Can someone explain to me what exactly will happen to our healthcare..

[The Milkman]

Basically, we cannot afford to let our healthcare be reduced in such a serious and grave manner. It is really one of the only good things that part timers have going for them and is one of the all around best parts of working for UPS for full timers as well. There are also several insane clauses in the TA that need to be looked at with intensity. If the health plan needs money to help pay for the costs, the union will be able to reduce the yearly raises to help pay into the health fund. WTF... Also another part specifies that they can use money intended for our pension contributions to pay for the healthcare fund, instead of putting it into the pension, if needed. Also i have a question. Do you trust the union to run our healthcare??? I know i don't and i don't think any of us should be blindly putting our faith into what they have been telling us. Just go and read these sneaky statements they slipped into the healthcare article. So vote yes if you want to see these so called pluses to our pension and significant raises that are being so glorified. Then watch as they they are cut in half to pay for the healthcare as our premiums rise and we spend hundreds of dollars more per year then we would have before on medical costs. I think we should all be getting equal healthcare but it should be going in the opposite direction by getting the central states back onto the good healthcare plans instead of subsidizing everyone to match what they are forced to accept. If we just stand up with a firm backbone, we have a good chance to get a much stronger agreement.
So in summary this will change if this becomes our contract:
1) You will pay more then you did before for healthcare if you were on a company plan upwards of several hundred dollars a year. (for a part timer that HURTS A LOT!)
2) If the union runs out of funding for the healthcare fund it will affect contributions to your pension AND will lower your yearly General Wage Increase (GWI)
3) You will set the precedent of standing down and accepting bad contracts without even attempting to call the company's bluff

 

[RealPerson]

Basically, we cannot afford to let our healthcare be reduced in such a serious and grave manner. It is really one of the only good things that part timers have going for them and is one of the all around best parts of working for UPS for full timers as well. There are also several insane clauses in the TA that need to be looked at with intensity. If the health plan needs money to help pay for the costs, the union will be able to reduce the yearly raises to help pay into the health fund. WTF... Also another part specifies that they can use money intended for our pension contributions to pay for the healthcare fund, instead of putting it into the pension, if needed. Also i have a question. Do you trust the union to run our healthcare??? I know i don't and i don't think any of us should be blindly putting our faith into what they have been telling us. Just go and read these sneaky statements they slipped into the healthcare article. So vote yes if you want to see these so called pluses to our pension and significant raises that are being so glorified. Then watch as they they are cut in half to pay for the healthcare as our premiums rise and we spend hundreds of dollars more per year then we would have before on medical costs. I think we should all be getting equal healthcare but it should be going in the opposite direction by getting the central states back onto the good healthcare plans instead of subsidizing everyone to match what they are forced to accept. If we just stand up with a firm backbone, we have a good chance to get a much stronger agreement.
So in summary this will change if this becomes our contract:
1) You will pay more then you did before for healthcare if you were on a company plan upwards of several hundred dollars a year. (for a part timer that HURTS A LOT!)
2) If the union runs out of funding for the healthcare fund it will affect contributions to your pension AND will lower your yearly General Wage Increase (GWI)
3) You will set the precedent of standing down and accepting bad contracts without even attempting to call the company's bluff

Yes,
It has already happened in some Locals.

 

[rudy5150]

We are getting bent over with no lube application

 

[brown_trousers]

We are getting bent over with no lube application

Agreed. There is no reason any of us should be giving anything up for concessions. At the very minimum, this should be a "break-even" contract.

None of us should lose (or have reduced) ANY benefits we currently have!

 

[The Milkman]

Agreed. There is no reason any of us should be giving anything up for concessions. At the very minimum, this should be a "break-even" contract.

None of us should lose (or have reduced) ANY benefits we currently have!

 

[brownmonster]

Agreed. There is no reason any of us should be giving anything up for concessions. At the very minimum, this should be a "break-even" contract.

None of us should lose (or have reduced) ANY benefits we currently have!

Im giving nothing up. It depends on your situation.

 

[rpoz11]

Agreed. There is no reason any of us should be giving anything up for concessions. At the very minimum, this should be a "break-even" contract.

None of us should lose (or have reduced) ANY benefits we currently have!

I agree!
I speak up in my building.
Everything we have earned should NOT be a concession.
If this all is set in stone from the corporate view, then everything we have should be placed right into Union HC proposals.
Provide the very same company plan.
Offer us the continue the exact plan.
It is in place right now.
Why aren't our Teamster Executives arguing for this???
Secure the costs with some sort of bond, or what have you, and allow us bargaining members to use it and allow us to keep it and establish our own Union National HC Plan.
Keeping it in place, I would step up to help pay to secure any loss of what we currently have.

