AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JOHN T. NICCOLLAI AUGUST 10, 2023

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT JOHN T. NICCOLLAI

AUGUST 10, 2023

New UPS Drivers’ Contract – Let’s Do a Deeper Dive

This week the news media reported information citing astronomical amounts in value under the new UPS contract for Drivers. Much was said in the articles, but the real problem is that much more went unsaid. This posting is being done for those members who have an inquiring mind. 

We as a Local Union praise and salute all in the labor movement who make advances in their negotiations. Obviously, we are all brothers and sisters and we applaud everyone’s successes. We are true believers that the labor movement is in fact the most important entity  for saving and growing the Middle Class. 

Let’s now talk about some of the most important issues that the news media failed to call to our attention. First and foremost is the fact that the job of driving and delivering from a UPS truck requires the body of an Olympic Athlete and it will be destroyed in a relatively short period of time. If you don’t believe me try running up and down and jumping from the steps of your back porch a hundred times on one of your days off. It’s interesting to note that the average employment life of a UPS Driver is 3.9 years*¹. That is hardly a career. 

We also need to look at Salaries, Pension, and Healthcare and would question whether more information was left out of the articles than included in the articles. 

According to statistics the average salary of a UPS employee varies between $41,000.00 – $55,000.00 annually*². Without question those salaries will increase under the new contract but we are hard pressed to understand how the news media reached its top projections. 

One area that was left very vague relates to the details of the Pension plan for UPS Drivers. As we know our Pension plan has five (5) year vesting and is a Defined Benefit Plan, which requires stringent guaranteed Employer actions to assure payment. The UPS plan has ten (10) year vesting which in part renders it ineffective when the average employment of a worker is only 3.9 years*³. All new employees hired in 2023 and after will no longer be enrolled in a Defined Benefit Pension plan. If enrolled, they will receive participation in a 401k plan and we all know what you can do with that. 

Let’s move on to the area of Healthcare. As we know under our plan coverage starts after three (3) months for full-time employees and six (6) months for part-time employees. Our plan has zero dollars co-pay by participants and covers our full-time and part-time members’ Doctor Visits, Hospitalization, Prescription Drugs, Dental, Optical, and Prepaid Legal. Under the UPS Drivers’ plan Healthcare is not available until you have completed one (1) year of service. It is also interesting to note that because of certain prohibitions in their plan only twenty percent (20%) of full-time Spouses are eligible and are receiving Healthcare coverage*⁴. 

In closing we again salute our Teamster brothers and sisters in achieving their contract successes. In the alternative we are still disappointed with the manner in which the contract was reported out by the news media. The lack of complete information paints a picture which conjurors up hostility between Labor and Management, Union and Non-Union workers, and Union workers towards their Union. We must always remember the complete facts serve us best. 

*¹Glassdoor.com 

*²Zippia.com 

*³Glassdoor.com

*⁴KFFHealthNews.org