The 2023 Teamster/UPS Contract negotiations are here and every class in the U.S. is watching them like a hawk. Workers want to see a serious blow struck against a massive corporation and the ruling class wants to see an increasingly militant labor movement put down. The last time we saw a showdown like this at UPS was in 1997 when the Teamsters under Ron Carey struck and defeated the company. Every contract negotiation after that was increasingly weak and concessionary as the next Teamster president, Hoffa Jr., would talk tough, sell short and declare victory. This culminated with the historic betrayal of 2018 when Hoffa Jr. forced through a concessionary contract after members had voted it down.

Teamsters overwhelmingly voted in the reform slate Teamsters United with Sean O’Brien as general president in 2021. The new slate is a coalition including former Hoffa supporters and lifelong militants from TDU (Teamsters for a Democratic Union). They campaigned on many issues, but one thing stood out above all others: a promise to take a militant approach to the next UPS negotiations and give zero concessions.

UPS workers overwhelmingly supported this approach during the election and continue to support it now. The COVID outbreak of 2020 resulted directly in record profits for UPS and death and disease for the workforce. The pandemic put plain what the ruling class tries to conceal: we create the wealth that the ultra-rich horde for themselves. Company executives are pleading poverty during the negotiations, but the numbers don’t lie. UPS makes over $24,000 in operating profit per employee and has been dumping money into stock buybacks, dividend payouts and labor-saving technology.

The IBT (International Brotherhood of Teamsters) sends out daily updates to members on the progress of contract negotiations, a massive change from the prior administration. Regional contract supplements started at the beginning of the year with national negotiations supposed to have begun April 17. However, UPS drags its feet by insisting on a “cost-neutral” contract. In other words, they insisted on concessions. The status of national negotiations changes daily, but one thing is consistent: the contract expiration deadline of August 1 is fast approaching. The IBT is threatening that on that date, there will be an approved contract or a strike.

Since the beginning of 2023, the militant caucus TDU has been at the front of the rank-and-file contract campaign. Members have participated in mass rallies, parking lot meetings, and contract action trainings. The strike weapon is being sharpened as Teamsters stretch and flex muscles they haven’t used in decades under the Hoffa regime. Poverty part-time wages, unbearable package car driver conditions, and two tier classifications have worn down Teamsters to their last nerve.

The important thing to recognize is that this fight did not drop out of the sky. It is the result of decades of work by labor militants. Many FRSO members from coast to coast are Teamsters. They fought tirelessly for their coworkers on the floor. They stood their ground against Hoffa and his concessionary contracts. Now, they will stand on the front lines of this battle.

The results of this contract fight will impact other unions, organizing Amazon workers, and the future of the U.S. labor movement. The United Auto Workers have thrown out their weak officers and elected new militant leadership. Workers want to fight and now is the time to struggle for all that can be won. Strike a blow against UPS and we strike a blow against the whole of our rotten ruling class!

#UnitedStates #Teamsters #UPSContract

Tampa, FL – On Monday, February 20, thousands of Teamsters gathered outside of UPS facilities across the country to sign cards pledging unity ahead of contract negotiations between the Teamsters and UPS. The Contract Unity Pledge Drive is being rolled out in order to rally UPS employees to demands in the negotiations such as ending the second-tier 22.4 driver classification and higher wages for part-timers.

“It's about sending a message to the company that we're ready for a fight. We won't accept second-tier drivers, excessive overtime and unsafe working conditions. Our ability to strike UPS is built on our unity as Teamsters,” said Eliza Schultz, Teamsters Local 705 member and 22.4 driver from Chicago, Illinois.

“Part-timers need a livable wage. $16.65 is not enough. I’ve had to live in a trailer full of mold while working six and seven days a week to make ends meet. We break our backs for this company and it’s time for them to pay up,” said Nico Hernandez, Teamsters Local 512 member and part-time warehouse worker from Jacksonville, Florida.

The 2018 UPS contract was characterized by historic concessions, including the introduction of second-tier driver classifications. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien, who was elected in the wake of that bad contract, has promised to strike if workers’ demands are not met by contract expiration on July 31. The UPS-Teamsters contract negotiations begin in April, and the contract expires July 31.

