MASTERS ON LABORNEWS@WORK
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MASTERS ON LABORNEWS@WORK NEWSLETTER
A Biweekly Publication
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By Marick F. Masters,
Professor, Commentator, Consultant, and Podcaster (to be) [email protected]
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Volume 1. Issue 2. July 9, 2023
Ongoing Strike Activity
UPS-IBT Talks Break Down on July 5, 2023 at 4:15am; no word on when they might resume.
340,000 workers involved. Contract expires August 1.
Major issues involve two-tier wage system, full-time and part-time wages, overtime, conversion of part-time to full-time
Teamsters’ leaders’ tone is militant. UPS urges return to bargaining table. Stakes are high as UPS moves 6 percent of the GDP in the US, 3 percent globally.
FROM THE TEAMSTERS:
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/ups-workers-union-leader-explains-212113707.html SEAN O’BRIEN: Well, UPS can tell their story. We know the real story at 4:15 a.m., July 5,
when we're trying to get a deal, we're very close, they said they had no more to give and so they actually walked away. And that's why we're here right now. We're trying to make certain that they understand how important this fight is for our 340,000 members that delivered goods and services through the toughest times we've seen [in the] pandemic.
O’BRIEN: Well look, I mean, our part-timers at UPS are working for poverty wages. Some of them are single mothers, single dads working crazy hours. And look, everybody loves the UPS drivers, who work extremely hard. But those packages do not get on those trucks without those part-timers. And, you know, UPS has the opportunity right now to do the right thing, because they can set the tone on how it is to reward their employees who have made them
the success that they are. I mean, they made $100 billion with a B, and our members deserve to reap those benefits as well.
FROM UPS
Latest updates
July 7 – The Teamsters stopped negotiating this week despite strong proposals from the company that build on our industry-leading pay and benefits for our full-time and part-time employees. We have encouraged the Teamsters to return to the table to continue building on the significant progress we have made, including the recent completion of all local supplements.
Just over three weeks remain until the current contract expires Aug. 1. Refusing to negotiate, especially when the finish line is in sight, creates significant unease among employees and customers and threatens to disrupt the U.S. economy. We are proud of the proposals we have put forward that deliver wins for our people.
Did you know?
Part-time UPS employees get the exact same healthcare benefits as full-time employees – with no premiums, no co-insurance and low co-pays.
Part-time employees at UPS earn an average of $20 per hour after 30 days.
领英推荐
UPS is one of only a few companies that provides a pension to part-time workers.
https://about.ups.com/us/en/our-company/great-employer/part-time-package-handler- provides-for-family-of-five-with-ups-b.html
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UNITED AUTO WORKERS AND DETROIT 3 TO KICK OFF TALKS
Bargaining starts this week between the 383,000-member UAW and the Detroit 3, who employ a combined 146,000 hourly workers in the US.
Ritual kick-off meetings to be held between respective parties. UAW tone militant. Companies need flexibility to succeed in electric vehicle market. Biden administration designates Gene Sperling as the go-to person to monitor negotiations; concern is that a strike would tip the US economy into downturn. UAW will pick “target” in near future.
The UAW is under new leadership with its president, Shawn Fain, and six other members of the 14-member International Executive Board representing the dissident Unite All Workers for Democracy. The UAW, operating under a court-approved consent decree, held its first direct election of IEB officers under newly approved constitutional reforms in late 2022 and early 2023.
Key issues up for bargain include the two-tier wage system, reintroduction of cost-of-living- allowance (COLA, which the union conceded in 2009 in the midst of bankruptcies), retiree benefits, and job security and pay as the companies’ transition to electric vehicles. Ford, GM, and Stellantis have committed to spend $120 billion toward electrification by 2026. Each reported significant increases in sales for the second quarter of 2023.
The union’s tone has become increasingly militant. Ford’s CEO has expressed the company’s commitment to investing in workers in America.
FROM THE UAW
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In a new video, UAW President Shawn Fain calls out the Big Three automakers
for exploiting the electric vehicle (EV) transition to undercut auto industry standards and harm American communities. UAW Local 1112 (Region 2B) members at Ultium Cells, the General Motors electric vehicle battery joint venture with LG Energy Solution, share
their experience of GM closing the Lordstown Assembly plant only to replace that work with low-paying, dangerous EV battery cell jobs.
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Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ZRFjRbM5aeI
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“Workers at Lordstown Assembly were on track to make upwards of $30 an hour,” says UAW President Shawn Fain. “The new green jobs at the Ultium plant? $16.50 an hour, going up to
$20 after 7 years. Ultium cut auto wages in half.”
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FROM FORD’s CEO
https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2023/06/29/ford-jim-farley-uaw- contract-bargaining/70361242007/
This summer, at a time like no other in our industry, we will sit down with the new leadership of the United Auto Workers union to negotiate the next contract for our UAW-represented employees.
We at Ford are proud of our history of embracing our workers’ right to collective bargaining and working with the UAW. We share common goals — reaching a new deal that allows us to stay ahead of the changing industry landscape, protecting good-paying jobs in the U.S. and continuing to offer innovative and affordable products to our customers.