said Nicholas Mayo, a pickup and delivery driver and member of Teamsters Local 25 in the Boston region.

“They’re trying to force through a substandard agreement we truly do not want to accept,” Mayo said in an interview. “This is there way to manipulate a ‘yes’ vote.” UPS Freight is subcontracting hundreds of millions of dollars in work “when we’ve got guys sitting at home,” Mayo said.

The union and UPS Freight are now on the brink of what would be the first strike against a large LTL carrier since the Teamsters organized a strike against more than 20 companies in 1994. That strike led to the closure of several companies and boosted non-union LTL carriers.
This is a different era however. For one, LTL carriers are enjoying the strongest freight market and demand for their services since 2004-2005. They’ve been struggling this year to keep their networks from being disrupted by excess freight spilling over from a tight truckload market.

“Shippers going to other carriers shouldn’t expect discounts,” said Satish Jindel, president of SJ Consulting Group, Pittsburgh. “Their freight will be moved but they should expect to pay a premium price. In this market, anyone who takes that business will not want to keep it too long.”

He now believes business lost by UPS Freight would return once a strike was settled. “The Teamsters are getting an advance notice,” Jindel said. “UPS Freight is saying we will not let you disrupt customers by having freight sit on the dock and get trapped in our system.”



Contact William B. Cassidy at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter: @willbcassidy.
https://www.joc.com/trucking-logist...network’-ahead-potential-strike_20181101.html

:hyper:
 
the union, if it had any balls, should have struck as soon as this was revealed. this might be intimidation to accept a bad contract , or ups might be serious about shutting down freight. EITHER way, a lot of these jobs and customers might already be lost. why the union is complicit in ups move is beyond me.. ..
 
the union, if it had any balls, should have struck as soon as this was revealed. this might be intimidation to accept a bad contract , or ups might be serious about shutting down freight. EITHER way, a lot of these jobs and customers might already be lost. why the union is complicit in ups move is beyond me.. ..
They could have and should have signed a extension so work/business could continue while they kept negotiating.
 
the union, if it had any balls, should have struck as soon as this was revealed. this might be intimidation to accept a bad contract , or ups might be serious about shutting down freight. EITHER way, a lot of these jobs and customers might already be lost. why the union is complicit in ups move is beyond me.. ..
Because it doesn’t work that way We don’t drive people to the street ,They can accept or reject the companies offer.And most likely they will,UPS pulls this ::shit:: every 20 years with The IBT.Pakage or freight it don’t matter,They will test the bargaining unit.This could be a long one ,hang on.
 
Because it doesn’t work that way We don’t drive people to the street ,They can accept or reject the companies offer.And most likely they will,UPS pulls this :::shit::: every 20 years with The IBT.Pakage or freight it don’t matter,They will test the bargaining unit.This could be a long one ,hang on.

how many jr men are going to lose jobs over ups insinuating a lockout? how many customers wont come back?
 
They could have and should have signed a extension so work/business could continue while they kept negotiating.
The company would have to agree to this .Right ,Your not on the committee,We make all avenues !available to employers,to avert a work stoppage,UPS wants this.This is there final offer ,Take it or hit the street ,We have been there before with this company
 
how many jr men are going to lose jobs over ups insinuating a lockout? how many customers wont come back?
Pricing dictates who gets what freight today,I remember in 94 we were busy for 2 months after the strike and that lasted a month.All the business will come back especially the contracted business.
 
Pricing dictates who gets what freight today,I remember in 94 we were busy for 2 months after the strike and that lasted a month.All the business will come back especially the contracted business.


sure, right after a concessionary contract is forced upon the rank and file, and 20% of the seniority list is gone....
 
sure, right after a concessionary contract is forced upon the rank and file, and 20% of the seniority list is gone....
That was there final
sure, right after a concessionary contract is forced upon the rank and file, and 20% of the seniority list is gone....
We offered to keep negotiations open the said firm and final offer.There banking that the bargaining unit is weak and guys will cross the line to work ,Thus breaking our back .If there United they will survive ,If not they will decertify.
 
The blame for this mess lies squarely on Hoffa’s shoulders.
Well ,You can blame whomever you want.How about UPS did they offer you a good contract.Just Remember the IBT can’t turn tables up side down any more and neither can ups.What they can do is bank on you being disgruntled with the union and offer work after your savings and or insurance runs out and hope you guys would decertify.Labor negotiations are agame practice long enough you get good at it.They don’t need freight right now it’s slowing up 4th quarter.The package peek season is around the corner and any looses in freight will be of cutailed with peek season profits
 
Then comes January
Well ,how many guys will be broke after Christmas,It’s a waiting game.Good things come to those who are patient and wait,Can and will you hold out and call there bluff,It’s a poker game .He who holds the best hand wins the pot.Is you job worth it and if so fight for it if not find another line of work ,brother,been there and most definitely done that after over 41 years in the business.Good Luck to all my brothers at UPS Freight.United we stand Divided We Beg!
 
Well ,You can blame whomever you want.How about UPS did they offer you a good contract.Just Remember the IBT can’t turn tables up side down any more and neither can ups.What they can do is bank on you being disgruntled with the union and offer work after your savings and or insurance runs out and hope you guys would decertify.Labor negotiations are agame practice long enough you get good at it.They don’t need freight right now it’s slowing up 4th quarter.The package peek season is around the corner and any looses in freight will be of cutailed with peek season profits


if the union held out for a better contract at ups package, like what should have happened, upsf wouldn't have the leverage that hoffa jr just GAVE them.

at this Point, it sounds like some members are going to become non union, at new jobs they have to pick up because of this winding down of ups freight, so why sit there and tie the noose for your own hanging?
 
Personally, I want to watch this play out. I want to see what the Teamsters membership is made of, or not made of for that matter.


on my personal experience, the union as a whole is like bringing a butter knife to a nuclear war, but that might be an unfounded insult to butter knives.

the times i was represented well were usually because of a couple much better than avg business agents who cared about their rank and file.
 
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