#TampaFL #Teamsters #UPSContract

Tampa, FL – United Parcel Service released their fourth quarter earnings last month, beating Wall Street’s expectations with almost $5 billion in profit for 2018. Through a combination of opening new automated sorting facilities, purchasing more air cargo planes, and exploiting employees with low pay and long hours, UPS had an extremely profitable holiday season. The company is optimistic for profits in 2019 and moving into the future. For workers, however, the future does not look so bright.

In October 2018, UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) successfully pushed an incredibly unpopular contract onto workers. UPS Teamsters overwhelmingly rejected the contract because of its many concessions, however despite historic voter turnout and over 50% voting ‘no’, the IBT ratified the master agreement using the ‘2/3rds’ article in the constitution.

The IBT had a number of proposals going into negotiations that would have benefitted UPS workers, including: financial penalties for harassment, $15 per hour starting wage for part-timers with catch up raises for current employees, and limits on excessive overtime. Instead, UPS Teamsters discovered that a number of the contract proposals had been outright rejected and the union itself was proposing a new ‘22.4 Hybrid Driver’ position.

Hybrid drivers, when compared with regular full-time drivers, will be paid less, have no overtime protections, and be forced to work weekends, all while performing the same work as other drivers. Commonly known as a two-tier system, this tactic is used by companies looking to lower wages across the board. There is a current limit for the number of 22.4 jobs that can be created by the company, 25%, but it’s not hard to imagine UPS looking to increase that limit in future contract negotiations.

Another key issue for UPS Teamsters was part-time wages. The IBT’s proposed starting wage was $15 an hour for all new part-time hires and equal catch up raises for all existing part-timers. Instead, UPS part-time workers got $13 an hour for new hires and unequal raises for existing part-timers. Regardless of seniority, current part-time workers will receive a raise either bringing their wage up to $13 an hour or an extra $0.70, whichever results in a higher amount. UPS was again able to cut wages for a significant section of employees.

The contract’s weak language on overtime lets UPS get away with intentionally understaffing operations. By pushing drivers to deliver more packages and stay out later, the company is able to maximize its profit margins. Additionally, when there are not enough drivers to deliver packages the company will force members of management to work. With weak overtime contract language, UPS is able to weasel out of creating more jobs for Teamsters.

What will UPS do with the almost $5 billion they made in 2018? As the new contract has made clear, the company has no intention of sharing it with the Teamsters who did the work. Instead the company will continue spending money on developing technological systems like ORION, vehicles like package cars and airplanes, as well as automated sorting facilities like the one recently built in Atlanta. UPS has already spent $7 billion on capital investments, including automation, in 2018 alone, in previous years the company was spending about $1 billion annually. These capital investments will make it easier for the company to further exploit its workforce and eliminate jobs.

The Atlanta UPS SMART hub is totally automated. Packages are unloaded from trailers by employees, scanned by a six sided camera and then automatically routed to their destination where an employee then loads the package. The hub processes over 100,000 packages an hour without a human ever touching a box. By replacing Teamsters with automated equipment, UPS is able to make more money on each package delivered. UPS has plans to open similar facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Indianapolis.

Automation in the logistics industry is not just limited to inside the warehouse. UPS is currently developing and testing a new technology, known as platooning, which would allow driverless trucking. Platooning technology creates a link of three or more tractor trailers behind one another, which then follow a lead driver. If platooning was implemented at UPS, feeder driver jobs would be cut drastically. The IBT has released statements against this technology, but the new UPS contract does nothing to prohibit it. In fact, this year UPS attempted to begin testing the technology in Texas, but Local 767 stopped it for now.

As UPS continues to make more and more money, aided by a concessionary contract and investments in automation, conditions for UPS workers will only get worse. The only thing that will improve workers’ conditions is a fighting Teamsters union, one only needs to look at the 1997 UPS strike to see the gains that were made for working people.

#TampaFL #CapitalismAndEconomy #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPS #UPSContract #VoteNoOnUPSContract

Chicago, IL – Over 1000 Teamster Local 705 members packed their union hall, October 21, on the eve of serious negotiations with UPS. Support was widespread for the bargaining team, who are ready to end their contract extension should the company refuse to address some key issues.

