UPS laying off Technical hourly employees

[brown_blood]

WOW...
In our district a brand new tech is starting at over $20/hr. I believe the mid-point for a grade 10 is somewhere around $25/hr.
A grade 11 that I know with 15yrs is making somewhere in the low $32/hr range.
I have heard the there is a wide variance around the country as far as technician pay goes.
Just one more reason... IMHO... those techs should try to unionize.
Right now UPS has the best of both worlds with the technicians.
A highly skilled and professional workforce that management can count on to always come through, work extra hours without asking for OT, take calls on weekends and late nights...
On the other hand, when it comes down to it, the get shafted and demeaned like any other hourly, in fact even much worse. All TSG are at-will employees, no union protections, no MIP, just really abused like no others at UPS.

 

[Anonymous Coward]

Its going to be the downfall of big brown I. The way they treat employees post-ipo will get out to the public. All we have going for us is our image. It will soon become shamefull to be a UPSer.

Mr. Casey's vision is gone due to corporate greed.

 

[Anonymous TSC]

I work in a TSC as a technician in an unnamed northwestern call center. I want to post this mainly for the TSC/TSG out there. I think there has been a lot of wild speculation at this point, and a pain in the ass flame war between Tieguy and Trickpony1 which have had very little to do with an issue that is important to me. (read: STFU, both y'all will still have a job.)

I'll likely be cut at the end of all of this.

what I have heard from management at this point is a portion of what NCRTSCISME has stated.

"All 8 TSC departments will be closed down this year (these are the call center technicians, all of them in the U.S...the guys you talk to when you dial 1-888-UPS-TECH)
- They will not all be closing at the same time...------ will be closed in Feb. "

Other TSC department close dates were not brought up. As to "frozen reassignments", the opposite appears to be the case. While everything seems to revolve around length of service, it is clear that management does want to do everything possible for the employees and is not pleased with the turn of events. I'd also like to say that few if any people in this department resent the local management, and that I personally don't feel we are oppressed or that we would be fired at the drop of a hat.

What is hardest for me is that our TSC is practically a model of efficiancy, and we have reliably had very high numbers comparatively, in addition to a team spirit that I haven't seen anywhere else I've worked. I think some folks are very concerned about how they will be making rent or mortgage, and I honestly would rather see myself cut that one of these folks with 10+ years in who may not be able to find a quality job soon enough. In general though, while I won't say I speak for the rest of the TSC, I think the mood is "what comes next" and not "what is being done to us."

 

[TSG_Sup]

Anonymous:
If you are in Portland, you guys are indeed awesome!
I will not be missing Ontario, sorry to say.

Hope you guys come out on top in the end!

 

[Anonymous Coward]

Its going to be the downfall of big brown I. The way they treat employees post-ipo will get out to the public. All we have going for us is our image. It will soon become shamefull to be a UPSer.

Mr. Casey's vision is gone due to corporate greed.

Soon become shamefull? It's already like that in our district. You can ask any department the same question..."Are you proud to tell people you work for UPS?" .. 98% of the time you'll get something like "No, I am ashamed due to the companys actions lately.", "No, I don't advertise it.", etc...

 

[dablues]

We heard about downsizing last Tuesday and we still haven't heard anything official yet in regards to numbers and timeframes. Rumor is tomorrow we'll get something official.
Somebody (Tieguy?) asked why we should keep 400 techs we don't need. I agree but I ask who decided we were overstaffed by 400 techs? The board that voted a possible 250% bonus, the group that decided that the late air could wait until tomorrow or the people who decided money was more important than customer service service.

 

[ncrtscisme]

DABLUES...
I work at a TSC somewhere in the NORTH CENTRAL area, we were informed today of the following (of course, this may be different than what goes for your TSC):

If your date of hire was JULY 1999 or earlier, there will be a fulltime position available for you...of course, depending on your place in seniority, it might not be very convenient but you will be offered one. If you decide to take severance, which in turn would open up a job for someone below you, you will be awarded severance PLUS an additional 4 weeks of pay for it.

If your date of hire was between AUGUST 1999 and MARCH 2000 you will be considered in the "full time at risk" group. This means that there will only be part time positions for you and that's it. The additional 4 weeks pay for severance does not apply for you.

If your date of hire was between APRIL 2000 and the present you will be considered in the "employment at risk" group. This means there will be no job for you. You can NOT move to another department, and one of the terms of the severance contract is that you will never apply to work at UPS again. Severance will be 2 weeks pay + a week for every year you worked + unused vacation days for the whole year + unused discretionary days for the whole year.

***THESE DATES ARE GIVEN UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT NOBODY IN THE "SAFE" GROUP TAKES A SEVERANCE AND LEAVES. IF SOMEONE THERE TAKES THE SEVERANCE (WITH 4 ADDITIONAL WEEKS PAY) THEN THE ORDER MOVES UP TO THE NEXT-IN-LINE TECHNICIAN BY SENIORITY...SO, IT IS POSSIBLE TO STILL GET A FULL TIME JOB IF YOU ARE IN THE "FULL TIME AT RISK" GROUP.

