One Terminal: Indianapolis
Teamsters Union Launches UPS Freight Organizing Drive
http://www.tdu.org/UPS/UPSnewhtml/ibtupsfreightorgan.htm
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.
Hall claimed that the IBT has “no intention to agree to a contract that doesn’t include card check and company neutrality” for organizing the other 300 terminals. He also asserted the contract would be top scale and provide Teamster pensions.
Hoffa announced a card check and neutrality agreement at the IBT Convention in June, in which UPS management agrees not to oppose the union and to recognize the union when a majority of workers sign union cards. The agreement was announced one hour before voting started at the Convention. At the time, Hoffa concealed the fact that the deal covers only one terminal (of the union’s choosing), and once that one terminal goes union, the neutrality and card check agreement ends. That’s why Hall now promises to get a contract which would include company neutrality at all terminals.
The International Union has agreed to not disparage UPS management in the organizing drive. They’ve also instructed all locals to issue no disparaging literature and to screen any leaflets through the International.
Will a contract that does not undercut our freight Teamsters, which includes Teamster pensions, and gets UPS to agree to remain neutral in organizing, be won from this aggressive employer after organizing just one terminal?
That’s the IBT’s promise. But the same people who are promising this also promised last election season that “your benefits are secure for six years,” there will be “no dues increase,” “25 and out” is secure, to “get the government out” and to “run a clean union.”
The big question is, with about 1% of the 15,000 UPS Freight workers organized at one terminal, can this be done? Especially when UPS management is battling to take Teamsters out of Teamster pension plans, not to add more!
Will management simply roll over and say we were just kidding when we sent out 15,000 anti-union DVDs recently? Not without a fight, they won’t.
Assistant Freight Director Gordon Sweeton asked freight officials on the call to “get on board and keep an open mind” regarding the plan.
On the conference call, there was evident tension between the Parcel Division and Freight, and a number of references to jurisdictional disputes between UPS and Freight Local Unions over who would get the UPS Freight members.
The International Union instructed locals not to distribute union cards, but to contact UPS Freight workers, get seniority lists and build support for our union. All locals and members should join the effort to reach out to UPS Freight workers. This is a critical step in building the base of support needed to win the battle.
Organizing UPS Freight is critical to consolidating our union in trucking and strengthening our union’s pension plans. It’s going to take a bottom-up Teamster organizing drive and use of our national bargaining strength at UPS to win it.