Secretary-Treasurer Juan Campos stated Local 705 isn’t interested in the current language proposed for 22.4 combo jobs, he wants $15 for part-timers, catch-up raises for existing part-timers, and increases for retiree health care and pensions, among other issues.

Negotiations resume October 25 and 26. Should Local 705 end the contract extension, a strike vote will follow in early November, raising the possibility of a strike.

After attending the meeting, Adrian Hernandez, a Local 705 Package Driver, commented, “I saw a lot of unity and believe we’re headed in the right direction, fighting for what we deserve in this next contract.”

Many of the 10,000 Teamsters affected by the Local 705 contract were vocally supportive of the national ‘Vote No’ movement against Hoffa’s concessionary national master UPS agreement that covers every UPS worker in the U.S. other than Local 705. Nationally, UPS Teamsters voted down their contract by 54% only to have Hoffa ratify the agreement anyway. Secretary-Treasurer Juan Campos said that won’t happen in Local 705.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #strike #TeamstersLocal705 #UPSContract #Strikes

In their open letters the vice presidents raised numerous issues including: the one-sided interpretation of Article XII, the historical precedent of the 2013 contract vote, UPS’s initial willingness to engage in further negotiations, lack of communication with the Central and Southern region VPs and the duty of Teamsters leadership to serve the rank and file.

In all of their letters, the vice presidents also demanded the UPS contract not be ratified, and that an emergency General Executive Board meeting be held. Article IX, Section 5 requires Hoffa to hold a General Executive Board meeting if over half of the board requests one.

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPSContract #VoteNoOnUPSContract

Jacksonville, FL – Just hours after UPS Teamsters voted down their tentative agreement in record numbers, union chief negotiator Denis Taylor announced he would ratify the contract anyway.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced on an October 5 teleconference that a 54% majority of UPS members had rejected the contract proposal: 50,248 no-votes to 42,356 yes-votes. The UPS contract is the single largest private sector collective bargaining agreement in the United States, representing well-over 230,000 Teamsters.

“Taylor and Hoffa’s move is a disgrace to organized labor,” said Dustin Ponder, union steward for Teamsters Local 512 out of Jacksonville, Florida. “It’s a slap in the face of every UPS Teamster, whether they voted yes or no. They made perfectly clear that they care more about the interests of UPS and Wall Street shareholders than they do about the workers they claim to represent.”

In the week leading up to the results, rumors circulated that Taylor had plans to shove the contract through in the event of a majority voting no. By following through on these threats, Taylor and IBT General President Jim Hoffa Jr. have angered thousands of UPS Teamsters across the country.

“Frankly, I’m furious,” said Bill Aiman, a UPS part-timer and active member of Teamsters Local 79 in Tampa, Florida. “We spent untold hours standing outside the warehouse gates handing out literature to our coworkers about the contract. We spent our own hard-earned money printing ‘Vote No’ flyers. Hundreds of rank-and-file Teamsters across the country took a stand because this contract would hurt us and we deserve better.”

Record member participation in the vote fueled this historic victory for the ‘Vote No on the UPS Contract’ movement. Voter turnout skyrocketed from 27% in 2013 to 44% in 2018, driven in large part by rank-and-file activists in the Teamsters United group and the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) reform caucus.

Taylor claims that the IBT constitution forces him to ratify the tentative agreement, regardless of the results, because voter turnout did not reach 50% and less than 2/3 voted it down. In a nasty e-mail sent to UPS Teamsters through the IBT’s UPS Rising app, an obviously distraught Taylor attacked rank-and-file members for not voting. Taylor claims that the IBT bent over backwards to engage members in the contract process and encourage voter turnout.

“But not enough members covered by the National Master UPS Agreement exercised their right to vote,” wrote Taylor. He added, absurdly, “And as we saw in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, winning the popular vote does not necessarily win the election when the Constitution requires you to win the Electoral College vote. As Teamsters, we too must abide by the rules in our Constitution. Thus, the National Master UPS Agreement has been ratified.”

But Taylor’s blame-the-members strategy is fake news. For one, voter turnout was the highest on-record for a UPS contract in the last two decades, rising dramatically from 2013. Of course, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor didn’t give low voter turnout a second thought in the 2013 yes-vote since it went their way. Some members complained about not receiving ballot information in the mail or having difficulties with the new, online voting system.