 

[justcurious]

I just cannot believe that management would blow the minds of all the technical workforce by talking of downsizing and not having a plan at all. Just the word last Tuesday and still nothing new about the plans. Seems as though the managers are keeping things really quiet, trying to plot against us. Do they really think that the people that get to stay are going to be loyal to the company and department? I think not....everyone will remember this forever, much like the strikers remember the scabs. And, since the downsizing will happen, does that mean there is more money in the budget so we can get a pay raise that might equal cost of living? Last years 3% did not help.
By the way I have heard that J. Bevis in corp TSG is behind these reductions. I wonder if he was ever a tech or just became to be in TSG management.

 

[dablues]

ncrtscime
Good info about TSC. Not quite as bad early rumors. Have you heard anything about TSG in your area?

 

[solorun1176]

We Need A Union. It is NOT to late. Fellow coworkers if you are serious about organizing a union. Forward your name, a contact phone number, city and state where you are located to the webmaster at www.uatups.com. UATUPS has an offical labor union organization ready and willing to support the Administrative and Technical employees' decision to unionize. Remember, "STRENGTH COMES IN NUMBERS."

 

[ncrtscisme]

Dablues...
TSG is in that same situation i explained above...we are all in the same "list": TSC, D46 and D47 TSG (external and internal), and CACH...basically, all the chicagoland area technicians...the other districts in our region are doing it seperately, Wisconsin and Indiana haven't lost anybody and I don't know about the other few districts yet.

 

[Anonymous Coward]

*** ****** is the man responsible for this. PMT was his baby and he was hell bent on making a name for himself by proving we were overstaffed. Nice Job ***. Thanks.

TSG MGT fought like hell against this crap and lost. Most local MGT knows not to stick their neck out by now but these guys tried anyway. So I give credit where due.

It looks like about 80 techs are losing their jobs this time around in the NCR, with the vast majority being the NCR TSC, NIL, Metro Chicago and CACH. Wonder who is gonna pick up the slack? I sure hope the sups still have some semblance of their minds left.

As far as pay goes we make more around the bigger cities because it costs so damn much to live here. 25 an hour looks good on paper until you see what real estate and rent costs around here.

Bottom line for me? Whoever is left better organize so you can stop the sorry ass increases, no cost of living raise, rising health costs and end the "make it up as we go along" style of management. See you guys tomorrow.

 

[TSCer]

I always felt like the MGT is the fat of this company. If ups really wants to save some dough they should lay off a bunch of them too. I heard SIL lost 3 and Wisconsin 3. None in Indiana, and what about 80 for NIL Metro and CACH?

 

[Anonymous Coward]

Since your post was censored I assume we all can find his name in PMT's PNB entry.

We all need to focus on how we are going to create a union without MGT knowing, much like the UPS logo was all behind the scenes and almost no one knew. Let's start networking and get non-UPS email addresses and non-UPS phone numbers from your fellow TSG/TSC'ers. We all need to remember that this has to be done on your time, not UPS's time! Lunch hour works great for this. A union liaison needs to be created for each district TSG/TSC and work with this new union team. As soon as the leg work is done we'll unveil it to the MGT. Remember the team work that we are famous for right? Let's all rise to the occasion again and make this count! We just can't sit hear sloshing around in each others tears here on this board.

C'mon you guys and gals! Let's make a deal with yourself here. If you accomplish at least one thing at work tomorrow let be on your lunch break by telling at least two of your TSC/TSG buddies about this thread. They will need to come here and then do their part by telling at least two of their buddies the next day. Let's get the snowball rolling!

 

[UPS_Techie]

This reply is in regards to many of the earlier posts:

No Sups or Mgrs will be affected in my area. None. Nobody has been moved. In fact, we just had a new Sup come in and replace a promotion in the last few weeks. Our District alone will be losing 30-40 Techs, not MGMT jobs. 10% of the estimated company total.

$25-$32... I've been a Tech for double digit years, a UPS employee for nearly 20 and I'm not close to that figure. Not sure where in the US or CA that rate is being paid but, I'd like to do some bumping to get there.

It's a sad shame because it's slammed into our heads about promotion within and how we all have secure jobs. Now this. It's pretty bad when you find out that these jobs are being cut on Browncafe.com before anything was relayed to us, the affected grade 10 and 11 positions. Our MGMT team is still giving almost no details. I've learned and confirmed more on this website. Thanks Browncafe!

UPS has more managment trainees and Co-ops than Techs. The Fat is in the MGMT side and it shows everyday. You see groups of 5-10 MGMT people walking out at Noon for lunch and returning at 2pm... and I mean groups.

I did take the advice and visited the Union site. I signed up to vote yes.To answer the question posted before, what would the Union do for us. Well, just as other unionized departments would walk out for the Divers, Mechs and inside employees, they would also walk for TSG/TSC. We do need a Union!

