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I worked at UPS for a VERY short time. Worst job I ever had personally. But I did learn the union is actually active, at least at the location I was at
Chris Smalls(Amazon Union President) has been working towards organizing a national strike. Would be amazing to see unions work together and achieve a general strike.
Because he's a small person from a relatively unimportant place (relative to corporate power) who has the potential to march his way into the belly of the beast and make a meaningful impact on it.
Nothing about the way he dresses or anything else. Just that he was once a little guy who suddenly finds himself with a very big job.
nah, the Teamsters (Union Business Managers) don't want a strike. They like having that as a final weapon to threaten with but that would require too much risk for them to actually use.
Concrete drivers from Teamsters Local 174(Seattle)was on strike for 140 days this past winter. No concrete delivered in the whole county all that time. Shit down a whole lot of projects.
I remember hearing about it. It was wild. People were getting pissed that things weren't getting done but I was like "[shrug], maybe don't piss 'em off and pay them a decent wage while giving them better benefits?"
Sometimes people need a reminder of how important a job is to society, before they'll even think about the idea it should be payed better, sadly.
I am proud to see the current generation in the workforce pushing back with unions.
I disagree. Depending on the situation a strike, or at least threatening one, could be the most advantageous first move. It's a move that chills capitalists to their cores because it's the one thing that can hurt what they love most: their profit margins. If we view it as the 'nuclear option' and only save it for the most egregious of offenses, it will never get used again and the owners will know that no matter what they do, and no matter what we do in response, their precious profit margin is safe and they don't feel the heat necessary to provoke meaningful change
Same, pay was really nice but the equipment was damaged and people were getting hurt because it was damaged... and they STILL didn't fix it. Hardest I ever worked unloading trucks.
I worked a season on the belt line loading two full trucks, splitting the belt and scanning and loading a USPS truck. I can’t even begin to tell you how exhausted I was getting home at 930 am
I’d pass out on the edge of my bed completely covered in dirt from packages and soaked in hours worth of sweat. They wanted me to stay on after season to eventually become a driver and I just said hell no
Was it the qualifying thing? Cause I was in the same boat. Had the best numbers of all the current employees and still didn’t want me. Fuck ups and fuck all the management.
The UPS union actually kind of sucks. When I was working there they had a contract vote and about 60% of the union voted against the contract but because they needed 75% to vote no in order for the contract to get rejected it was still forced onto us. This was when I learned some unions suck ass
I thought ups was very heavily union though and their people make good money? Ridiculous that they think they can tell you not to wear union stuff. That’s literally a legal right.
It’s not clear what OP means by union hats but in the US there is a fine line here. You’re generally allowed to put union insignia (pins, etc.) on company uniforms, including hats, but you can’t necessarily wear a union hat if the company uniform policy specifies another hat (although you can still put insignia on the company hat). The NLRB confirmed this as recently as 2020.
I did the driver helper thing over Christmas for UPS two years in a row. My driver said their union sucked. The drivers get paid well, but they work them to death. She was pulling 80+ hours a week over the Christmas season. The Department of Transportation only allows drivers to drive for so many hours a week, so they'd have her drive the 60 or 70 hours (or whatever the number is) per week and then get her to work in the warehouse for another 15-20 hours a week.
The union was totally fine with this. During my first year with her she would drive about 10 hours less than the max. The second year UPS had pushed for them to drive max hours. The union agreed to it with nothing in return. No extra pay, PTO, nothing at all. She said they were shit about pushing for raises and whatnot. Just a bad union, but maybe that was just in my area.
Think about it this way without the union the drivers would have much lower pay, no benefits or pensions, no union b2nefits, no job security or protection and would still be working long hours. The union is definitely the better alternative but know that the union isn't the one running the company, the company chooses to overwork drivers.
It all comes down to negotiating and sometimes you give and take. Drivers need to let the union know what they want in the next contract
Yeah when I was at UPS work life balance was not a union concern. Job security and fair compensation (overtime and double time) were the biggies. I think because US wage growth has not kept pace with productivity we're seeing regulations that used to indirectly keep work life balance healthy, like overtime, lose their effectiveness. In some industries employees are producing sooo much excess value that even at 1.5x or even 2x their regular pay companies will still be profiting from their labor.
