'97 Strike Resulted in UPS Going Public

[Catatonic]

Why is the burden on the employer or union to provide "retirement training"?

I remember when UPS went public and UPS started all these training for Management people 50 or older.
It was ( and is ) a very good start for having a person assume responsibility for their retirement.

I remember some asking what they were doing for the drivers and the instructor said "That's up to the Teamsters."
That got a big laugh!

 

[El Correcto]

and look how well ups is doing in 2016.
Management seems like a career everyone wants to get into.

 

[Orion inc.]

Most driver's lived "better" than me.
I invested money along the way.
I imagine most UPS drivers still live "better" than me.
I have yet to touch my investments in retirement.

That's our goal in retirement. Not to have to touch the core investments we made.

We try to balance it out by saving, investing and planning for all of it including the kids college. But we also know when to enjoy what we work hard for. Balance and discipline are the most important thing with all of this.

And regularly talking about changing goals and such. My wife and I always try to make sure we discuss everything like that a lot.

Keeps us focused and helps make our team effort stronger.

 

[Turdferguson]

Your person wasn't on the Management Committee or a District Managers and above.

Or wasn't he?.

 

[Catatonic]

Or wasn't he?.

Rarely do they talk to turds like you ... not too often with me either.
I was friends and worked closely with 4 people who went to Region Manager level or higher.
They talked to me because of our past rather than our present at that time.
It was an emotional time for a year or so.

 

[rod]

Really ... you expect the 97 strike to be mentioned in propaganda?

My knowledge was gleaned from sitting in the Corporate cafeteria where the Management Committee (MC) members ate and drank.
I heard one MC person myself and others heard them as well.
It was openly discussed around Corporate for a few years before the word cam down not to discuss the 97 strike anymore ... it was time to move on.

Did the Corporate cafeteria have a time clock in it?

 

[Catatonic]

and look how well ups is doing in 2016.
Management seems like a career everyone wants to get into.

Who cares about management ... they are plug and play employees just like you.
That's the problem with goobers ... they think management is UPS.
They are not, they are just employees like everyone else.
No one at UPS really makes any real decisions unless they are District manager level or above.
And when you get right down to it, if one is not on the Board or one of the Management Committee members, they don't get to male any decisions that affect UPS and it's rules or regulations.

I know, you have to hate someone and you can't even see the real UPS.
It's like people hating the police when when the real culprit are the ones making the laws.

 

[Catatonic]

Did the Corporate cafeteria have a time clock in it?

I never noticed one.

 

[Packmule]

97 was the union's chance to work with the company to remove ALL UPS employees from failing multi employee funds into well-financed single employer fund supported by windfall UPS profits. Instead, IBT remained determined to let UPS pay pensions for every Tom Dick and Harry who ever called themselves a Teamster-at OUR expense.
And many of our currently retired guys fell for the Union's lies when they were so easy to see through.
The new UPS/IBT fund should have, and could have, been there for everyone if our Union would have fought for it instead of opposing any single employer fund.
My memory is spot on perfect and always will be.

 

[MobileBA]

Try to sign me up for the garbage they wanted us to accept as their last, best and final offer and I will gladly walk the picket line. What universe are you living in, managers have never had it so bad and teamsters have never had it so good. Well Western Conference Teamsters anyways.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

97 was the union's chance to work with the company to remove ALL UPS employees from failing multi employee funds into well-financed single employer fund supported by windfall UPS profits. Instead, IBT remained determined to let UPS pay pensions for every Tom Dick and Harry who ever called themselves a Teamster-at OUR expense.
And many of our currently retired guys fell for the Union's lies when they were so easy to see through.
The new UPS/IBT fund should have, and could have, been there for everyone if our Union would have for it instead of totally opposing any single employer fund.
My memory is spot on perfect and always will be.

Remind us how you crossed the picket line.

Enough said.

 

[Returntosender]

So the strike was really about the pension remaining in multi employer and not FT jobs?

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

So the strike was really about the pension remaining in multi employer and not FT jobs?

About two hard heads locking horns.

 

[35years]

An article soon after the stock went public...

Workers Ready to Cash In as U.P.S. Goes Public

I seriously doubt the strike was the deciding factor for going public.

After decades of phenomenal 20-30% returns (when OPL is factored in), the return on investment were not keeping pace with the booming stock markets (NASDAQ rose 200% in the prior 2 years).

The UPS fat cats sitting on piles of stock watched other IPOs double overnight and wanted in on the action. They also probably realized that 25% annual returns were a thing of the past since we were no longer the fast paced growth company we had been for decades.

 

[Returntosender]

About two hard heads locking horns.

About a failing pension in 97, that got bailed out in 2015. Some retired poster said the CSPF attempted pay cuts to the plan to prevent the fund from running out of money. Something along the lines of employers who went bankrupt stop contributing to plan while their workers are drawing a full pension?

 

[Catatonic]

97 was the union's chance to work with the company to remove ALL UPS employees from failing multi employee funds into well-financed single employer fund supported by windfall UPS profits. Instead, IBT remained determined to let UPS pay pensions for every Tom Dick and Harry who ever called themselves a Teamster-at OUR expense.
And many of our currently retired guys fell for the Union's lies when they were so easy to see through.
The new UPS/IBT fund should have, and could have, been there for everyone if our Union would have fought for it instead of opposing any single employer fund.
My memory is spot on perfect and always will be.

That's what they were telling us in Corporate.
They explained that UPS needed to do it now (1997) rather than latter or UPSers would be without pensions.
They were telling us because we were the shareholders and it was predicted there would be no stock price increases for a couple of years but then it would get back on track.
Since going public, they can't (don't) tell us anything that may affect the stock price ... leading to possible Insider Trading.
We use to laugh at the Feeder Network since going public, it's about the only way to find things out before it is announced publicly.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

About a failing pension in 97, that got bailed out in 2015. Some retired poster said the CSPF attempted pay cuts to the plan to prevent the fund from running out of money. Something along the lines of employers who went bankrupt stop contributing to plan while their workers are drawing a full pension?

Too many other issues caused the strike

 

[Catatonic]

An article soon after the stock went public...

Workers Ready to Cash In as U.P.S. Goes Public

I seriously doubt the strike was the deciding factor for going public.

After decades of phenomenal 20-30% returns (when OPL is factored in), the return on investment were not keeping pace with the booming stock markets (NASDAQ rose 200% in the prior 2 years).

The UPS fat cats sitting on piles of stock watched other IPOs double overnight and wanted in on the action. They also probably realized that 25% annual returns were a thing of the past since we were no longer the fast paced growth company we had been for decades.

I agree with that and never meant to imply that ... the strike was not a causative factor.
The strike removed what was a "constraining" factor before the strike ... after the strike there were no constraints about the effects on employee or the culture.

 

[35years]

So the strike was really about the pension remaining in multi employer and not FT jobs?

The strike was about the Teamsters keeping control of their money cow...The pension. There are benefits to controlling Billions and Billions of dollars. More full time jobs were a diversion; part timers don't vote come contract time. That being said, the contract we got after the strike (excluding the pension considerations) was far superior monetarily to the "best, final offer".

 

[Catatonic]

About a failing pension in 97, that got bailed out in 2015. Some retired poster said the CSPF attempted pay cuts to the plan to prevent the fund from running out of money. Something along the lines of employers who went bankrupt stop contributing to plan while their workers are drawing a full pension?

It first got bailed out in 2007 ... 2015 did little for many UPSers.