It's heating up. In August Local 623 will be out in force to beat back new cameras and security protocols.
Submit A Rally Slogan:
We want you to get involved. Submit a slogan for Teamsters Local 623 to rally behind! Union leadership will review all slogans submitted and pick a winner. The winning slogan will be printed on our picket signs and banners for August 1st.
Submit your slogans by emailing yours with your full name and phone number to [email protected].
Learn the Issues:
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The 22.4 Scam:
In 2018 UPS won a major concession. The Company fought to make new combination driver jobs permanent. These jobs, called “22.4 Drivers”, do the SAME WORK as package drivers at LOWER PAY, plus these drivers must work weekends, and NO 9.5 PROTECTIONS from excessive overtime. 22.4 Teamsters are trapped.
Because the deal allows these drivers to be paid at a lower rate, the Company has a cheaper alternative to hiring more regular package drivers. As a result, Management has shifted more volume to Saturdays and forced more drivers in. Overloading the weekends with packages while sending regular package car drivers home on weekdays isn’t a mistake, its part of the Company’s plan to make weekend work mandatory and expand the use of 22.4s.
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Subcontractors Suck:
Subcontracting is rampant in UPS. Feeder departments all over the country have reported subcontractor loads coming into and out of UPS facilities. These NON-UNION subcontractors suck work from Teamster drivers. Worse, they introduce lower safety standards and put downward pressure on wages. Subcontracting scabs is the Company’s weapon of choice for avoiding their contractual responsibilities. If we don’t fix the subcontracting language in our contract it won’t be long until package driving and even some warehouse work is also subcontracted to the lowest bidder. -
The Low Wage Trap:
Part-timers at UPS make well below a family sustaining living wage. In fact, wages are so low for these workers that the Company has had trouble keeping the building staffed. That’s why during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic UPS was forced to introduce massive wage increases across the board.
With so-called Market Rate Adjustments (MRAs) UPS bumped entry level wages up almost 40% in some instances just to be able to staff the building. Not only did these wage increases work to keep workers on the job and build up the workforce, UPS made BILLIONS IN RECORD PROFITS while MRA wages were in effect. But huge profits didn’t stop them from slashing wages back down to contract minimums the moment the package volume let up.
We have a chance to fix these issues in 2023, but only if our membership is ENGAGED, INFORMED, and EDUCATED. We need everyone to get involved.