Hello all , I'm no different than any of you guys other than I got big cojones (just a personal observation of my 43 year old self ) . Proud to be a 25 year full time Teamster (shifter) and a 24 year Steward at Local 480 (White's Creek) . My brothers and I walked the line in 97 , beat on scabs trailers , blocked supervisors from driving into our hub , tossed nails into the entrance to flatten tires , slingshot wheel bearings at the bright flood lights the company positioned into place to watch us picketing , drank plenty of adult beverages , grilled out and ate well in our makeshift camps etc. etc. . I could only imagine the fun we would have this go around , "IF" we are ordered to strike . Of course I already gave a big "YES" vote to the recently mailed out strike authorization, without that we don't give our representatives any leverage at all , it's like showing up to a gunfight , with no bullets or gun and blindfolded . Personally I do not wish for a strike , unfortunately the company we work for , with all their unreasonable numbers they put on us from unloading packages, Orion, idle times , backing , air , etc etc are incredibly unrealistic forced on us by nerds in cubicles at corporate in Atlanta who have never performed any of these jobs physically (Tetris on your kids IPAD does not count as loading a trailer IMHO.) Striking atleast once in a career UPSer should be a necessary requirement , for the simple fact of showing what actual "UNITY" can achieve ,and yes I do agree the 97 strike did not achieve much , but it did show the company and us Teamsters as well that the consequences can be devastating (losing customers ,revenue,trust etc etc) . But now is the time to get the most bang for our buck ,meaning the company has invested BILLION$$$$ into our infrastructure with planes , tractors , package cars and let's not forget all the new Hubs and expansions to existing hubs like my own hell hole (White's Creek Nashville Tennessee). We have their backs to the wall . With a nationwide shortage of CDL licensed drivers , the company's rigorous package car numbers/expectations ,not to mention the "failure to launch MELINNIUAL Generation kids , the company will be hurting for reliable licensed folks to run our loads/routes which are already hard,unreasonable ,unrealistic to begin with . Also but lets not forget the more important aspect of with President Trumps tax cuts to big business , other company's AT&T , Boeing ,Wal Mart (long list , Google it ) most of those company's gave out bonuses to their employees and made the public they were doing so and pointing out Trumps tax cuts was the sole reason why , meanwhile U.P.S is projected to gain/net a "6" "SIX" BILLION DOLLAR profit this year and has not done shyt for us ,but will regularly say that they cannot give out those perks all the other company's are doing simply because our "contract/UNION "prevents them from doing so , (WHICH IS TOTALLY FALSE ,just factually speaking , without any stipulations our Locals would never ,ever turn down any "bonuses,jobs (preferably full time) or anything that would be rewarding , WTH, we can't even get turkeys or shotguns anymore (yes shotguns,they were gifted back in the day ,some of y'all will dispute this but they did let employees pick those out as retirement or some sort of milestone type of reward, but oh well ). So yes , let's kick their ass , we should cease the moment , DON'T BE SKEERED !!! . My personal advice is have atleast a minimum of "3" weeks pay put back in savings , do not schedule any medical procedures or appointments during the first 2 weeks of August 2018 (my wife has postponed a major cancer preventative surgery ,in which she currently does not have cancer ,but did test positive for tge gene , but its nit immanent and we can put it on hold , sorry TMI,just didnt want folks to get the wrong idea . But an infection or setback during a strike with no insurance could be financially catastrophic (keep in mind not all regions insurances are the same , some regions might cover their members during a strike , others might not , call your Local Business agent and check) . Basically just have your bases covered . Sorry so long , rant over. One love , Unity , Be strong ,be proud ,be a Teamster !!!!!