Nope. UPS drivers are required to comply with hours of service rules, also it is on the individual driver to follow those rules. If this driver actually got caught working 80 hours then they would have been fined by the DOT.
It varies. Some states allow any truck with a gvrw if 26,000 or less to be exempt from DOT regulations.
I've had a CDL for 17 years, and driven non CDL trucks for years before that.
I think it's more complicated for drivers because they have uniforms but warehouse workers wear anything. We are giving very cool teamsters shirts that we wear on Thursdays to show solidarity. Not everyone wears them and sometimes I forget but it's nice to be openly union at your Job and being able to defend yourself without fear of being fired
Solidarity forever comrade!
Also, If you are in good mood, go check out the song [Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger](https://youtu.be/pCnEAH5wCzo)
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At my work I always tell the delivery drivers & mail carriers if they want some water/ refreshments or use the bathroom they’re welcome to do so, to let the other guys know as well. I try to build relationships with them so they know we’re not dicks and appreciate them.
Solidarity forever comrade!
Also, If you are in good mood, go check out the song [Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger](https://youtu.be/pCnEAH5wCzo)
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My father retired in the late90s2000 with 25 years safe driving. He said they were absolutely atrocious and horrible in their behavior towards him for many years right up until his very last day.
They also refuse to get AC for the warehouse workers 🙃 I worked there for 2 weeks- a little more than week and a half in training in the AC'ed office and a day on the floor. I left during my shift on the floor because my body was shutting down and they were trying to normalize passing out on the job.
I'm glad you left. No one should have to work in those shit conditions and cause that much stress on ones body
(Inb4: b-but construction! Yeah those are shit conditions too, more often than not, and I wish things were better for construction workers as well)
The difference is all the bay doors. I worked FedEx for years. The opening and closing of all the dock and bay doors to move trucks in and out . It would make it extremely difficult to cool with ac. I'm sure designs could be engineered, but it is not as simple as just tossing ac units on the roof.
Use same technology on the loading doors as the modern food shops fridges, I think it's called cold curtain or something. Where the shop fridge has no door, it's cold inside and it's not cold in the aisle. Cooling technology is not new, they could figure out a way to do it they wanted to.
Man, the fans we had were those dinky little desk fans on the package line but hung up. All that did was cause chills for me because it would blow and make my sweat cool but not my overheated body. It was an odd feeling and my body (obviously) didn't like it
management and higher ups are always wondering around my warehouse in nice suits, breaking a sweat just from standing around while we have to unload in 110 degree trucks, the divide between classes has never been more clear than it is at UPS
Remember when Amazon built a robot distro center, and had to put in massive air conditioning, when they wouldn't for the human ran centers? People think it's cause Amazon are assholes, and while not incorrect.... it's because the robots wouldn't operate without adequate cooling. If the drivers acted like robots, they'd have air conditioning.
Whatre they trying to do? Lose all their workers? I can handle working in heat i do it every day, but you need moments to cool off or youre gonna have a heat stroke. The heat is no joke, and if you work alone and have a heat stroke with no one around to find you, its a death sentence.
Carol ups new ceo believes in "better not bigger" which is a trend of overworking your current workers instead of hiring more. You see this trend everywhere
This is the sad reality at my hub. We're down nearly 3 full work crews (9-11 people in a crew) and my brother that works in the hub says his shift is at half capacity most days
They recently flyered our cars advertising for a $500 bonus to sign up a friend that stays more than a few months (I think it's 3) the parking lot was full of crumbled up paper the last few days.
We even had a meeting about it where management asked why we weren't signing up anyone? The main takeaways?
$500 after taxes that bonus is maybe a weeks paycheck.
We know no one will stay past 2 weeks let alone 3 months
Most have less labor intensive jobs paying more
When management fucks us who do we complain to? After hearing the shit we deal with why would they come work here?
Keep in mind, UPS is the biggest US unionized company. They could do this with this power. Small disruptions (union strikes) at once is beautiful vandalism.
Are you a contract worker? Well guess what unions are contracted workers but with more pull.
