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TForce | Indy Chosen First Terminal to Organize!

bamaboy said:
Con Citz,
You said that you are part of the committe to negotiate the contract for Indy. Are you a UPS Freight employee or do you work for another union freight company? I talked to a UPS Feeder Driver who said no UPS employees get to negotiate the UPS contract, only union officals.
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bamaboy,
Yes, I am a UPS Freight employee and I am one of the guys that started the organizing drive here in Indy. The 2 of us that started the drive have been invited to sit in on the contract negotiations. From what I understand, this is not that unusual because a couple of the guys from UPS Cartage also sat in on their negotiations. Probably the reason there are no drivers from UPS sitting in on their negotiations is how do you select 2 or 3 guys out of 240,000+? Also, since they already have a contract in place and are just voting on changes instead of drafting a whole new contract like we are might also have something to do with it. These are just my opinions maybe somebody else here on truckingboards may have the facts to back this up.
 
Valerie said:
I have a question. If a terminal doesn't have the required number by card check, why will they then have to have a NLRB election?
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If they don't get the required numbers by the expiration date of the card check agreement(which I believe is March 2007), but they still wish to unionize, they can still go through the normal process and schedule an NLRB election. Anybody that has gone through that can tell you that is an agonizingly slow process, so it is my recommendation to make good use of the card check agreement while it is available.
 
stldude44 said:
BB,
He might very well mean that a group of UPSF employees were formed to be representatives of the larger group and thus be the mouthpieces for the larger group to the Teamster negotiators so that the Teamster negotiators have a perfect understanding of the emplyees concerns and what they'd like to see addressed in the negotiations.
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stldude44,
That is exactly right but like I said in aprevious post, I believe the procedure is somewhat different with a brand new contract than it is renegotiating an existing contract. Also, from what I have been told, after we are certified, each of us that signed cards will receive a survey in the mail to find out what we would like to see included in the contract. To answer the question that I'm sure someone will ask, "Why will only people who have signed cards receive surveys?" The signing of a union card authorizes the Teamsters to represent you. Without that signature they cannot legally represent you in contract negotiations. So, if you want to have a say so on the contract, better get that pen out and put it to work.
 
These truckingboards are a very small minut part of our..

company.
What does the rest of our company think of whats transpiring with the Indy organizing?

Is there anyway to know what more of a majority of our co-workers think?

The posters on this board seem like they might be in a cross section of the country.
Some in very large terminals,some in smaller operations.

How would we get a bigger picture of what the rest of our company thinks of whats taken place so far?

Its nice for the few of us UPS Freight workers to have these truckingboards to keep in touch.

But I've never seen more than 445 people viewing the boards at one time.
Not all are from UPS Freight.
So how do we know what the rest of our co-workers are thinking of the organizing?
 
concerned citizen said:
stldude44,
That is exactly right but like I said in aprevious post, I believe the procedure is somewhat different with a brand new contract than it is renegotiating an existing contract. Also, from what I have been told, after we are certified, each of us that signed cards will receive a survey in the mail to find out what we would like to see included in the contract. To answer the question that I'm sure someone will ask, "Why will only people who have signed cards receive surveys?" The signing of a union card authorizes the Teamsters to represent you. Without that signature they cannot legally represent you in contract negotiations. So, if you want to have a say so on the contract, better get that pen out and put it to work.
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CC,
I'm glad that you'll be in on the negotiations, and I'm sure you'll be a good Steward as well.
 
Being from a small terminal is like sitting and watching my life be decided for me....I am glad that actual employees are being able to sit in and help out...And a person from these boards because I think all the issues get discussed here, daily.....Wish all of you guys luck, moving and will be gone for awhile....
C-YA
 
concerned citizen said:
If they don't get the required numbers by the expiration date of the card check agreement(which I believe is March 2007), but they still wish to unionize, they can still go through the normal process and schedule an NLRB election. Anybody that has gone through that can tell you that is an agonizingly slow process, so it is my recommendation to make good use of the card check agreement while it is available.
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Concerned Citizen..I believe you are mistaken. The card check agreement applied to one location and Indy was chossen. The rest of the locations, should they desire representation, will have to go through the NLRB election process.
 
