Read Article 1, section 2 of the National Master. Retirees are not included in the employees covered. Read Article 2, section 1- again Retirees are not included. Your preamble or first two articles of your Regional agreement will also not mention retirees. In the WCT, under Article 30 (2)(b),(c),and (d) it discusses how healthcare coverage will be handled for retirees prior to 1/1/14 and on or after 1/1/14. That is the only place retirees has ever been mentioned in any contract I have read. The SW Package and Sort rider also does not mention retirees except in Section 25 Health Insurance Coverage- which mirrors the WCT language.
UPS did take care of retirees for many years, but now they are not willing to shoulder the liability for either current employees or retirees. They'd rather just cut a check and let us fend for ourselves. Anything can happen in the next contract, anything but HC going back to the way it was before 2013.
I don't know how you tell current employees to forego a wage increase to shorten a progression or increase the starting wage for someone who may never be hired. The minimum wage outpaces our starting wage in many States so that is forcing them to pay more regardless. I don't see progression being reduced either unless the Company decides that a shorter path to $90-100K is better than their retarded Integrad failure.
Maybe we agree, in a nutshell the company agrees to spend $X amount of dollars. It's our choice (sorta) how it gets divided. No doubt it's difficult/impossible to tell employees to sacrifice anything. I feel it has little/nothing to do with foregoing wage increases for employees who may never exist. Let's face it. It's just; what is good for me, right now! That's how some of our past contracts past. It was beneficial for a slight majority and would get the contract passed (Ron Carey contract exempted). It's strategy, and it works. That's just the way it is.
I'm sure your correct about retirees healthcare not being (written) in the contract. Personally, I don't believe anything is "non-negotiable" at contract time. I do not believe for a second, for a minimum of 35 years that I can count, UPS decided to take care of retirees for $50 a month for the same high level of healthcare. Only to become $300 a month in 3 years for a lower version of Healthcare. UPS went from a concerned employers, to who cares overnight? Nope! Doesn't make sense.
Nothing is non negotiable at contract time. That is the way UPS and the Union decided to divide up those $X amount of dollars UPS agreed to pay at contract time. Someone was going to lose something. Active (voting) employees, or retired (non-voting) employees. Cut the active (Voting) employees short, and the Union officials could be out of a job. Cut the retirees, and who cares. They can't do anything!