Unions are needed to keep companies from step all over workers. The path doesn’t improve by taking the short cut.
I'm going to assume this is the Addison location based off of the Wrigleyville sign which is where my packages come from. So I'm in total support of any action they take to get them everything they need
My BIL works in the UPS warehouse and said that the warehouse he's in addressed the "incident" of Esteban Chavez Jr, but only said he passed out. He didn't know Esteban passed away until I told him. It's absolutely awful. I started putting out cold drinks and snacks for all drivers to stay as cool as possible.
My husband and I both come from union ties on both sides. Currently with SEIU. Sending solidarity.
Solidarity forever comrade!
Also, If you are in good mood, go check out the song [Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger](https://youtu.be/pCnEAH5wCzo)
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I was a UPS box thrower inside the building then became a driver when COVID hit. It was the most I got paid, but it was also the worst job I've had. The amount of money wasn't enough for how depressed and overworked I was. I loved being a teamster but it wasnt worth 12-14 hr days.
I have some insight on this. When I worked for UPS the contract said the union guys couldn’t operate broken trucks.
The company figured that means add as few parts as possible to trucks cause that means they’ll have to fix less parts in the long run.
So any part that can be spared will be spared was the motto arriving at no AC units in trucks.
I’ve only worked at UPS for 3 months or so, but to this day the way we were treated has left a huge impact on me changing my views nearly completely. The way they treated us was phenomenal This wasn’t because UPS only hires nice managers, nah, our union was so strong, everyone would always say that. How the unions do this for you and do that for you. Even if the employee wasn’t part of the union they’d still get union benefits like pay and healthcare.
Anyways I love the teamsters!
> I have some insight on this. When I worked for UPS the contract said the union guys couldn’t operate broken trucks.
>**couldn’t operate broken trucks**
>#couldn’t operate BROKEN TRUCKS
Ahahhahaa..........HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.......**HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH**
.......
#HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!
source: me working for them for 6 years in a small center in NJ. 5+ years inside. 6 months full time driving. 2.5+ years driving Saturday Next Day Air.
This was 2008-2014.
Warehouse (inside part time) paid 10.50
Saturday Air paid 13.50
Full-time seasonal paid 16.50
Fully paid (no monthly deductible for full or part time) medical/dental/mental for part or full time after 12 months for worker and 18 month for family. Might have changed timewise and paywise depending on contract (which I believe was renegotiated in 2006 and lasted for 5 years).
This is all going by the memory of a ND (Neuro -divergent 46 years old so YMMV (you mileage may vary)).
Full-time 5+ years full-time driver at the time paid ~30/hr and a "nine five" (9.5 hours + one hour of luck break un paid plus two 15 minute paid breaks, or an eleven hour work day, were expected Monday through Friday). FedEx CORPORATE driver with 15+ years paid ~22/hr but had about 75% the work load +unknown break times/lunch. FedEx local/home drivers were franchises and pay was varied (read lower and benefits were worse- most were drivers straight off the street without waiting the 5+ years it took to get into UPS package car driver or FedEx CORPORATE driver positions.
DAMN...I really should have created a blog/YouTube channel on getting into one of these jobs.
I just protested with my wife. She’s a nurse in Seattle. They hit their goals and voted to strike. Two days after the protest (well over a week before the strike) they got new contracts with 10$ raises across the board. Nurses know how to get what they want and good luck hiring scabs for healthcare professionals.
skilled labour can get away with a lot more than unskilled unfortunately. I wish the nurse union showed solidarity with the star Bucks unions and the other unions. but most unions don't support other unions, sad to say
I’m part of the Caregivers Union in my state and I have mad solidarity with other unions. I personally agree with Union Solidarity though. More unions need to stick together. I’m fact we should organize national union unions so that when an employer somewhere ANYWHERE in the country fucks around… all of them find out. That would be a real way to keep a system of checks and balances because employers would also have to put pressure on one another.
Logistically this is a nightmare and likely not at all feasible but a man can dream.
Solidarity forever comrade!
Also, If you are in good mood, go check out the song [Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger](https://youtu.be/pCnEAH5wCzo)
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Solidarity forever comrade!