Taylor’s bigger claim – that he constitutionally must ratify the contract – is also bogus. The IBT constitution says that officials “can” ratify a rejected agreement if it’s a “final offer” from the employer. The UPS contract was a “tentative agreement,” and at no point did either the company or the union present the deal as a “final offer.”

Rank-and-file activists and reform-minded Teamster local presidents, like Sean O’Brien of Local 25 out of Boston, and Fred Zuckerman of Local 89 in Louisville, Kentucky, warned Taylor not to ratify the agreement against the members’ will.

“The winds are in our favor,” said O’Brien in a statement after hearing the vote results. “Teamsters at UPS are willing to fight. The economy is strong, UPS is profitable and we are approaching peak so real leverage is at our fingertips. The contract goals are reasonable and achievable. But only if Hoffa doesn’t follow through on his threat to implement the contract. Hoffa has set the table to argue he is required to implement the contract under the Teamster Constitution. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. It is time for our General President to stand with the members, not the company.”

Indeed, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor’s move to force through the UPS contract against the will of the members will hurt the Teamsters as a union along with the entire labor movement. By their actions, these sellout union bureaucrats have signaled to UPS their willingness to take any deal presented by the company, no matter how harmful it is to the workers they claim to represent.

But in an even broader sense, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor have played right into the hands of right-wing corporate lawyers and lobbyists pushing anti-union laws, like ‘right to work,’ in states across the country. Groups like the Center for Union Facts and the National Right to Work Foundation argue that unions only enrich union officials at the expense of the rank-and-file members. By trampling union democracy, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor outdid even the worst stereotypes of ‘fat-cat union bosses.’

Vote-No Teamsters are turning their outrage into action. They say the IBT should accept the results and resume a new round of negotiations with UPS for a better contract.

“There’s only one right thing to do here,” said Nick Godfrey, a UPSer out of Local 222 in Salt Lake City, Utah. “The IBT needs to respect the will of the members and go back to the bargaining table. We knew that contract they brought us was rotten, and that’s why we voted it down. UPS made $6 billion last year. There’s no reason we can’t win $15 per hour for part-timers, $5 catch-up raises and more full-time jobs.”

Several rank-and-file workers active on the Vote NO on the UPS Contract Facebook group have already pledged to start gathering petitions at their warehouses next week.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPSContract #VoteNoOnUPSContract #DenisTaylor

Jacksonville, FL – Just hours after UPS Teamsters voted down their tentative agreement in record numbers, union chief negotiator Denis Taylor announced he would ratify the contract anyway.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) announced on an October 5 teleconference that a 54% majority of UPS members had rejected the contract proposal: 50,248 no-votes to 42,356 yes-votes. The UPS contract is the single largest private sector collective bargaining agreement in the United States, representing well-over 230,000 Teamsters.

“Taylor and Hoffa’s move is a disgrace to organized labor,” said Dustin Ponder, union steward for Teamsters Local 512 out of Jacksonville, Florida. “It’s a slap in the face of every UPS Teamster, whether they voted yes or no. They made perfectly clear that they care more about the interests of UPS and Wall Street shareholders than they do about the workers they claim to represent.”

In the week leading up to the results, rumors circulated that Taylor had plans to shove the contract through in the event of a majority voting no. By following through on these threats, Taylor and IBT General President Jim Hoffa Jr. have angered thousands of UPS Teamsters across the country.

“Frankly, I’m furious,” said Bill Aiman, a UPS part-timer and active member of Teamsters Local 79 in Tampa, Florida. “We spent untold hours standing outside the warehouse gates handing out literature to our coworkers about the contract. We spent our own hard-earned money printing ‘Vote No’ flyers. Hundreds of rank-and-file Teamsters across the country took a stand because this contract would hurt us and we deserve better.”

Record member participation in the vote fueled this historic victory for the ‘Vote No on the UPS Contract’ movement. Voter turnout skyrocketed from 27% in 2013 to 44% in 2018, driven in large part by rank-and-file activists in the Teamsters United group and the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) reform caucus.

