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

Speeches Given by UPS and UPS Freight Stewards at the 28th International ConventionCONVENTION STEWARD’S SPOTLIGHTDave WilliamsUPS Freight, Local 135, IndianapolisI want to thankeverybody in thisroom for the supportwe got whenwe went throughour organizingcampaign for ourcontract fight.UPS used to dowhatever theywanted. If youwere friends withthe terminal manager, you had a great life; ifyou weren’t, you watched out.Now we have a grievance procedure toprotect us. We had no idea how much agrievance procedure would mean. It literallychanged our lives.The great thing about our contract isthat it’s our contract. We asked the negotiatingcommittee to work on certain issuesand asked them to leave other issues alone.For example, we had a problem with notgetting paid for delay time, so we had thataddressed in our contract. Now we get paidfor delay time. We weren’t getting overtimeafter eight hours. Now we get overtime andthe company can’t take it away from us; it’sin our contract.On the other hand, we were happy withour pension, so we didn’t change it. We hadour pension made part of our contract, sonow the company can’t just decide tochange it one day. This is truly our contract.We wouldn’t have it without all ofyou. You stuck with us and proved thatwhen you say something, you’re going todo it.Ken WilliamsUPS, Local 79, Tampa, Fla.Brothers and sisters,hermanas y hermanos,hello andbonjour…I’m a 28-year UPSer, a steward,a labor activist, a volunteerorganizer and aTrustee on my local’sExecutive Board. Yousee, at Local 79, thanksto the leadership ofSouthern Region VicePresident Ken Wood, we are encouraged andempowered to stay fully engaged in all aspects of thelabor movement.As a UPS steward, I understand and am gratefulfor our UPS Teamster contract.The last few months we have witnessed the mostvicious attack in the war on workers that this countryhas ever seen. Make no mistake, while the attackson our brothers and sisters in the public sector areon the front page, behind the scenes in the privatesector corporate America is hard at work to destroyour contracts.Our contract negotiated by our NationalTeamsters UPS Committee and ratified by the rankand file offers this: The largest pension contributionincrease in the history of the industry, health carebenefits for our whole family, semi-annual raises, asound and secure retirement, and the ability to protectthe middle-class quality of life.At Local 79, our ferocious business agents continueto fight for us using the best weapon they have; aTeamster contract.Our business agents [and local union officers]are highly successful in upholding and defending theintegrity of the UPS contract, and I thank them. Butthey cannot do it alone. Because, you see, we are theunion. You are the union. There is no “I” in Teamster.2 2 | upsTEAMSTER | SUMMER 2011 | www.teamster.org