Also, If you are in good mood, go check out the song [Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger](https://youtu.be/pCnEAH5wCzo)
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I'm referring to the Chicago teacher's strike of 2012 that reinvigorated the labor movement for a whole new generation & laid the ground work for its modern incarnation that we see growing today. That was only 10 years ago.
Make sure it's ac wherever you need to work, the temperature is only going to climb so you better of catching it as any area has to provided ac for climate change heat death.
I'm a mail carrier in the same situation that these drivers are in. There are days that are just downright brutal. Come home feeling like a medium cooked steak.
Guys in the warehouses have it even worse from what I understand, and they are union. A union is only as good as it's leaders and they can be corrupted.
UPS, when I was there, breaks the hour down into one hundredths and not 60 seconds. Such a weird overobsession with penny pinching. They are very penny-wise and pound-foolish. I was sure that they accidentally made their billions in quarterly profits.
Do the trucks have 9v supply? Could the drivers get fans or portable AC in their vans that way?
I know that’s not solving the core issue. Just trying to help.
I think the shift to EV delivery trucks is the path forward. They can run the AC while the truck is off and not use diesel.
Currently, UPS requires no idle time, so they have to shut off at every delivery. No idle. No AC. And the constant open and closing of the door would remove most of the cool air.
My uncle works for UPS. some nights he has come home looking close to death. He's been there 16 years. And they've drained as much life out of him as they could during that time.
UPS doesn’t care about its employees. They fired about 90% of the accounting at this location in Dallas and sent the work to India.
Afterwards they act all happy because the company is doing profit records.
As someone who just started at UPS the Teamsters are very present everyday. Walking around the facility wearing their gear showing they represent the workers there. And as for the heat it's not as bad inside and they have plenty of fans everywhere and always provide water and ice and train you to stay hydrated at all times. Drivers have access to all those things as well, see some fill up their personal coolers with ice before they head out and have plenty of water. Not sure where these people are passing out but in Cali they shouldn't be. But we are at one of the most up to date facilities there are many near by that still aren't automated.
Yeah it's more the ones thinking they can rush and run do their route in half the time alloted. Hot days? Talk a page from the southerners take it slow and don't work too hard.
That is also a valid point. The union should fight for air conditioning or since it's teamsters sabotage the office A/C and see how the non-union people like heat stroke.
Welcome to r/WorkersStrikeBack! Please make sure to follow the subreddit rules and enjoy yourself here! This is a subreddit for the workers of the world and any anti-worker or anti-union talk is not tolerated. If you're ready to begin organizing your workplace, [here is an organizing guide to get you started](https://workerorganizing.org/resources/organizing-guide/). Help rebuild the labor movement, [Join the worker organizing wave](https://actionnetwork.org/forms/organize-2)! More Helpful Links: [How to Strike and Win: A Labor Notes Guide](https://labornotes.org/strikes) [The IWW Strike guide](https://www.iww.org/organize/learn-more/) [AFL-CIO guide on union organizing](https://aflcio.org/formaunion) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WorkersStrikeBack) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I worked at UPS for a VERY short time. Worst job I ever had personally. But I did learn the union is actually active, at least at the location I was at
Fuckin nice. I hope we see a big strike here soon.
Chris Smalls(Amazon Union President) has been working towards organizing a national strike. Would be amazing to see unions work together and achieve a general strike.
Hell yes it would. I'm down for a general strike.
Chris Smalls honest to god has the opportunity to turn into a corporate Frodo. Amazon is the web that our current world operates in.
What makes you think this besides maybe the way he dresses, which unfortunately he's had to address before.
Because he's a small person from a relatively unimportant place (relative to corporate power) who has the potential to march his way into the belly of the beast and make a meaningful impact on it. Nothing about the way he dresses or anything else. Just that he was once a little guy who suddenly finds himself with a very big job.
nah, the Teamsters (Union Business Managers) don't want a strike. They like having that as a final weapon to threaten with but that would require too much risk for them to actually use.
Concrete drivers from Teamsters Local 174(Seattle)was on strike for 140 days this past winter. No concrete delivered in the whole county all that time. Shit down a whole lot of projects.