Taylor claims that the IBT constitution forces him to ratify the tentative agreement, regardless of the results, because voter turnout did not reach 50% and less than 2/3 voted it down. In a nasty e-mail sent to UPS Teamsters through the IBT’s UPS Rising app, an obviously distraught Taylor attacked rank-and-file members for not voting. Taylor claims that the IBT bent over backwards to engage members in the contract process and encourage voter turnout.

“But not enough members covered by the National Master UPS Agreement exercised their right to vote,” wrote Taylor. He added, absurdly, “And as we saw in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, winning the popular vote does not necessarily win the election when the Constitution requires you to win the Electoral College vote. As Teamsters, we too must abide by the rules in our Constitution. Thus, the National Master UPS Agreement has been ratified.”

But Taylor’s blame-the-members strategy is fake news. For one, voter turnout was the highest on-record for a UPS contract in the last two decades, rising dramatically from 2013. Of course, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor didn’t give low voter turnout a second thought in the 2013 yes-vote since it went their way. Some members complained about not receiving ballot information in the mail or having difficulties with the new, online voting system.

Taylor’s bigger claim – that he constitutionally must ratify the contract – is also bogus. The IBT constitution says that officials “can” ratify a rejected agreement if it’s a “final offer” from the employer. The UPS contract was a “tentative agreement,” and at no point did either the company or the union present the deal as a “final offer.”

Rank-and-file activists and reform-minded Teamster local presidents, like Sean O’Brien of Local 25 out of Boston, and Fred Zuckerman of Local 89 in Louisville, Kentucky, warned Taylor not to ratify the agreement against the members’ will.

“The winds are in our favor,” said O’Brien in a statement after hearing the vote results. “Teamsters at UPS are willing to fight. The economy is strong, UPS is profitable and we are approaching peak so real leverage is at our fingertips. The contract goals are reasonable and achievable. But only if Hoffa doesn’t follow through on his threat to implement the contract. Hoffa has set the table to argue he is required to implement the contract under the Teamster Constitution. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. It is time for our General President to stand with the members, not the company.”

Indeed, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor’s move to force through the UPS contract against the will of the members will hurt the Teamsters as a union along with the entire labor movement. By their actions, these sellout union bureaucrats have signaled to UPS their willingness to take any deal presented by the company, no matter how harmful it is to the workers they claim to represent.

But in an even broader sense, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor have played right into the hands of right-wing corporate lawyers and lobbyists pushing anti-union laws, like ‘right to work,’ in states across the country. Groups like the Center for Union Facts and the National Right to Work Foundation argue that unions only enrich union officials at the expense of the rank-and-file members. By trampling union democracy, Hoffa Jr. and Taylor outdid even the worst stereotypes of ‘fat-cat union bosses.’

Vote-No Teamsters are turning their outrage into action. They say the IBT should accept the results and resume a new round of negotiations with UPS for a better contract.

“There’s only one right thing to do here,” said Nick Godfrey, a UPSer out of Local 222 in Salt Lake City, Utah. “The IBT needs to respect the will of the members and go back to the bargaining table. We knew that contract they brought us was rotten, and that’s why we voted it down. UPS made $6 billion last year. There’s no reason we can’t win $15 per hour for part-timers, $5 catch-up raises and more full-time jobs.”

Several rank-and-file workers active on the Vote NO on the UPS Contract Facebook group have already pledged to start gathering petitions at their warehouses next week.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPSContract #VoteNoOnUPSContract #DenisTaylor

Washington DC – The results are in. The UPS National Master Agreement, which covers approximately 250,000 workers across the country and is the largest private-sector union contract in the United States, has been rejected in a 45.74% to 54.26% vote.

After the details of the contract were released earlier this summer, rank-and-file UPS Teamsters from across the country waged an unprecedented campaign to vote no and reject the agreement. At UPS centers from the smallest town to the largest city, and effort began to prevent concessions and fight for living wages for part-timers.

“Teamsters across the country gave the full effort to reject concessions and prevailed,” said Gabriella Killpack, package car driver and steward from Local 222 in Salt Lake City. “Despite an all-out effort by both the National Negotiating Committee and UPS management, members saw through the propaganda and made their voices heard.”

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPS