UPS “Get Out of Jail Free” Card Against Egress Violations in US Hubs Revoked by DOL-OSHA May 29, 201

[PCMartin12]

I’m a part time UPS hub employee. I was recently informed by my local Teamster Business Agent that the Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreement between UPS and OSHA dated 01/09/2009 (UPS CSA) was terminated. Here is the OSHA announcement that supersedes it:

Termination of the January 2009 Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreement between United Parcel Service (UPS) and OSHA; Enforcement of 20 CFR 1910.37(a)(3) and 29 CFR 1910.36(g)(2) | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Here also is an article published in Bloomberg that discusses the implications:

Terminated UPS OSHA Safety Settlement Extended Industry-Wide

Anyone who has worked in a UPS hub knows management tries to force maximum productivity from hub employees by overloading and overwhelming every work area with excessive incoming package flow throughout the facility to compel us to work ever faster. This creates fall-off conditions that block our means of egress. My discussions with local management, regional safety committee meetings, letters to corporate - pointing to written company policy in our UPS code of employee conduct about following all applicable safety regulations, and even union grievances were a waste of time. I was naïve to understanding the company frequently says one thing but does another.

In frustration I filed a complaint with OSHA. After a surprise visit, the OSHA field investigator witnessed the conditions and told me “I’m confident we can do something about this.” However, I was informed by the OSHA Area Director that they were effectively prevented from issuing a citation/fine by the 2009 UPS CSA.

Well, enough of us in hubs throughout the US have made enough noise and filed enough complaints that OSHA has listened: It Revoked the UPS CSA. OSHA has their mojo back and will cite and fine UPS when employees file legitimate complaints - if OSHA witnesses legitimate violations on site visits.

Great job!

I’m not encouraging anyone to file a frivolous complaint. Pursue resolutions with your supervisors and union steward first. But when all else fails, the tables are turned, OSHA is back on our side.

This is a tremendous victory for us! Spread the word

 

[Jackburton]

First thread in a long time I actually found both informative and inspiring.

Great job, and I mean that sincerely.

 

[Jötunn]

Now to wait for this to hit my area and it's 9k per day volume with three loaders for three loads. Oh, and pickoff.

 

[Boywondr]

I’m a part time UPS hub employee. I was recently informed by my local Teamster Business Agent that the Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreement between UPS and OSHA dated 01/09/2009 (UPS CSA) was terminated. Here is the OSHA announcement that supersedes it:

Termination of the January 2009 Corporate-Wide Settlement Agreement between United Parcel Service (UPS) and OSHA; Enforcement of 20 CFR 1910.37(a)(3) and 29 CFR 1910.36(g)(2) | Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Here also is an article published in Bloomberg that discusses the implications:

Terminated UPS OSHA Safety Settlement Extended Industry-Wide

Anyone who has worked in a UPS hub knows management tries to force maximum productivity from hub employees by overloading and overwhelming every work area with excessive incoming package flow throughout the facility to compel us to work ever faster. This creates fall-off conditions that block our means of egress. My discussions with local management, regional safety committee meetings, letters to corporate - pointing to written company policy in our UPS code of employee conduct about following all applicable safety regulations, and even union grievances were a waste of time. I was naïve to understanding the company frequently says one thing but does another.

In frustration I filed a complaint with OSHA. After a surprise visit, the OSHA field investigator witnessed the conditions and told me “I’m confident we can do something about this.” However, I was informed by the OSHA Area Director that they were effectively prevented from issuing a citation/fine by the 2009 UPS CSA.

Well, enough of us in hubs throughout the US have made enough noise and filed enough complaints that OSHA has listened: It Revoked the UPS CSA. OSHA has their mojo back and will cite and fine UPS when employees file legitimate complaints - if OSHA witnesses legitimate violations on site visits.

Great job!

I’m not encouraging anyone to file a frivolous complaint. Pursue resolutions with your supervisors and union steward first. But when all else fails, the tables are turned, OSHA is back on our side.

This is a tremendous victory for us! Spread the word

Let me explain to you what really happened to facilitate the revoking of the Corp. Agreement between OSHA and UPS.

In 2018 two Ohio stewards, one of which works in the Sharonville, OH hub where the original violations were reported in 2009 and the Corp Agreement was based off of, documentented and exposed the violations that were again, long after the agreement was signed, ongoing and repetitive. One location's osha agent forwarded info to the Cincinnati OSHA office exposing the blown out walkways and other major violations and it started a new investigation that finally ended up revoking the Corp Agreement as you have read above.

There have been times when situations like the OP's are exposed the promise of egress training came up dry (in the yearly compliance training info that the employees were to receive as part of the old agreement) and the agent we talked to explained this.
Fyi, there is also an ongoing fight over the portable docks the company has purchased to "extend the buildings" because of the lack of egress inside (there's also no egress lighting) and also because there is not 36" of egress in front of the interior breaker box as required by the NEC. Fines have already been levied for this and, as I said, are being fought out in Washington DC.

Finally, after the $200,000+ fine was issued, the steward in Sharonville then became the target of a retaliation witch hunt and was put out of work for several months. He paid the price for everyone to have a safer workplace. There aren't many men like him in the world much less in a workplace where his local never even tipped him off that they were being called to the office as his "representation" the morning the labor mgr posed a hypothetical question to him and then terminated his job because he told him the company had no right to force him to go on break, especially in 29° weather and in a crime ridden area.

For those of us who know who this is also know that he is running for president of his local now.

Godspeed to him and thank you for your selfless work for so many years. You are a true Teamster and leader in a world of Teamsters in name but not in action.

 

[PCMartin12]

Thanks for filling in some blanks with details. Anyone who files an OSHA complaint "gets a target on their back" as a supervisor informed me at the time (2016). In my case, my local supervisors and management team did everything in their power to ride me out the door, including aggressive "in your face" almost daily over-supervision and confrontations, even attempts to provoke me into physical fights. It lasted every day for about a month. One needs to recognize the tactic and keep their wits and cool; easier said than done. I would laugh at them and not give them ammunition for false accusations of "Gross Insubordination", which they see as their trump card.

Eventually they gave up and realized I wasn't going to take the bait or quit. Now 3 years later, I'm still there and remain one of the more productive sorters in the preload sort aisle. We came to a point of mutual respect in managing belt shutdowns during primary belt overload conditions. Our first hour production consistently rates higher than it ever has. Everyone wins.

I now enjoy a very friendly working relationship with the very people who did their best to get rid of me

But it was easier for me to take on this fight in our hub because I'm a part-timer; my UPS job supplements my "real" job. In a worst case scenario I could walk away or be fired and financially be A-OK with it. Many UPS hub employees are more dependent on their jobs.

Which is why I recommend OSHA as a last resort after trying to work with supervisors and stewards.

The trump card as I see it, is having the knowledge that OSHA's handcuffs have been removed; and letting your supervisors and managers know that YOU KNOW the CSA has been revoked. Successive, repetitive OSHA fines escalate in price, and that's company-wide, not by location. UPS ultimately doesn't want the fines and publicity that come with them. What they want is productivity and profit.

With their "Get Out of Jail Free" OSHA card revoked, the "Stick" part of the "Carrot-Stick" motivation tactic is back.

And as we know, with them it's difficult to hit them hard enough with a carrot to make a difference!

 

[Boywondr]

Thanks for filling in some blanks with details. Anyone who files an OSHA complaint "gets a target on their back" as a supervisor informed me at the time (2016). In my case, my local supervisors and management team did everything in their power to ride me out the door, including aggressive "in your face" almost daily over-supervision and confrontations, even attempts to provoke me into physical fights. It lasted every day for about a month. One needs to recognize the tactic and keep their wits and cool; easier said than done. I would laugh at them and not give them ammunition for false accusations of "Gross Insubordination", which they see as their trump card.

Eventually they gave up and realized I wasn't going to take the bait or quit. Now 3 years later, I'm still there and remain one of the more productive sorters in the preload sort aisle. We came to a point of mutual respect in managing belt shutdowns during primary belt overload conditions. Our first hour production consistently rates higher than it ever has. Everyone wins.

I now enjoy a very friendly working relationship with the very people who did their best to get rid of me

But it was easier for me to take on this fight in our hub because I'm a part-timer; my UPS job supplements my "real" job. In a worst case scenario I could walk away or be fired and financially be A-OK with it. Many UPS hub employees are more dependent on their jobs.

Which is why I recommend OSHA as a last resort after trying to work with supervisors and stewards.

The trump card as I see it, is having the knowledge that OSHA's handcuffs have been removed; and letting your supervisors and managers know that YOU KNOW the CSA has been revoked. Successive, repetitive OSHA fines escalate in price, and that's company-wide, not by location. UPS ultimately doesn't want the fines and publicity that come with them. What they want is productivity and profit.

With their "Get Out of Jail Free" OSHA card revoked, the "Stick" part of the "Carrot-Stick" motivation tactic is back.

And as we know, with them it's difficult to hit them hard enough with a carrot to make a difference!

Thank you for your info and your hard work. Thank you for having the spine to look down the company when it comes to the possibility of losing your job when the pressure starts and I encourage anyone to get whistle blower protection thru OSHA if and when that happens. Record, document, video, and shoot pics.

Never forget...

Safety is #1.

 

[Bubblehead]

I think I heard something about this???