Posts tagged UPS
Organized Labor Is Causing ‘Union Joe’ Biden A Lot Of Headaches
July 28, 2023 // “Biden likes to look pro-union, he’ll turn on those running the unions when it’s politically advantageous—as it was during the railway strike,” David Osborne, fellow at the Institute for the American Worker, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Union executives rarely take issue with it, because doing so would threaten their own political celebrity. Unfortunately, rank-and-file employees are caught in the middle, and they’re the ones with the most to lose when negotiations break down or workers go on strike. The rank-and-file workers will blame Biden, but because they represent such a small percentage of the electorate—and their union executives will endorse Biden anyway—Biden won’t know about it and won’t care.”
Fetterman introduces bill to allow striking workers to collect SNAP benefits
July 28, 2023 // The Food Secure Strikers Act comes amid a summer wave of union organizing activity — from locomotive plant workers in Erie to Hollywood writers and actors. A strike by newsroom workers at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Fetterman’s hometown newspaper, has been going on for nearly a year. “Every union worker who is walking the picket line this summer needs to know that we have their back here in Washington,” Fetterman said in a statement. “The union way of life is sacred. It’s what built Pennsylvania and this nation. It is critical for us to protect workers’ right to organize, and that includes making sure they and their families have the resources to support themselves while on strike.”
Some part-time UPS workers say “historic” contract falls short
July 27, 2023 // Peter Lyngso, a part-time package sorter working in Chicago, called the agreement a "sellout," and said it doesn't address longstanding pay disparities between full-time and part-time workers. "There has been a very loud rank and file movement of part-timers across the country demanding a realignment of wages for what is a brutally difficult job," he said on social media. "I'm preparing to go to the mat over it for a no-vote," he told CBS MoneyWatch. Part-time workers make up the majority of unionized UPS Teamsters. Leading up to the negotiations, union head Sean O'Brien called them the "unsung heroes" of the company.
UPS shippers may face double-digit rate increases in wake of contract
July 27, 2023 // UPS Inc. shippers should brace themselves for double-digit general rate increases (GRI) in 2024 as the transport and logistics behemoth looks to recoup the “astronomical” cost increases from its tentative five-year contract with the Teamsters union, a transport executive said. Tom Nightingale, CEO of AFS Logistics Inc., a non-asset-based provider that negotiates, audits and pays about $4 billion in annual parcel spend, told FreightWaves that the “real” GRI, which is generally what shippers pay based on their shipment profiles and after add-on accessorial and fuel surcharges, will probably be in the 11% and 12% range. The headline GRI, which often doesn’t reflect what shippers actually pay, will likely be in the high single digits, which would be a second consecutive record. It should be announced by Thanksgiving. Last year’s record UPS GRI of 6.9% (NYSE: UPS) turned into an actual GRI of close to 9% after all factors were incorporated into the calculations. Nightingale, whose company keeps close tabs on this data, said his customers were “gobsmacked” when they were told late last year what they would actually be paying in 2023. FedEx Corp., (NYSE: FDX) UPS’ chief rival, had already hit the market with the same record increase. The GRIs, though technically increases on tariff rates, often dictate what shippers will pay in their contracts unless they can negotiate them down.
UPS and Teamsters reach tentative agreement, likely averting strike
July 25, 2023 // The Teamsters called the five-year contract "overwhelmingly lucrative," adding that it "raises wages for all workers, creates more full-time jobs, and includes dozens of workplace protections and improvements." The new contract raises starting pay for part-timers to $21 an hour, up from the current contracted pay of $15.50, and includes catch-up raises for longtime workers. Full-time workers will see their top hourly rate go up to $49 an hour. "Rank-and-file UPS Teamsters sacrificed everything to get this country through a pandemic and enabled UPS to reap record-setting profits," Teamsters president Sean O'Brien said in a statement. "We demanded the best contract in the history of UPS, and we got it."
Reports: Auto workers union president meets with Biden amid contract negotiations
July 25, 2023 // The UAW’s current contract with the major Detroit auto makers has been in place four years and expires September 14. Last week, Fain said the UAW was prepared to strike against the auto makers if the companies don’t meet its demands. In June, UAW leaders said they want stronger job protections against plants closing, higher wages, an end to tiered wages that pay some employees less for doing the same job and cost-of-living increases. Fain has said he also wants wages at electric vehicle battery plants to exceed their current cap of $32 since more UAW members will be transitioned into EV factories as the industry moves away from gas-powered vehicles. The UAW negotiated with each of the Detroit-based auto makers separately over the past week, starting with Stellantis on Thursday and General Motors yesterday.
‘This is a problem’: Biden faces looming strikes that could rock economy
July 25, 2023 // Privately, some Democrats said the White House was caught off-guard by Fain’s ascension to the top of UAW. They described Biden’s team as currently being in an information-gathering mode about the union’s new leadership — a stark contrast from the close relationship it had enjoyed with former UAW president Ray Curry. Other Democrats said the White House was clearly aware of Fain’s criticism of how the Biden administration had doled out federal funds. But privately, some people in Biden’s orbit have continued to express worries that there’s distance between his agenda and a major union representing voters in a state key to his reelection. Biden’s senior staff has told allies “that the rhetoric from the new UAW leadership is concerning, this is a problem, and we’ve got to figure this out together,” according to a person familiar with the administration’s thinking.
Summer of discontent: will US strikes spell trouble for ‘union guy’ Biden?
July 24, 2023 // On Thursday he was at the Philadelphia Shipyard in Pennsylvania to promote “Bidenomics”, a recently adopted slogan. The president said: “We have a plan that’s turning things around pretty quickly. ‘Bidenomics’ is just another way of saying ‘Restore the American Dream’.” But that message is still struggling to break through with voters. In a CNBC All-America Economic Survey released this week, 37% approve of Biden’s handling of the economy and 58% disapprove. In a Monmouth University poll, only three in 10 Americans feel the country is doing a better job recovering economically than the rest of the world since the pandemic. There is a baffling disconnect between these opinions and data that shows America defying predictions of recession and curbing price rises faster than other major economies. Inflation has fallen from 9% to 3% and is now at its lowest point in more than two years.
How Biden plans to handle a series of possible labor strikes across the country
July 24, 2023 // Biden is not inserting himself directly in any of the negotiations, officials told NBC News, even though he met with the UAW president at the White House.
UPS strike: Organizations ask White House to intervene to prevent strike that could cost billions
July 21, 2023 // More than 250 organizations signed the letter to voice their worries about the likely strike. “Given the debilitating impact of a strike on American families and the economy, we urge your Administration to provide the support necessary to help the parties reach a new agreement by the August 1 deadline,” the letter read. It went on to note that the strike would harm the U.S., considering UPS moves $3.8 billion in goods per day, or about 20 million packages a day. If the strike lasted for 15 days, the American economy could lose $55.5 billion, according to one study cited in the letter. In only five days, the strike could cost $15.8 billion. Additionally, the delivery service’s competitors cannot pick up the slack if UPS loses more than half of its workforce in the case of a strike.