bamaboy said:
Concerned Citizen..I believe you are mistaken. The card check agreement applied to one location and Indy was chossen. The rest of the locations, should they desire representation, will have to go through the NLRB election process.
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bamaboy,
I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but you've been listening to the old Overnite anti-union propaganda too much. I am here in Indy and we have been assured many times from very high up that the card check is company-wide just like it was for UPS Cartage. Where the twisted interpretation of the facts came from is that the Teamsters stated they are going to organize the UPS Freight terminals one at a time instead of all at once. Indy was chosen as the FIRST(not only) terminal to be organized and to negotiate the UPS Freight Master Contract for 2 reasons. We started the organizing movement here back in February and we were also the first terminal to acquire the needed number of signed cards. We are also very strong for the union here seeing as how approximately 75% of our eligible employees have signed cards. We had almost 70% of our guys signed before they even announced the card check agreement! This is going to happen, so as I've said before, set aside your pro/anti-union prejudices and just help us make this a great contract that will benefit us all.
 
concerned citizen said:
bamaboy,
I'm not trying to be sarcastic, but you've been listening to the old Overnite anti-union propaganda too much. I am here in Indy and we have been assured many times from very high up that the card check is company-wide just like it was for UPS Cartage. Where the twisted interpretation of the facts came from is that the Teamsters stated they are going to organize the UPS Freight terminals one at a time instead of all at once. Indy was chosen as the FIRST(not only) terminal to be organized and to negotiate the UPS Freight Master Contract for 2 reasons. We started the organizing movement here back in February and we were also the first terminal to acquire the needed number of signed cards. We are also very strong for the union here seeing as how approximately 75% of our eligible employees have signed cards. We had almost 70% of our guys signed before they even announced the card check agreement! This is going to happen, so as I've said before, set aside your pro/anti-union prejudices and just help us make this a great contract that will benefit us all.
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Sorry that I do not believe everything anyone tells me until I see it myself. That is just the way my daddy raised me. Think for myself and to question the things that people tell me I should believe. I guess you would probably call me a "dumb" southerner.
 
One Terminal: Indianapolis
Teamsters Union Launches UPS Freight Organizing Drive

July 27, 2006. The International Union has launched a one-terminal organizing drive at UPS Freight, choosing Indianapolis as the target terminal. This medium sized terminal was chosen, according to IBT Parcel Director Ken Hall, because there is strong Teamster support there, and because there is no union jurisdictional dispute there because Local 135 includes both UPS and Freight Teamsters.

The target and strategy were announced on a July 25th IBT conference call with local union officials. Hall stated that a majority of cards would be signed right away, and by September they would start bargaining for a contract covering the Indianapolis terminal. It would be a stand-alone contract, tied to neither the national UPS nor Freight contract.

Read more
 
This ought to be a very good deal for the UPSF guys, having a chance to negotiate a Master contract from the ground up.

That way, it deals with the issues specific to your company and to you the employees. But you will also have the NMFA and the UPS Master Agreement to draw upon for whole sections of language where it is appropriate that won't need to be written from scratch, and will save a lot of time.

My advice, having been involved as an employee representative in contract negotiations, is to identify the truly important issues, and stay on point with them. As issues come up for negotiation, don't be afraid to speak up and provide anecdotal evidence as to why you all are asking for what you are asking for.

Any good union negotiator depends on his employee representatives, because we are the guys out here doing the job every day and everynight. Don't be afraid to speak your mind to them, either. They are working for you, don't forget.

Demand the best representation, negotiate in good faith and with a purpose, and be willing to stick to your principles and to what is important to you all and your families.

If you do those things, you will succeed... I guarantee it
 
no they are about to win another terminal

when our contract is signed and in place it will be a race to see who gets it next
 
UPSDock061 said:
no they are about to win another terminal

when our contract is signed and in place it will be a race to see who gets it next
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When you get your proposed contract for voting, could you post it so everyone can see? Just think it would help other members, and possible allow others to make comments on stuff that might be left out. Doubt that anything might be over looked, but you never know.
I'd also imagine there would be supplemental agreements for each area to address local concerns correct?:USA:
 
serta said:
When you get your proposed contract for voting, could you post it so everyone can see? Just think it would help other members, and possible allow others to make comments on stuff that might be left out. Doubt that anything might be over looked, but you never know.
I'd also imagine there would be supplemental agreements for each area to address local concerns correct?:USA:
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Serta,
One of the nice things about not being the first terminal to organize and negotiate the contract is that you guys will probably get to see the contract before you're even finished with your card check. I'm sure the finished contract will be be posted on the teamsters.org website, but I urge you and everyone else, pro or anti-union to present your ideas and proposals now to help keep us from overlooking anything. Believe me all of us involved here in Indy are determined to get a great contract, and we need everyone's help to make sure that happens.
Yes, that is correct. Each terminal will have the chance to add any necessary local/regional provisions before they ratify the contract.
 
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