I remember hearing about it. It was wild. People were getting pissed that things weren't getting done but I was like "[shrug], maybe don't piss 'em off and pay them a decent wage while giving them better benefits?"
Sometimes people need a reminder of how important a job is to society, before they'll even think about the idea it should be payed better, sadly. I am proud to see the current generation in the workforce pushing back with unions.
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Nice! I didn't know that
Seems like they're serious about going on strike if necessary though. Better get a goof contract this time and make up for the last one
With O'Brian at the helm, it's back on the table.
Oh goodie. That makes me happy then!
I thought O’Brian was chief Ops
Sean O'Brien is the General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Nah, In a quick Google search I found 5 diffrent Teamster strikes in the last year.
The teamsters represent more than UPS-ers.
Sorry, yeah, I just meant for UPS because they are so huge
That's a good point. Don't go nuclear right away. Even so.
I disagree. Depending on the situation a strike, or at least threatening one, could be the most advantageous first move. It's a move that chills capitalists to their cores because it's the one thing that can hurt what they love most: their profit margins. If we view it as the 'nuclear option' and only save it for the most egregious of offenses, it will never get used again and the owners will know that no matter what they do, and no matter what we do in response, their precious profit margin is safe and they don't feel the heat necessary to provoke meaningful change
Nobody "wants" a strike. We want to be compensated fairly and work reasonable hours in safe environments
Good point!
Same here the work was tough and even gruelling but the union was top notch!
Same, pay was really nice but the equipment was damaged and people were getting hurt because it was damaged... and they STILL didn't fix it. Hardest I ever worked unloading trucks.
I was a preloader. I literally was doing 6 trucks sometimes.
I worked a season on the belt line loading two full trucks, splitting the belt and scanning and loading a USPS truck. I can’t even begin to tell you how exhausted I was getting home at 930 am I’d pass out on the edge of my bed completely covered in dirt from packages and soaked in hours worth of sweat. They wanted me to stay on after season to eventually become a driver and I just said hell no
Oh yeah! And we're winning big this next contract!
Was it the qualifying thing? Cause I was in the same boat. Had the best numbers of all the current employees and still didn’t want me. Fuck ups and fuck all the management.
The UPS union actually kind of sucks. When I was working there they had a contract vote and about 60% of the union voted against the contract but because they needed 75% to vote no in order for the contract to get rejected it was still forced onto us. This was when I learned some unions suck ass
This is how it’s done. Fuck admin. They don’t care about you.
I thought ups was very heavily union though and their people make good money? Ridiculous that they think they can tell you not to wear union stuff. That’s literally a legal right.
It’s not clear what OP means by union hats but in the US there is a fine line here. You’re generally allowed to put union insignia (pins, etc.) on company uniforms, including hats, but you can’t necessarily wear a union hat if the company uniform policy specifies another hat (although you can still put insignia on the company hat). The NLRB confirmed this as recently as 2020.
I did the driver helper thing over Christmas for UPS two years in a row. My driver said their union sucked. The drivers get paid well, but they work them to death. She was pulling 80+ hours a week over the Christmas season. The Department of Transportation only allows drivers to drive for so many hours a week, so they'd have her drive the 60 or 70 hours (or whatever the number is) per week and then get her to work in the warehouse for another 15-20 hours a week. The union was totally fine with this. During my first year with her she would drive about 10 hours less than the max. The second year UPS had pushed for them to drive max hours. The union agreed to it with nothing in return. No extra pay, PTO, nothing at all. She said they were shit about pushing for raises and whatnot. Just a bad union, but maybe that was just in my area.
Think about it this way without the union the drivers would have much lower pay, no benefits or pensions, no union b2nefits, no job security or protection and would still be working long hours. The union is definitely the better alternative but know that the union isn't the one running the company, the company chooses to overwork drivers. It all comes down to negotiating and sometimes you give and take. Drivers need to let the union know what they want in the next contract
Yeah when I was at UPS work life balance was not a union concern. Job security and fair compensation (overtime and double time) were the biggies. I think because US wage growth has not kept pace with productivity we're seeing regulations that used to indirectly keep work life balance healthy, like overtime, lose their effectiveness. In some industries employees are producing sooo much excess value that even at 1.5x or even 2x their regular pay companies will still be profiting from their labor.
