UPS workers reject health-care concessions

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5) Reduce the workweek to 30 hours with no cut in pay, and cut the retirement age to 55. Provide unemployment and retirement payments at We propose an EMERGENCY CONGRESS OF LABOR to discuss and 6) To combat inflation: A sliding scale of wages and pensions that match­ 1) Bail out the people, not the bankers! Open the account books of the es the rises in comsumer prices. To combat high medical costs: A free, banks to full public inspection. Nationalize the banks to be supervised by 7) Immediate citizenship for all undocumented workers. No job discrimi­ 2) No foreclosures! No forced evictions! Cancel usurious debt payments, nation; equal pay for equal work — regardless of gender, sexual orienta­ and reduce mortgage payments in proportion to their capitalist-caused 8) Nationalize manufacturing, big agribusiness, energy, and transporta­ 3) Full employment at union wages! An emergency public works program tion corporations and place them under the control of elected committees to employ all jobless workers and youth! Employ people to build what we need — low-cost quality housing, efficient mass transportation, cheap and 9) To mobilize support for the demands it adopts, the EMERGENCY renewable sources of power, schools, clinics — and to conserve our water, CONGRESS should organize ACTION COMMITTEES in every workplace and neighborhood threatened by the crisis. These committees can draw up 4) Immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops and mercenaries from Iraq & Afghanistan! No war on Iran! Close all U.S. bases abroad! No money for 10) To put all these measures into effect, we need a LABOR PARTY — the military — use funds instead for public works! Convert the war indus­ based on a fighting union movement and all people who are oppressed tries to making products for people’s needs and to combat global warming.

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The grassroots rank-and-file Vote No movement against the proposed UPS contract won a major victory when the contract was rejected in several regions of the U.S. The tenta­ tive agreement, which covers 235,000 Teamsters nationally, passed by a nar­ row margin, 53 to 47 percent. How­ ever, the Teamster (IBT) constitution requires all supplemental agreements to be approved for a national contract in order to go into effect. An unprec­ edented 18 regional and local supple­ ments were rejected, including the largest supplement covering the Cen­ tral Region.

While members voted “no” for sev­ eral reasons, including the contract’s failure to deal with harassment, forced overtime for drivers, and low wages for part-time workers, the most important one by far was health-care conces­ sions. Despite promises that he would hold the line on health care, lead Teamster negotiator Ken Hall ultimately agreed to concessions that would affect 140,000 members covered by a company-run health plan. Under the agreement, those members would be moved to a union-administered plan with reduced benefit levels.

The contract was rejected in regions affected by the health-care changes—mainly the Central and Western regions. The contract passed nationally because of wide “yes” margins in the Southern region and most of the East Coast, where members were unaffected by the proposed health-care concessions.

After the proposed contract was released, rank-andEditor: Michael Schreiber Canada Editor: Barry Weisleder designed, and laid out entirely by volunteer labor.

­— $37 for two years Name Address City State Phone E-mail file activists immediately began organizing for a “no” vote. Members leafleted outside of hubs across the country. A Vote No Facebook page has attracted over 3000 members. Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a nationwide reform caucus, helped coordinate “vote no” campaigning and was critical to publishing infor­ mation and analysis of the proposed agreement.

Local 89 in Louisville, Ky., which represents 10,000 UPS members, called for a “no” vote on the national contract. Local 89 officers campaigned for a “no” vote and the local’s steward council endorsed the same po­ sition. When the local was unable to come to agree­ ment on its local supplement with the company, the IBT sent out UPS’s final offer for a vote with a special enticement: a $1000 bonus just for Local 89 members. Despite the attempt to bribe the local’s combative Zip • Ashland, Ore.: [email protected] • Boston: [email protected] (781) 630-0250 • Carrboro, N.C.: (919) 967-2866, [email protected] • Chicago: P.O. Box 578428 Chicago, IL 60657, [email protected] • Connecticut: (860) 478-5300 • Duluth, Minn.: [email protected]. www.thenorthernworker.blogspot.com • Kansas City: [email protected] (816) 221-3638 • LOUISVILLE, KY.: [email protected], (502) 451-2193 • Madison, Wis.:

[email protected] • Mankato, Minn.:

[email protected] • Minneapolis/St. Paul: (612) 802-1482, [email protected] • New York City: (212) 781-5157 rank and file, however, Local 89 members rejected the contract and their supplement by an 8 to 1 margin.

The IBT was forced, after the re­ sounding rejection of the negotiated health-care concessions, to admit that their health-care givebacks were the most important reason why the con­ tract failed to pass. The “no” votes have forced Ken Hall and Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa back to the table to negoti­ ate a better deal.

UPS is now feeling the heat of the rank and file, who have upset the company’s efforts, along with its willing partners in the IBT, to appease its major custom­ ers who wanted an early deal to ease strike fears. The company, in a press re­ lease, tried to head off speculation of a strike by saying they expected to reach agreement with the IBT soon on a renegotiated contract.

Teamster negotiators need to be re­ minded that it is the company that is on the defensive. Rank-and-file work­ ers intend to do just that. Demands include first and foremost a health-care plan that maintains current standards. Additionally, many members are calling for more full-time jobs, better contract language, and higher part-time wages. These are demands that a company that made $4.5 billion in profits last year can easily afford.

No Vote activists fully intend to keep the pressure on the IBT to negotiate the best contract possible. As TDU put it, “We’ll keep voting No until UPS gets it right.”

Teamsters at UPS stand to get a better deal than ini­ tially negotiated only because the rank and file stood up and voted no. How much better of a deal depends on how much pressure the ranks continue to put on the leadership. n • Philadelphia: [email protected] • Portland, Ore.: (503) 233-1629 [email protected] • Providence: [email protected] (401) 592-5385 • Salem, Ore.: [email protected] • San Francisco Bay Area:

P.O. Box 10328, Oakland, Ca 94610 (510) 268-9429, [email protected] • WASHINGTON, DC: [email protected], (202) 286-5493 National Office

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