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

Sending a CLEAR MessageAt Local 705 in Chicago, the April 28 sticker day coincidedperfectly with the local union’s existing plans to protest the“blame-the-worker” approach to safety at their package hubsfor National Workers’ Memorial Day. The union used the dayto put a spotlight on the connection between the heavy workloadsfor individual package car drivers, and the injuries thosedrivers sustain as a result of the work culture at UPS.“We’re seeing a dangerous situation, one where our membersare pressured to work faster and increase their productivity,while at the same time they’re being pushed to reduceinjuries,” said Kenneth Emanuelson, Trustee and businessagent at Local 705, which represents 10,000 Teamsters at UPS.The New York Times recently highlighted the difficultiesfaced by UPS employees, focusing on workers in the CACHfacility in Chicago. The May 5 article, titled “UPS WorkersDemand New Approach to Safety,” effectively captured thecatch-22 situation the workers found themselves in.UPS Teamsters described management’s expectations forthem to meet increased workloads of 20 stops an hour, andbeing tasked with reciting UPS’ lengthy list of safety standardsunder the threat of losing their jobs. Yet, workers believe thatreporting injuries will only lead to more monitoring by management,without addressing what the local believes the rootcause of the injuries to be: pushing workers too far.As a result, workers are fearful of catching the attention ofsupervisors and risking discipline if they report their injuries.“Here in Chicago, we have members dealing with kneesurgeries and shoulder and back injuries,” Emanuelson said.“UPS employees are being pressured to work faster andharder, and they feel the pressure not to report injuries. Local705 is committed to this fight to protect our members.”Safety issues also took center stage for the Teamsters atLocal 25 in Boston who, in addition to wearing stickers,handed out leaflets advising “KNOW YOUR RIGHTS” toUPSers when it comes to handling packages heavier than 70pounds. The flier recreated the language in Article 44 statingthat no employee shall be required to handle any packagemore than 70 pounds alone if the employee believes that itwould constitute a safety hazard.“On the national day of action we saw an opportunity toremind management what our rights are in the contract,” saidSean O’Brien, President of Local 25. “Our members are unitedwith the entire country and prepared to send UPS a strongermessage should they choose to ignore us.”Sending a strong coordinated message to UPS was animportant first step, but UPS Teamsters understand that thefight doesn’t end there.“Our members were excited to participate in the stickerday action because they wanted to send a clear message tomanagement,” said Greg Lowran, Secretary-Treasurer of Local243 in Plymouth Township, Mich. “Then, as luck would haveit, we saw an opportunity to hammer the message home again.UPS managers came to our Teamster hall on Sunday, May 1for a UPS pension presentation meeting, and found themselvesfacing an audience of Teamsters wearing the ‘UnfairProduction Standards’ stickers.”The Package Division has informed the company that theunion will be relentless in seeking an end to productionharassment. In June, the division dispatched InternationalRepresentatives to key UPS centers across the county. In parkinglots from Albany, N.Y. to St. Louis to Ontario, Calif., driversmet to talk about the treatment they’ve been receivingfrom their managers. Representatives listened to workers telltheir personal stories about mistreatment from managers.Need for More Full-Time JobsTeamster representatives have received numerous reports ofdrivers working multiple weeks at a time over 9.5 hours a day,all while other drivers in their centers are being laid off. Meanwhile,it is important to remember that on-the-job harassmentis an issue that impacts all UPS Teamsters, not just packagecar drivers. The unfair production standards being set byUPS managers have the trickle-down effect of fewer full-timejob opportunities for part timers. Everyone is impacted atcenters where the contract is violated.Hall made clear to stewards prior to the day of action thatit was a first step toward the union’s end goal of fairness forUPS workers, calling it “a shot across the bow.” The divisioncontinues to document the ways in which the industry’s leadingplayer is reaping profits off the backs of Teamsters in violationof the contract. Future job actions and member mobilizationcould be imminent.“A fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay is the foundation ofour contract,” Hall said. “If they refuse to respect that verybasic foundation then we simply have nothing to talk about,as far as future bargaining goes.”www.teamster.org | SUMMER 2011 | upsTEAMSTER | 7