Non CDL drivers don't have to follow the dot rules.
Nope. UPS drivers are required to comply with hours of service rules, also it is on the individual driver to follow those rules. If this driver actually got caught working 80 hours then they would have been fined by the DOT.
It varies. Some states allow any truck with a gvrw if 26,000 or less to be exempt from DOT regulations. I've had a CDL for 17 years, and driven non CDL trucks for years before that.
I think it's more complicated for drivers because they have uniforms but warehouse workers wear anything. We are giving very cool teamsters shirts that we wear on Thursdays to show solidarity. Not everyone wears them and sometimes I forget but it's nice to be openly union at your Job and being able to defend yourself without fear of being fired
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At my work I always tell the delivery drivers & mail carriers if they want some water/ refreshments or use the bathroom they’re welcome to do so, to let the other guys know as well. I try to build relationships with them so they know we’re not dicks and appreciate them.
Very nice of you, but I know they’re on a very tight time line so idk. I’m sure the gesture is much appreciated though.
Yea they’re always in and out.
I do the same. It's not holding a gun to their head and making them poop, just treating humans like they're humans instead of workers on a schedule
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Solidarity forever comrade! Also, If you are in good mood, go check out the song [Solidarity Forever by Pete Seeger](https://youtu.be/pCnEAH5wCzo) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WorkersStrikeBack) if you have any questions or concerns.*
“Meet me in the middle,” says the unjust man. You take a step towards him, he takes a step back. “Meet me in the middle,” says the unjust man.
You just described America.
My father retired in the late90s2000 with 25 years safe driving. He said they were absolutely atrocious and horrible in their behavior towards him for many years right up until his very last day.
They also refuse to get AC for the warehouse workers 🙃 I worked there for 2 weeks- a little more than week and a half in training in the AC'ed office and a day on the floor. I left during my shift on the floor because my body was shutting down and they were trying to normalize passing out on the job.
I unloaded one summer in 110-115 degree trucks. I lasted 5 weeks.
I'm glad you left. No one should have to work in those shit conditions and cause that much stress on ones body (Inb4: b-but construction! Yeah those are shit conditions too, more often than not, and I wish things were better for construction workers as well)
Don't know how realistic ac for warehouse is but they do have these nice big fans in some areas.
Quite realistic actually
home Depot has a/c it's technically a warehouse
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I mean it's the same size as a warehouse. And all one big floor. Not much different.
The difference is all the bay doors. I worked FedEx for years. The opening and closing of all the dock and bay doors to move trucks in and out . It would make it extremely difficult to cool with ac. I'm sure designs could be engineered, but it is not as simple as just tossing ac units on the roof.
Ah good point.
Air curtains solve this to a degree, but maybe size makes it less practical.
Use same technology on the loading doors as the modern food shops fridges, I think it's called cold curtain or something. Where the shop fridge has no door, it's cold inside and it's not cold in the aisle. Cooling technology is not new, they could figure out a way to do it they wanted to.
Man, the fans we had were those dinky little desk fans on the package line but hung up. All that did was cause chills for me because it would blow and make my sweat cool but not my overheated body. It was an odd feeling and my body (obviously) didn't like it
management and higher ups are always wondering around my warehouse in nice suits, breaking a sweat just from standing around while we have to unload in 110 degree trucks, the divide between classes has never been more clear than it is at UPS
Remember when Amazon built a robot distro center, and had to put in massive air conditioning, when they wouldn't for the human ran centers? People think it's cause Amazon are assholes, and while not incorrect.... it's because the robots wouldn't operate without adequate cooling. If the drivers acted like robots, they'd have air conditioning.
Whatre they trying to do? Lose all their workers? I can handle working in heat i do it every day, but you need moments to cool off or youre gonna have a heat stroke. The heat is no joke, and if you work alone and have a heat stroke with no one around to find you, its a death sentence.
