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Aug 2000:
Message
from President Hoffa
A
Message From Parcel and Small Package Division Director
Richard Heck
Landing
in China
Knowledge
is Power
Stewards
Sweat the Details
A
Healthy
Solution |
Message from
General President
James P. Hoffa
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The Teamsters Union has thrown its full support
behind UPS' application for eight routes into the
People's Republic of China.
Right now, UPS, which has to transfer cargo
elsewhere, has to compete with the direct routes offered
by non-union Federal Express. That makes it hard to win
the loyalty of customers who frequently ship to China's
growing markets.
Securing landing rights for UPS in China would be a
great deal for workers and our country.
It would:
- Create thousands of good Teamster jobs;
- Help bust anti-union FedEx's monopoly; and
- Give American shippers the nationwide convenience
and efficiency of the UPS network.
These new opportunities will occur if we stay
unified--because UNITED, WE WIN!
Fraternally,
James P.
Hoffa
A Message
From Parcel and Small Package Division Director Richard
Heck
The Grievance Process Works for UPS
Teamsters...
There's an old saying: "Knowledge is power."
That certainly applies to workers at United Parcel
Service.
We have a strong contract at UPS. But it's strong
only if it is used correctly. That's where knowledge
comes in.
Unless you know what's in the contract--both its
benefits and your responsibilities--you can't make it
work to your advantage.
This is why staff from the Parcel and Small Package
Division are fanning out across the nation, conducting
steward training seminars. Your shop steward is your
primary source for knowledge and guidance.
Thousands of Teamsters struggled long and hard to get
the current contract. By working with your shop steward,
you can ensure that it is enforced.
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Landing in
China
The Teamsters Union is fighting to win landing rights
in China for United Parcel Service--and the thousands of
Teamster jobs that will be created.
"The Teamsters Union has a vital interest in
ensuring that the U.S. government uses the limited
authority available for U.S. carriers to provide maximum
benefits for workers and the economy," Teamsters
General President James P. Hoffa told the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT). "UPS is the one
applicant in this proceeding that is uniquely positioned
to provide those maximum
benefits."
A Gang of Four
Under a year-old agreement with China, DOT can name a
fourth carrier to join Northwest Airlines, United
Airlines and Federal Express in providing direct cargo
service to the world's most populous country. UPS is
competing with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and
Polar Air Cargo for the new slot.
The stakes are enormous. In long-term economic
benefit, a deal with UPS would:
- Create 77,700 new U.S. jobs, including 1,200 new
UPS jobs; and
- Create $8.4 billion in added value in one year.
Further, UPS offers a geographic scope that American
and Delta can't come close to matching. "UPS is the
only company able to spread the economic benefits of its
U.S.-China service across the entire United States,"
said Teamsters Legal Director Gary S.
Witlen.
This Time, It's Fair Trade
Unlike the granting of Permanent Normal Trade
Relations with China, which the Teamsters Union strongly
opposes, UPS landing rights in China would create good
union jobs. International package delivery is booming,
and every 40 packages that UPS ships overseas creates a
Teamster job.
With the U.S.-China market requirements shifting from
all-cargo to smaller packages, UPS is the carrier best
positioned to meet current and future shipping needs.
"Every analysis, every study and every forecast shows
tremendous growth in the demand for U.S.-China (and
U.S.-Asia) express cargo services," said Hoffa.
"In today's economy, the focus must be on parcels,
not pallets."
Knowledge is
Power
 UPS workers enjoy the
power and security that comes with a Teamster contract.
But if they don't know its contents, they can't work it
to their benefit--making the need for fully informed
shop stewards more important than ever.
"Unless you know what you're talking about, a
contract's not worth the paper it's written on,"
said Bill Lichtenwald, an International Representative
with the Parcel and Small Package Division. He and other
staff and officers have traveled throughout the country,
conducting training sessions to equip stewards with the
tools they need to help empower members in the terminals
and on the road.
Staying Informed
International staff participation helps stewards stay
on top of
- Changes in the Division;
- Issues regarding contract interpretation and
enforcement;
- Recent arbitration decisions and how they affect
the membership; and
- Progress at the International level under the
Hoffa administration.
The grievance process is one of the key topics
between stewards and rank-and-file workers--especially
in view of a widespread practice of UPS supervisors
doing part-timers' tasks.
"It's our work, and we should protect it,"
said Trish Callahan, another Division International
Representative. "The only way we have of dealing with
UPS doing contracted work is through the stewards."
And stewards must be full players in the process.
"They have to treat you with respect," she said.
"Stewards are not there to be a witness. They are
there to represent the member."
Dignity and respect are essential in any workplace,
and especially at UPS. And the power to win them resides
with workers' collective bargaining agent. "Everybody
deserves representation in this country," said Von
Foreman, a Local Union 61 steward from Hendersonville,
N.C. "I think it's fine for people to make money
through running a business, but it's not fine to make it
on the backs of people who can't pay their medical
bills."
Stewards
Sweat the Details
The
training seminars focus on topics that both new hires
and those moving from part time to full time need to
have addressed so that they may work and live
better--such as:
- Details
of the pension fund and health and welfare
fund;
- The
importance of DRIVE in building political
power;
- Safety
and health issues; and
- Mobilization
around legislative initiatives.
At
a recent seminar in Asheville, N.C., Local Union 391
President and International Vice President Jack Cipriani
told participants that the training they receive is
essential to building the union in the workplace.
"Without information, knowledge and unity, you have
no power," he said.
Additional
large steward training seminars are being scheduled for
the fall, and the Teamsters Parcel and Small Package
Division plans to participate in many of
them.
A Healthy
Solution
The
Teamsters Parcel and Small Package Division has put
together the first-ever UPS rank-and-file safety
committee.
There has
been a tendency in local areas to participate in
company-appointed safety and health committees.
Typically, these panels lack input from the union, as
well as a real commitment by the company to fix
problems.
The new
committee set up to combat this trend includes Bob
Dibaro, Rick Hicks, Joe Rumore and Bob Schock--four
workers who have been involved in safety and health
issues for considerable time. The panel will help
Division staff train other rank-and-file workers to run
safety and health committees that are truly responsive
and effective, while assisting the International Union
to address national safety and health
issues.
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