UPS Teamster Magazine, Summer 2011 - International Brotherhood ...

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Organizing FedExDelegates and Guests Discuss Challenges Facing FedEx Workersis a company that we’ve“FedEx been talking about for along time. It’s a company that we willcontinue to be talking about for manyyears,” said Ken Hall, Package DivisionDirector and International Vice President,on the fourth day of the 28thInternational Convention.Hall and other Teamster leaders andmembers talked about the challenges oforganizing FedEx and the successes theunion has had. Bob Bouvier, President ofTeamsters Canada and International VicePresident, said that organizing FedExworkers will benefit everyone working inthe parcel industry in North America.Nonunion carriers force prices down,hurting the revenue for companies withunion contracts.“That jeopardizes our possibility to getmore money from all the employers thatare organized,” Bouvier said. “We’ve beengoing after FedEx now for about a yearand a half…We’ve been going to everydepot to try to find where the soft spotsare. After about 18 months ofresearch…we finally found some spotswhere we think we’ve got chances of gettingcertified.”“We face many challenges at FedEx intrying to help the FedEx workforce organize.FedEx is broken down into threeseparate operations: FedEx Ground andHome Delivery, FedEx Express and FedExFreight. Each of these operations has itsown challenges, but the Teamsters havebeen working with states and allies in thefederal government to level the playingfield and force FedEx to play by the samerules as other companies within the sameindustry,” Hall said.“Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx, willdo whatever he needs to remainnonunion and to keep his employeesfrom having a voice. He skirts the laws.He misclassifies employees. And when allelse fails, he threatens and tries to scare1 0 | upsTEAMSTER | SUMMER 2011 | www.teamster.org
not only his employees, but also thefederal government. Fred has structuredthe entire business around remainingnonunion. His corporate structureallows him to take advantage of legalloopholes and corporate loopholes thatare not available to other companies thatare in the same business. He’s also givenmillions of dollars to politicians in orderto make sure that he continues tohave access to those same loopholes,”Hall said.Hall detailed what Teamsters havingbeen doing in the union’s FedExefforts “We ran a campaign to raiseawareness of the issue with senators,members of Congress, and their staffmembers. The campaign coincidedwith the letters, phone calls and visitsthat many of you made on CapitolHill,” Hall said.FedEx FreightOne of the areas where the Teamsters areconcentrating their efforts is FedExFreight. FedEx Freight has recentlyundergone a merger of two separatecompanies that made up FedEx Freight’soperation. Teamster organizers and localunions have maintained contact withFedEx Freight drivers from both of themerged companies for many years. TheInternational, working with JointCouncil 42 in California, is committed toorganizing these drivers.“We’ve been working quietly formonths to prepare for this moment.But now, we’re ready to let all of youknow. We are officially launching ourFedEx Freight organizing campaign inthe West, and we’re doing that today,”Hall told the assembled delegates andguests. “This is a massive undertaking…Wehave a responsibility not onlyto those FedEx Freight workers, butto our own members to protect ourcontracts, whether it be our freightmembers, our UPS members, ourUPS Freight members.”“Day by day the interest is growing,”said Randy Cammack, International VicePresident and President of Joint Council42. “Fred Smith has already started aserious anti-union campaign. He’s givenall the employees at FedEx Freight CDsto listen to and DVDs to watch abouthow terrible the union is.”Hall then introduced two FedExworkers who talked about life at thecompany and the possibility of one daybeing Teamsters.“With your help, we are moving forwardwith this campaign to becomeunion members,” said Joe Nuno, a FedExP&D driver of 24 years. “What I want forall of our drivers to do is for them to beable to stand up to the company and tellthem what they think without fear ofretaliation.”“Good afternoon, Teamsters. Myname is Rudy Hernandez, local driverwith FedEx Freight. This week youhave heard many successful storiesabout organizing—people organizingand getting contracts. Well, I’m here tosay, now it’s our turn, and boy, are weready for it.“We have developed an organizingcommittee and we are working hardwith our organizers, but we cannot dothis alone. We need your help,” saidRudy Hernandez, a FedEx Freight driver.“We are all in this together, and by thistime next year I want to be sitting whereyou are—with a contract, as a brother, asa Teamster.”www.teamster.org | SUMMER 2011 | upsTEAMSTER | 11
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Page 6 and 7: NEWS SUMMER 2011UPS Teamstersto Rec
Page 8 and 9: UPS Day of ActionTeamsters Protest
Page 10 and 11: As he recounted at the Convention,H
Page 14 and 15: Misclassification ResolutionWHEREAS
Page 16 and 17: Montana AttorneyGeneral AddressesCo
Page 18 and 19: Right-to-Work (For Less) Resolution
Page 20 and 21: VISION SOLID1 8 | upsTEAMSTER | SUM
Page 22 and 23: Cross-BorderTruckingUPS Teamsters L
Page 24 and 25: Speeches Given by UPS and UPS Freig
Page 26 and 27: We Want to Hear from YouThe UPS Tea

UPS Teamster Magazine, Summer 2011 - International Brotherhood ...

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