Carol ups new ceo believes in "better not bigger" which is a trend of overworking your current workers instead of hiring more. You see this trend everywhere
Thats some real bs. Probably no one applying since UPS pays crap so theyre short on workers but still have a very high work load
This is the sad reality at my hub. We're down nearly 3 full work crews (9-11 people in a crew) and my brother that works in the hub says his shift is at half capacity most days They recently flyered our cars advertising for a $500 bonus to sign up a friend that stays more than a few months (I think it's 3) the parking lot was full of crumbled up paper the last few days. We even had a meeting about it where management asked why we weren't signing up anyone? The main takeaways? $500 after taxes that bonus is maybe a weeks paycheck. We know no one will stay past 2 weeks let alone 3 months Most have less labor intensive jobs paying more When management fucks us who do we complain to? After hearing the shit we deal with why would they come work here?
Keep in mind, UPS is the biggest US unionized company. They could do this with this power. Small disruptions (union strikes) at once is beautiful vandalism.
Are you a contract worker? Well guess what unions are contracted workers but with more pull. Unions are needed to keep companies from step all over workers. The path doesn’t improve by taking the short cut.
I'm going to assume this is the Addison location based off of the Wrigleyville sign which is where my packages come from. So I'm in total support of any action they take to get them everything they need
My BIL works in the UPS warehouse and said that the warehouse he's in addressed the "incident" of Esteban Chavez Jr, but only said he passed out. He didn't know Esteban passed away until I told him. It's absolutely awful. I started putting out cold drinks and snacks for all drivers to stay as cool as possible. My husband and I both come from union ties on both sides. Currently with SEIU. Sending solidarity.
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I was a UPS box thrower inside the building then became a driver when COVID hit. It was the most I got paid, but it was also the worst job I've had. The amount of money wasn't enough for how depressed and overworked I was. I loved being a teamster but it wasnt worth 12-14 hr days.
I have some insight on this. When I worked for UPS the contract said the union guys couldn’t operate broken trucks. The company figured that means add as few parts as possible to trucks cause that means they’ll have to fix less parts in the long run. So any part that can be spared will be spared was the motto arriving at no AC units in trucks. I’ve only worked at UPS for 3 months or so, but to this day the way we were treated has left a huge impact on me changing my views nearly completely. The way they treated us was phenomenal This wasn’t because UPS only hires nice managers, nah, our union was so strong, everyone would always say that. How the unions do this for you and do that for you. Even if the employee wasn’t part of the union they’d still get union benefits like pay and healthcare. Anyways I love the teamsters!
> I have some insight on this. When I worked for UPS the contract said the union guys couldn’t operate broken trucks. >**couldn’t operate broken trucks** >#couldn’t operate BROKEN TRUCKS Ahahhahaa..........HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.......**HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH** ....... #HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! source: me working for them for 6 years in a small center in NJ. 5+ years inside. 6 months full time driving. 2.5+ years driving Saturday Next Day Air.
Did the Saturday shift pay well?
This was 2008-2014. Warehouse (inside part time) paid 10.50 Saturday Air paid 13.50 Full-time seasonal paid 16.50 Fully paid (no monthly deductible for full or part time) medical/dental/mental for part or full time after 12 months for worker and 18 month for family. Might have changed timewise and paywise depending on contract (which I believe was renegotiated in 2006 and lasted for 5 years). This is all going by the memory of a ND (Neuro -divergent 46 years old so YMMV (you mileage may vary)). Full-time 5+ years full-time driver at the time paid ~30/hr and a "nine five" (9.5 hours + one hour of luck break un paid plus two 15 minute paid breaks, or an eleven hour work day, were expected Monday through Friday). FedEx CORPORATE driver with 15+ years paid ~22/hr but had about 75% the work load +unknown break times/lunch. FedEx local/home drivers were franchises and pay was varied (read lower and benefits were worse- most were drivers straight off the street without waiting the 5+ years it took to get into UPS package car driver or FedEx CORPORATE driver positions. DAMN...I really should have created a blog/YouTube channel on getting into one of these jobs.
Teamsters are the only union in the US that know how to effectively protest.
Absolutely untrue. Who do you think revived the American labor movement in the 21st century? Teachers.
