Aug 20, 2013
Local 89 has received reports that an agreement has been reached in the second round of negotiations for the Central Region Supplement. While we had hoped to report significant changes to the previously rejected proposal, there has been little to no movement toward addressing the concerns of the membership. Among other flawed language, there has been very little change to harmful language such as 17(I), which gives management almost endless power to terminate workers.
Further, healthcare was completely ignored. Central Region talks would have been an excellent opportunity to correct the healthcare issues inherent in the National Master Agreement. Sadly, this opportunity was squandered by an unyielding, unresponsive and out-of-touch International Union.
The membership’s rejection of the last proposal in sweeping numbers should have been a wake-up call for Ken Hall and IBT. Yet, we are again seeing very little movement beyond minor adjustments to the faulty language in the previous agreement. The members did not ask for "more of the same". They demanded the fair contract they have earned through their years of dedicated service and hard work. This blatant disregard for UPS Teamsters is completely unacceptable and contrary to mission of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Local 89 members in both the Air and Ground divisions rejected this poorly negotiated agreement by nearly 90%. In doing so, the Central went down by an indisputable majority. Had Ken Hall and the IBT taken seriously the landslide rejection of the proposal, they would have reached out to Local 89 for greater insight into the concerns of the membership and for assistance in reaching a suitable agreement. Instead, they chose the “business-as-usual” approach of no respect or regard for the thousands of members in the Central Region.
The previous agreement contained highly adverse language, prompting the Local 89 Executive Board, agents and stewards to unanimously recommended rejection of the proposal. Sadly, nothing has changed and therefore our position will remain the same. Until the members get the contract they deserve, we will continue to VOTE NO!
