Background Teamsters UPS In 1991 the union held their first elections electing Ron Carey a former UPS worker over two old guard candidates Teamsters went on strike The workers still would not come back to work ID: 750502
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Slide1
UPS Strike of 1997
Eric WoodsSlide2
Background
Teamsters
UPS
In 1991, the union held their first elections, electing Ron Carey, a former UPS
worker,
over two ‘old guard’ candidatesTeamsters went on strikeThe workers still would not come back to work
In
1994, UPS
raised
the weight limit workers were required to lift from 70 lb. to 150 lb., without negotiating with the Teamsters
union
UPS won an injunction in the courts, ruling the workers back to work
UPS forced to sign an agreement retracting the weight limit increaseSlide3
What caused the strike?
In 1996, UPS approached contract negotiations expecting all their demands to be met
Teamsters wanted more full time jobs, & wage increases
UPS countered by basically saying, ‘accept our first offer, and you will get a bonus’
The Teamsters then called the strikeSlide4
7 Points of contention
Number of Full time
Jobs
Wages of workers
PensionsSubcontracting jobsBenefits
Weight limit change guidelinesContract lengthSlide5
Number of Full Time Workers
UPS-20 points
Teamsters- 30 points
UPS wanted more part time workers to save on health benefits
UPS also paid part time workers less than full time
They were willing to concede here if they could save money elsewhere
The teamsters wanted more full time workers, and less part time
This was the main reason Union members were unhappy
Also, more full time workers=more union membersSlide6
Worker’s Wages
UPS- 15 points
Teamsters-20 points
UPS had lower wages compared to other companies at the time
Keeping wages low would help offset more full time jobs being added
Teamster’s members wanted higher wages, but they were more concerned with the increase in full time jobsSlide7
Pensions
UPS-10 points
Teamsters- 15 points
Pensions only affected full-timers, so UPS wasn’t as concerned with this
UPS was willing to concede an increase in pensions as well
Workers wanted an increase in pension, but this wouldn’t matter without more full time jobs
Pensions was fairly important, as it affected the older workers more and they had more of a say than younger oneSlide8
Subcontracting jobs
UPS-20 points
Teamsters-10 points
UPS wanted to subcontract jobs away to save money
By subcontracting they wouldn’t have to give workers benefits
Teamsters were against subcontracting, as it reduced full time jobs
However, they were more concerned with improving the jobs their workers already hadSlide9
Weight Limit Change Guidelines
UPS-5 points
Teamsters-10 points
UPS had previously changed the weight limit on the workers without telling them
UPS didn’t really care about this point
Teamsters wanted UPS to not be able to change the weight limit without the Teamster’s approval
This was a disputed point earlier, so the Teamsters wanted to make sure UPS couldn’t change the limitSlide10
Benefits
UPS-5 points
Teamsters-10 points
UPS wasn’t concerned with benefits, as it only applied to full timers
The Teamsters cared about this a little less than pensions, as pensions affected the older workers more, i.e. those who had more of a say in the union Slide11
Contract Length
UPS-25 points
Teamsters-5 points
UPS wants a longer contract to prevent future strikes
This is very important to them, as they lost a lot of money from the strike
Teamsters want a shorter contract, but they are willing to accept a longer contract if it is favorableSlide12
AWP
ITEMS
Teamsters
UPS
Full Time Jobs (FTJ)
30
20
Worker’s Wages (WW)
20
15
Pensions (P)
15
10
Subcontracting Jobs (SJ)
10
20
Weight Limit Change Guidelines(WLCG)
10
5
Benefits (B)
10
5
Contract Length (CL)
5
25Slide13
AWP
ITEMS
Teamsters
UPS
Full Time Jobs (FTJ)
30
20
Worker’s Wages (WW)
20
15
Pensions (P)
15
10
Subcontracting Jobs (SJ)
10
20
Weight Limit Change Guidelines(WLCG)
10
5
Benefits (B)
10
5
Contract Length (CL)
5
25Slide14
AWP Pt. 2
Teamsters get: FTJ (30) + WW (20) + P(15) + WLCG (10) + B (10)=30+20+15+10+10 = 75
UPS gets: SJ (20) + CL (25) = 45
Using AWP: The lowest ratio is WW (20/15)
Thus, we have:75-20x=45+15x
30=35x -> x=6/7Slide15
Results
So at the end, the Teamsters would get FTJ, 1/7 of WW, P, WLCG, and B
UPS would get 6/7 of WW, SJ, and CL
Splitting the wages would mean there would be a slight increase ( perhaps 1/7 of what the Teamsters wanted)Slide16
Accurate?
In reality, the Teamsters got almost all of their demands, UPS got almost nothing
C
ontract
signed with UPS increased full time jobs, increased wages, and had increases to pensions and benefits
Signed an agreement with UPS that said UPS couldn’t subcontract jobs or change the weight limit freelyOnly thing UPS really got out of the deal was a longer contract, of 5 yearsSlide17
Why?
D
isparity
between parties comes because UPS was at a position of
weaknessThey were losing millions of dollars per day by not delivering
packagesWeren’t prepared for the strike, which allowed the Teamsters to create pressure on UPS to meet their demandsUPS tried to get the courts and government to order their workers back to work, but the government sided with the workers. So UPS did not really have any bargaining power, and was forced to make a deal that favored the Teamsters.Slide18
Biblio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Parcel_Service_strike_of_1997
http://isreview.org/issues/55/bigbrown.shtml
http://workerscompass.org/lessons-of-the-1997-teamster-strike-at-ups-part-1/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business-july-dec97-ups_8-19a/
http://www.cnn.com/US/9708/20/ups.update.early/“Ron Carey’s Weird Strike”, Wall Street Journal, August 1997.Bob Herbert, “Worker’s Rebellion”,
New York Times
, August 7, 1997.