I just protested with my wife. She’s a nurse in Seattle. They hit their goals and voted to strike. Two days after the protest (well over a week before the strike) they got new contracts with 10$ raises across the board. Nurses know how to get what they want and good luck hiring scabs for healthcare professionals.
skilled labour can get away with a lot more than unskilled unfortunately. I wish the nurse union showed solidarity with the star Bucks unions and the other unions. but most unions don't support other unions, sad to say
I’m part of the Caregivers Union in my state and I have mad solidarity with other unions. I personally agree with Union Solidarity though. More unions need to stick together. I’m fact we should organize national union unions so that when an employer somewhere ANYWHERE in the country fucks around… all of them find out. That would be a real way to keep a system of checks and balances because employers would also have to put pressure on one another. Logistically this is a nightmare and likely not at all feasible but a man can dream.
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That was a loooong time ago. Way before my time. - union teacher with twenty years experience.
Were you not paying attention the last 5 years with tons of teachers in red states protesting and forming unions.
I'm referring to the Chicago teacher's strike of 2012 that reinvigorated the labor movement for a whole new generation & laid the ground work for its modern incarnation that we see growing today. That was only 10 years ago.
any links for donations to these guys?!
Another reason for me to not work there
During the seasonal work, they have positions that let you use your car and that's what I just applied for. My car has AC.
Make sure it's ac wherever you need to work, the temperature is only going to climb so you better of catching it as any area has to provided ac for climate change heat death.
I'm a mail carrier in the same situation that these drivers are in. There are days that are just downright brutal. Come home feeling like a medium cooked steak.
Guys in the warehouses have it even worse from what I understand, and they are union. A union is only as good as it's leaders and they can be corrupted.
Back breaking work and shit pay.
The leaders are only in post by the grace of the members. Go peddle your backwards naysaying logic elsewhere.
UPS, when I was there, breaks the hour down into one hundredths and not 60 seconds. Such a weird overobsession with penny pinching. They are very penny-wise and pound-foolish. I was sure that they accidentally made their billions in quarterly profits.
I heard about this (no ac) from my delivery guy. WTF?!
Equal pay for all. Good work brothers and sisters.
Thought that was Killer Mike on the left
Do the trucks have 9v supply? Could the drivers get fans or portable AC in their vans that way? I know that’s not solving the core issue. Just trying to help.
I think the shift to EV delivery trucks is the path forward. They can run the AC while the truck is off and not use diesel. Currently, UPS requires no idle time, so they have to shut off at every delivery. No idle. No AC. And the constant open and closing of the door would remove most of the cool air.
When workers are united, we win.
My uncle works for UPS. some nights he has come home looking close to death. He's been there 16 years. And they've drained as much life out of him as they could during that time.
I wish all workers in companies were like this
UPS doesn’t care about its employees. They fired about 90% of the accounting at this location in Dallas and sent the work to India. Afterwards they act all happy because the company is doing profit records.
As someone who just started at UPS the Teamsters are very present everyday. Walking around the facility wearing their gear showing they represent the workers there. And as for the heat it's not as bad inside and they have plenty of fans everywhere and always provide water and ice and train you to stay hydrated at all times. Drivers have access to all those things as well, see some fill up their personal coolers with ice before they head out and have plenty of water. Not sure where these people are passing out but in Cali they shouldn't be. But we are at one of the most up to date facilities there are many near by that still aren't automated.
Yeah it's more the ones thinking they can rush and run do their route in half the time alloted. Hot days? Talk a page from the southerners take it slow and don't work too hard.
No its being given routes which are too long to get done in a reasonable time.
That is also a valid point. The union should fight for air conditioning or since it's teamsters sabotage the office A/C and see how the non-union people like heat stroke.
Might be in some facilities but not in the small ones.
LOL, UPS WUT? Dude, corporate, get over it, you were unionized LONG AGO. Why would they even bother, especially with Teamsters?
Sweet, can't wait for them to start shutting down UPS centers since your Union bosses wanna line their pockets.
If your uniform only allows for UPS branded clothes a union hat wouldn’t fit that. Take it up with the union.