Speaking of Union action. We as TSG/TSC folks were the ones that were FORCED to deliver and process the packages during the last Strike. Just another example of the thanks we get from our Company. First we're threatened by the guys that make the money for us, now we're being eliminated by the ones that sent us out. Man were we wrong.

To Tieguy: The Union doesn't pay much money during a Strike but, they provide a better rate throughout the contract years. It would more than makeup for a two week pay loss. We're not at Ford. We're at UPS. We don't make an inferior product, we offer a superior service. Shutup.

 

[geekdude]

I am still numb after the news. Im in TSG, and have been around for quite some time. I never could have dreamed of something of this magnitude could happen. One thing I was always able to say about UPS is they take care of there people. Now I cannot say that. We are so spread out right now, I really do not know how we are going to cover the area and close logs before they expire. We now will not have the man power. And our support will suffer greatly. Internal and External. ffice:smarttags" /><ST1lace w:st="on">Lot</ST1lace> of us really do care about our customers and the people we work with. I see this creating a domino effect. More good people may leave because of the job security. Less support for everything. And dont forget about nasty viruses. This decision has put a sour taste in all of our mouths. And I know its because of <ST1lace w:st="on">lace> and PMT. Sad thing is <ST1lace w:st="on"><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

Tivoli</st1:City></ST1

Tivoli</st1:City></st1

Tivoli</st1:City></st1

Tivoli</st1:City></st1

Tivoli</st1:City></st1

Tivoli</st1:City></ST1lace> is not all that great. It has its problems also. I guess the next question is will this happen again soon? fficeffice" /><O></O>
<O</O

 

[geekdude]

tivoli is not that great. question is will this happen again soon?

 

[tieguy]

To Tieguy: The Union doesn't pay much money during a Strike but, they provide a better rate throughout the contract years. It would more than makeup for a two week pay loss. We're not at Ford. We're at UPS. We don't make an inferior product, we offer a superior service. Shutup.

No I don't think I will.

I hope no one loses their jobs. I hope everyone gets moved into other positions. But the point is that there has been a lot of misinformation posted on this subject already and a lot of speculation on what might happen.

This is a message board and I have a right to comment on what I have seen happen in my district. I have done so. I have made an effort to address specific points raised by other posters and show sensitivity to the affected people. I have not denegrated any TSG person in fact I have the utmost respect for them as a group.

The ford example I think is a great one to show that UPS tries to minimize the number of layoffs. Ford has a great product known for its quality and has been very successful financially. Yet they feel they need to eliminate 30,000 jobs. That does not help anyone affected by this job action but it is a point that we should consider in assessing UPS's actions in this case.

For those of you on here talking about eliminating managment jobs, management has always been the first to take the hit on job reductions. There have been numerous downsizings and reorganizations that have eliminated many regions, districts and divisons over the years and what probably amounts to thousands of jobs admittingly all through attrition.
If it was me I would not be wishing or encouraging this on anyone. Management has the same concerns you do on how technical issues will be covered quickly with this reorganization. Management can often be one good screw up away from the unemployment line.

The union issue is a mute point. The union would expect us to layoff in seniority order. If a driver gets laid off he/she would not be offered any severance pay. There are pros and cons to a union.

Over the years I have seen many people take a tech job to get the experience and then use that resume builder to move on to another company where they felt the work was more interesting or they had more opportunities. Hopefully all of you have kept your skills up and can also do the same if your job is cut.

Lets try to keep the dialogue focused on what is actually happening and not what we think is going to happen. There is a lot of hype out there which is understandable at this stage.

Again I sincerely hope all are offered the chance to move into other positions rather than losing their jobs outright. At this point the only changes I have seen in my district resulted in three people being moved into other jobs.

 

[dablues]

"The ford example I think is a great one to show that UPS tries to minimize the number of layoffs. Ford has a great product known for its quality and has been very successful financially. Yet they feel they need to eliminate 30,000 jobs"

Tieguy,
I believe Ford has lost a couple of billion dollars in the last few years. Now if they're laying off the right people is questionable. UPS on the other hand has repeatedly says record profits. Should fat be cut? You betcha but when you announce a move you should also announce the plan to get there. It gives the impression thought was put into the decision.

Yes there has been a lot of misinformation because the TSC/TSG techs have not been given info from the company except over a week ago we were told of downsizing But then some of this was from you. One of your earlier posts said that UPS was moving people to other jobs because of this. In fact this was normal activity not because of the downsizing. In our district they hinted there are no jobs we can go to. Fact? I hope we find out today.

 

[wily_old_vet]

I've been wqtching this dialogue from the sidelines because I have no dog in this hunt. I'm sorry that it is happening as I hate to see anyone lose their job. I do have one wuestion though. We keep hearing the number of 400 to be laid off. How many employees total are there in the classifications that are being affected by the layoffs? If the 400 is coming out of a pool of say 2000 that would be terrible. If it is coming out of a pool of 10000 that is something a little different. I realize it's not different to those actually being laid off but would change the dynamics of the conversation.