 

[rpoz11]

Milkman, and all of us, maybe our Union Executives were threatened with a strike challenge.
Coming from a person of interest that I know, this quite possibly might be the reason the company gave such short notice on the HC plan changes.
Consider the public resentment the Union might receive from a strike, especially from the Corporate view, might be just what the company is planning.
The economy is fragile enough.
Stirring up public resentment, due to so much we have lost as a nation since the bubble burst, is what they are planning on.
The citizens of our country have already have up so much.
The last thing we need is a NEGATIVE response.

Vote NO!

Your NO Vote sends this all back to the table.

Central States, stand up for this!
Stand up for us!
Doing so, WE STAND FOR YOU.

 

[undies]

What about my marrige counseling! Mental health coverage is taking a hit too...I use it and really don't want to lose it.

 

[oldupsman]

In a couple of years we will all have the same benifits. Man I feel bad about this. I think ill pour a little beer out on the sidewalk for you and the rest of you all. You guys are getting the same benifits as me. You guys are screwed. Lol

Yeah, no sheet! The same people complaining for everyone to vote no. UPS didn't want them anymore, so the union steps up and finds them a plan similar to the rest of the country which is still a Cadillac plan. Then they blame the union for screwing them over by making everyone on equal plans? Oh plus a pension bump.

That's why I haven't posted much about the ta, you can't convince these folks that they have a better package than most of the people out there in labor jobs. I'm ready for a new thread about good beer, good BBQ, and good fishing. You and 407 have posted great posts, but some people will just never be happy.

Im giving nothing up. It depends on your situation.

We all know the current UPS health care plan is better than any of the plans you 4 have. Yet you seem to think those of us that have that plan should just
willingly take less. Why? The solution to the problem is not to bring us down to your level. Or as Justaname seems to think, it's better than most people in labor
so shut up and be happy. The solution to the problem is to bring you folks up to our level. UPS can certainly afford it.
​Why do you oppose the chance for you to get a better plan?

 

[DON CUMMINGS]

The plan documents are not available for the part timers. Until they are we do not know how this contract will affect health insurance. I do know that if health care goes up enough, our raises can go to pay for it. This means that we could not get our raises.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

The plan documents are not available for the part timers. Until they are we do not know how this contract will affect health insurance. I do know that if health care goes up enough, our raises can go to pay for it. This means that we could not get our raises.

I am going to try to explain this to you as clearly as possible. Your raises will not be affected by the transition from a company healthcare plan to a union one. UPS will continue to pay a negotiated amount per hour (up to 8 hours FT/4 hours PT) to the union for the sole purpose of our healthcare. The union will then turn around and shop for a healthcare plan that will provide us with the level of benefits that we need (not necessarily what we want or may be used to) while staying within the financial constraints of the company contributions. Let's say I gave you $10 to mow my lawn. You then hire a neighborhood kid who is willing to do it for $8. You would then pocket the $2. Our healthcare is no different----UPS gives the union $1M---the union secures healthcare through BC/BS for $800K---the union would then pocket the $200K. On the flip side, let's say UPS gives the union $1M but the cheapest plan which still meets the needs of their members costs $1.2M----the union would then have to pay the difference. I have had a Teamster healthplan ever since I gained my seniority. The plan has more than served the medical needs of myself and my family. Did we have to be smart medical consumers? Absolutely---we didn't run to the ER with the sniffles nor did we have to have designer frames for our eyeglasses. We thought of our medical coverage as being our money and spent accordingly. This will be the most difficult thing for those of you on the company plan to change---the mindset that it is not your money and therefore you don't have to worry about how it is being spent. Co-pays and deductibles make you think twice before seeking medical care but are not so severe that you will avoid seeking urgent or necessary medical care as a result.

Teamster healthcare plans are among the best in the nation.

 

[stink219]

Good job Upstate!! Very eloquent post!!

 

[UPS Preloader]

Good job Upstate!! Very eloquent post!!

Yes it was.

 

[brownmonster]

We all know the current UPS health care plan is better than any of the plans you 4 have. Yet you seem to think those of us that have that plan should just
willingly take less. Why? The solution to the problem is not to bring us down to your level. Or as Justaname seems to think, it's better than most people in labor
so shut up and be happy. The solution to the problem is to bring you folks up to our level. UPS can certainly afford it.
​Why do you oppose the chance for you to get a better plan?

I look at healthcare as insurance covering me for the major stuff. I don't expect free healthcare. I look at the bill and the portion I have to pay and usually feel pretty good.

