2009 APWA CAMPAIGN
Now that we UPSers have settled into our new contract with the IBT and our new single-employer pension fund, many of you may be wondering what is happening with the APWA. Are we still around, planning anything in the future? The answer to these questions is, yes. An organization that began from ground-zero just a few short years ago, today has an infrastructure consisting of thousands of members, located in all 50 states, and all of them are standing by to re-launch a new campaign to replace the Teamsters as the bargaining agent at UPS one year from now.
But why? Shouldn’t we be content with our new contract and our new single-employer pension fund? To be sure, the new fund is a step forward, but it is hardly a finished work and language in the new fund can be very deceiving, leaves our pensions in serious financial peril should the Central States Fund ultimately collapse. UPS’s promise to make up the difference is only good for the life of this contract—nothing further.
Make no mistake about it, the company and the IBT are very much in bed together and there is really no one out there who is looking out for us. The only reason we have this new fund at all is because of the stand so many took by joining the APWA and/or supporting its’ first campaign. And the only reason UPS and the IBT hammered out this new contract—an unprecedented full year in advance—was to shut down our card signing program prior to our being able to force a nationwide vote. But there is much more to be done and in 2009 we intend to hit the ground running in all 50 states. We also have a new strategy that begins by training and equipping numerous teams to hold meetings and collect cards throughout the country. With the infrastructure we built previously, and our new strategy, we are confident we can swiftly and efficiently replace the Teamsters entirely.
Wouldn’t it be enough to simply force the Teamsters into making necessary changes, but retain them as our bargaining agent? No. UPS’ers deserve a union they can believe in and know that it is truly looking out for them. Frankly, any union that has to be “forced” into doing what it should cannot be trusted to maintain anything gained if the leverage (the APWA) is gone. In no time at all, we will be right back to having a union that bullies us more so than our company. The only way to guarantee that we will always have a bargaining agent we can trust is to simply change unions, embracing one that is created by UPS’ers, for UPS’ers, and nothing but UPS’ers. In addition, some of the most critical changes we seek cannot be legally accomplished without a change in bargaining agents. Principle among them is to obtain ownership of the new single-employer fund from the IBT and install the “it’s your money” policies spelled out in the APWA constitution. Other notable goals are:
·To remove the out-clause language currently included in the new fund and provide UPS’ers a retirement benefit they can count on for life, not just until age 65.
·To override state laws across the country and provide all UPS’ers their God-given “right to work” regardless of union membership.
·To reduce dues to 50% of what the IBT currently charges, a figure that cannot be raised without majority approval garnered by a nationwide vote.
·To negotiate meaningful hours control based on daily caps rather than the current 9-5 shell-game currently employed by the IBT.
·To end the company’s growing reliance on subcontractors moving freight that should be handled by our own feeder drivers.
·To provide meaningful help with grievances and to do so in a timely manner.
·To once and for all, provide definitive language that provides drivers the flexibility they need and want regarding when and how much break to take.
·And finally, to have a targeted, responsive union that is defined by the needs and wishes of UPSers rather than a clumsy, inefficient conglomerate, defined by the wishes and needs of outside interests.
To be sure, this cause is a noble one, but this campaign, like any, takes money. For that, we have a new strategy as well. Beginning now, we are asking every hourly employee who would like to see these badly needed changes become a reality, to make a painless, one-time contribution of just $10.00. That’s it. Just ten dollars. One time. While that may not seem like much of a contribution, multiplied nationwide times the thousands of UPSers affected by these issues, we will easily have all the money we need to launch this new campaign and run it to a successful end. In the coming days you are likely to hear criticisms about the APWA, leveled against us by the IBT, suggesting that their financial strength is much stronger than ours. Just remember where they get that money. And ask yourself how much of it comes back to you in terms of service and trust. In contrast, the APWA will be positioned to accomplish the most with the least amount of burden upon you, but our failure to secure the contributions will force us to abort these plans.
Additionally, APWA founders have pledged to do a better job of keeping supporters up to date on all that is happening across the country by means of our website, and regular newsletters, delivered on a timely basis, the first Monday of each month. You can access this vital link to us by either visiting the website at www.parcelworkers.com each month, or by selecting to have it delivered straight to your e-mail inbox. Either way, there is no cost involved.
In closing, I would ask you to carefully consider the many times the company and the Teamsters have demonstrated they are more interested in the money you represent than in you. Then ask yourself if that makes you or your family feel secure. If not, I urge you to join with me in making the ten dollar contribution, signing an APWA card when they come out, and then boldly stepping up to a ballot box and placing an X next to our union, a union created by us and for us, a union we can finally believe in. Contributions can be via the website itself or by checks. If check is preferred, it should be made out to APWA and sent to:
APWA
P.O. Box 58427
Raleigh, NC 27658
