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Message: <blockquote data-quote="outthedoor" data-source="post: 254376" data-attributes="member: 11877">The New Deal Brass Tacks and Coffee         We had a meeting Sunday the 14th to go over the new contract proposal. It was brass tacks and coffee. With several hundred UPSers in attendance, Local 455 Business Agents (who are on the Teamsters Negotiating team) went over the new contract page by page. Here are the highlights (and a couple of lowlights).         First off, it's a 5 year agreement.         In Art. 1, supervisor working grievances will be paid at the double time rate, not time and a half as they are now. In Art. 6, no driver will be fired on the first offense if the information the discharge is based on was gathered solely from the GPS system. UPS will have GPS soon enough in our package cars as well as our DIADs, and while you can't get fired right off for what the GPS system reveals about you, it will tell the company where to look if you are screwing around out there, so watch out. In Art 10, language has been added that says the company must give you a list of all DR areas and non-DR areas on your route if you request that information.         Art 10 has also been amended to include a stipulation that the DIAD will be configured to prompt the driver when a COD requires certified funds. And if a driver is held responsible for a bad check and sues the consignee, the company will provide the necessary documentation to aid in the driver's lawsuit. I like the idea of the DIAD prompting you on a cash only COD. That's long overdue.         In Art. 14, Temporary Alternate Work assignments will be scheduled to begin not more than 2 hours before or 2 hours after your regularly scheduled shift. We have had a real bad problem here with TAW because it often meant working the midnight shift while you tried to get healed up from an injury. Many of us felt we could survive the injury or working the midnight, but we couldn't survive both at the same time.         Vacations checks will be made available for viewing on the Monday before you go on vacation, although they won't be paid until the Friday before vacation. That's new in Art. 17.         We've all heard about the raises, $4 over 5 years, but did you hear that they will be paid in two installments. You will get have your raise on Aug. 1 and the other half on Feb.1. If half the raise comes out to a fraction of a cent like 37 1/2 cents, the company has indicated they will pay the half cent, not round up.         Art. 34, the pension. UPS will set up a jointly trusted and administered single employer pension fund for all full timers in Central States and will withdraw from the Central States fund. The good parts of this are that they will restore the benefits to what we used to have such as 25-and-out and 30-and-out at any age. The magic age will still be 57 for full benefits. So, if you have less than 30 years and are less than 57 years of age, the pension will pay $500 a month less, just like it always did.         But...when you retire, your check will come from UPS until you reach the age of 65. This way you will not be subject to the very restrictive re-employment rules of the Central States fund. You will be able to work anywhere (except UPS) and as many hours as you want. Then after 65 years of age, your checks will come from Central States for the portion of your retirement that you earned before 2008. If Central States has reduced pension benefit amounts because of financial problems, UPS will guarantee your full pension amount for the rest of your life. However, for UPS employees already retired and receiving a Central States pension, if CS has to reduce monthly pension payments, then UPS will not pay up their pensions. They will go with whatever Central States offers. Health insurance for retirees will cost $200 a month per person, be made available at age 55 instead of 57, and that cost will be guaranteed for the life of the contract.         Health insurance will not be made available to part timers hiring in until after 1 year and their dependants will have to wait 18 months.         The 9.5 language in Art. 37 will not apply to us here in Denver because we have better language in the Supplement and the National language in this case will not supercede our supplement.         The starting wage as stated in Art. 41 for drivers in Denver will be $16.10 and progression to top scale will take 36 months instead of 30. The startng wage for part timers will remain $8.50.         In a memorandum of understanding, the company agrees to not solicit any other pension plans around the country to join the new UPS/Teamster pension that will be established.         The biggest change in the Central States Supplement is the breaking up of the option week into single days or a 2day-3day group. We will begin late next year to select our vacations in November for 2009, at which time you will select which way you want to take your option week. To cover these single-vacation-days, the company will use part timers. Most of the other changes in the Supplement were made to clean up and clarify some of the language.         All in all, this sounds on first reading like a good deal for current UPS employees, especially those nearing retirement. The raises are not as big as we have enjoyed in the past, but we are in danger of out distancing our competition in wages and that can come back to bite us in the behind and should be avoided. I would rather avoid it by organizing FedEx and getting them money similar to ours, but that's another story. I don't find too much here that is distasteful, the part time wages are disappointing, I wish the retiree insurance was less expensive, I wish the wage progression was faster. But I'm nearing retirement and I feel a lot more secure with the pension language in this proposal then I did with the changes Central States made in 2004. The re-employment rules change is huge to anyone thinking of retirement.         Continue to gather all the information you can on the proposals, talk to your Union, your fellow drivers, your stewards and your management team. I hope that everyone votes this time around, this is probably the most important contract I have ever seen at UPS and I've seen quite a few over the last 29 years. Ballots will be coming out soon, I think the IBT wants to have them returned and counted by Thanksgiving. </blockquote>

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