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<blockquote data-quote="brownIEman" data-source="post: 3074797" data-attributes="member: 14596">Why?&nbsp; That is a very astute question and the crux of the whole matter.&nbsp; The company was and still is making good profits.Why would they ask the workforce to accept concessions compared to prior contracts?&nbsp; The answer is the same as the answergiven when UPS announced that it would be closing the district CSTC&#039;s and eliminating those jobs.&nbsp; I sat through several of the meetings they held with those employees.&nbsp; (BTW, they announced those closings a full year before they actually shut them down,pushing hard to find those employees other positions and back filling with temps as they did so).&nbsp; This was in &#039;95 or &#039;96 I believe.The reason was that competition was taking market share from UPS.&nbsp; And they were doing so mostly on price.&nbsp; UPS had become the high cost provider.&nbsp; And UPS&#039;s biggest cost is, rightly, the union payroll.&nbsp; The leaders were not looking 3 years toward the end of the next contract, they were trying to look decades down the road.&nbsp; They knew that if they could not get UPS cost growth under control they would be in trouble, despite what that years revenue were.&nbsp; The union only looked at the profits UPS was making atthat moment.&nbsp; Their view is understandably much shorter in reach.&nbsp; UPS management were trying to get back to a place where they could competeon price.&nbsp; They failed.&nbsp; UPS is now running a business model that allows them to be profitable, but not competitive.&nbsp; Thanks to the growth of ecomerce it has been sustainable for a much longer time than I think Kelley ever envisioned it could but it is not sustainableindefinitely.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="brownIEman, post: 3074797, member: 14596"] Why? That is a very astute question and the crux of the whole matter. The company was and still is making good profits. Why would they ask the workforce to accept concessions compared to prior contracts? The answer is the same as the answer given when UPS announced that it would be closing the district CSTC's and eliminating those jobs. I sat through several of the meetings they held with those employees. (BTW, they announced those closings a full year before they actually shut them down, pushing hard to find those employees other positions and back filling with temps as they did so). This was in '95 or '96 I believe. The reason was that competition was taking market share from UPS. And they were doing so mostly on price. UPS had become the high cost provider. And UPS's biggest cost is, rightly, the union payroll. The leaders were not looking 3 years toward the end of the next contract, they were trying to look decades down the road. They knew that if they could not get UPS cost growth under control they would be in trouble, despite what that years revenue were. The union only looked at the profits UPS was making at that moment. Their view is understandably much shorter in reach. UPS management were trying to get back to a place where they could compete on price. They failed. UPS is now running a business model that allows them to be profitable, but not competitive. Thanks to the growth of ecomerce it has been sustainable for a much longer time than I think Kelley ever envisioned it could but it is not sustainable indefinitely. [/QUOTE]

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