 

[Inthegame]

I am going to try to explain this to you as clearly as possible. Your raises will not be affected by the transition from a company healthcare plan to a union one. UPS will continue to pay a negotiated amount per hour (up to 8 hours FT/4 hours PT) to the union for the sole purpose of our healthcare. The union will then turn around and shop for a healthcare plan that will provide us with the level of benefits that we need (not necessarily what we want or may be used to) while staying within the financial constraints of the company contributions. Let's say I gave you $10 to mow my lawn. You then hire a neighborhood kid who is willing to do it for $8. You would then pocket the $2. Our healthcare is no different----UPS gives the union $1M---the union secures healthcare through BC/BS for $800K---the union would then pocket the $200K. On the flip side, let's say UPS gives the union $1M but the cheapest plan which still meets the needs of their members costs $1.2M----the union would then have to pay the difference. I have had a Teamster healthplan ever since I gained my seniority. The plan has more than served the medical needs of myself and my family. Did we have to be smart medical consumers? Absolutely---we didn't run to the ER with the sniffles nor did we have to have designer frames for our eyeglasses. We thought of our medical coverage as being our money and spent accordingly. This will be the most difficult thing for those of you on the company plan to change---the mindset that it is not your money and therefore you don't have to worry about how it is being spent. Co-pays and deductibles make you think twice before seeking medical care but are not so severe that you will avoid seeking urgent or necessary medical care as a result.

Teamster healthcare plans are among the best in the nation.

Almost accurate but the "union" cannot pocket anything. The "union" doesn't get any contributions other than dues from their members. The Taft Hartley H&W Fund (or Pension) get the contributions on behalf of the participants, and usually covers costs through Fund assets with an insurer (BCBS, Aetna, Humana, etc.) administering the plan on a fee basis. Not a penny of any contribution is allocated to the union as union (and company) trustees cannot be paid for services. Taft Hartley Plans, including Teamster administered H&W Plans are definitely among the best in the country as they are completely non-profit giving the members the best bang for the buck.

 

[Asskicker]

Hey 407...How can you be so sure it's going to pass? Are you one of the crooked Teamsters throwing the No votes into the fire while counting all of the yes votes during your Lobster meal with Hoffa? And Stink.....Do you ever have a post without the letters TDU in it? Why don't you find a TDU bashing website and post on there. This is a UPS members website and the issue is the contract not your hate of Pfaff because he turned down your advances and you were forced to go on. We already know you love BROWN!!!!! There are other bent over fish in the sea.

 

[Asskicker]

Hey Inthegame...they're banging you alright. The retirement plan is generally referred to as the "Health and Welfare" package. This would include pension and insurance. Hoffa is pushing us all, ALL, of the teamsters INTERNATIONALLY, into the Central States health care plan because he made a deal and allowed UPS to pull ALL of it's money out of this already underfunded plan in exchange for the right to organize UPS Freight. Now all of the premiums that the retirees will pay will go into the "Health and Welfare plan" which in my opinion is Hoffa's sneaky ass way to fix a disaster that he created. Since when do we bargain with companies in order to organize them? I'll tell you...since Overnight was resisting being represented by the Teamsters and after the portion of the Overnight crew that went on strike for three years and failed, Hoffa ended the strike and UPS bought the company. HOW CONVENIENT. NOW, Hoffa who UPS has in it's pocket already can go to his bedfellows and make a deal to organize more members that he FAILED to organize the first time around. Oh, and did I say it was at the expense of all of the current and retired teamsters nationwide. Thanks Hoffa. And thanks to all of you who once again voted this DICK back into office.

 

[Asskicker]

Oh and all of you people that keep saying "They are still working on it"...That's their new line. I wouldn't vote yes to anything I don't see in writing with a government seal on it. They are listening to everything we are unhappy with, and coming back with bull**** about them changing or taking that out. Really? And we believe that because you say so? Looking forward to a WHOLE NEW GROUP of Stewards and Business agents when election time comes around. We need to get these spineless ****heads out of here. 407? Keep up the rah rah speech about being happy with what you have because that will be the end of the Union all together and then see what kind of contract you get. What good is a Union if they are in the company's pocket and as long as they get a payoff, then this is good enough for the members. STAND UP AND FIGHT!!! VOTE NO AND VOTE YOUR SPINELESS REPS OUT!!!!!!!!

 

[Inthegame]

However YOU refer to retirement plans is not "generally". Once again you are inaccurate. No money was pulled out of CS Pension by UPS. And all Teamsters aren't going into the CS H&W plan. A large group of UPS Teamsters will if the TA is ratified but most Teamsters are in other plans. H&W and Pensions are separate. Take a few minutes and learn before posting.
Overnite went out in 1999. I walked with them, where were you?