Well it’s no surprise, but here comes the war. With the falling volume, cars are being split out, areas are being expanded, and of course up go the hours. I heard the statement for the first time, “you should consider yourself lucky to be working in this economy!” The center manager blew a gasket when the driver complained about hours. He threatened the driver with having to sit with the division manager and explain himself if he filed a nine five grievance. Of course there were five more drivers complaining after this one, and of course the grievances will be filed because everyone is being dispatched with 10 to 11 hour days. The sh-t will really hit the fan when they in turn lay off the low senior drivers, and stop giving any days off. The interesting part will be to see how the Union reacts. Where they’ve been able to make the company pay double time in the past, the current economic times will allow the company to whine much louder, and I suspicion the over dispatching will go on without relief. Time will tell.
I forgot to include that 8 hour requests are also going to be under attack. They want to go back to the old days where you worked all day and half the night and liked it. Now your seeing the push by Bush to create dog like slave labor in this country. UPS is definetly on that page. We’ll find out if the Union is.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
Using Our Tax Money Against Us
Don’t Believe It? Hear it here!
Think we’re not in for a fight over the Employee Free Choice Act? Here’s a sound bite of Corporate CEO’s planning to use bailout monies against the battle to win the EFCA. Note that several of these institutions have taken bailout money. Also note that one of these CEO’s is your favorite and mine Home Depot. Be prepared. They are using our money to fight us. They have billions, we have nickel’s. Shop at Lowe’s! Also note that Home Depot had a major layoff this week. They’re using your money against you, to steal your rights, and steal your freedoms.
Thank you to Sam Stein of the Huffington Post for putting this information out there.
Have You Figured it Out?
Well by now many of you are starting to figure it out. You have been Frank Lorenzo’ed. Remember way back when Frank Lorenzo would buy up Airlines then sell off all of their assets, gut their infrastructure, steal all of the pension money’s then toss the trash out on the street for some one else to clean up. Remember Eastern Airlines and Continental Airlines? That’s what is happening to America. The right wing has been taking you all for fools, and now their taking you for everything you have. Many of you have rolled over with your butt in the air saying give me more Rush. How long have we harped on these pages about those people. Well it’s coming home. They are stealing every ounce of your net worth, all the while saying it’s your imagination, that it’s really Obama’s fault. Many of you continue to believe it. Many German’s believed Hitler much the same way, and we know how that went. Look at that outcome. How bad do you think the economy is going to get? Multiply it by two and you might be close. The goal from the beginning is to gut the country and it’s people of their assets and give them to the super wealthy. These people like to steal from you then convince you they are Christians to boot. Man what a crock. If you think your freedoms as an individual are not far behind you’re bending over with your ass in the air. I still marvel at how foolish many of you can be. All this is happening without a kiss. It’s happening to you. We will never have our parents retirement.
Yahoo Frank Lorenzo for more information or go to Grounded: Frank Lorenzo and the Destruction of Eastern Airlines
When Can You Retire?
Have you been wondering when you are going to be able to retire? Does what’s happening with your pension scare the heck out of you? Well here is a little video that explains what is happening with your pension and why. And I mean your UPS pension, not somebody else’s pension. Your pension is not secure. This video shows you why. I hope this video makes you mad. I hope it makes you get off your ass and do something. Call your Congressman, write your Senator, pay off your house. I don’t care what you do, just for God’s sakes, do something. Become an online activist. The middle class is going down the toilet and you’re going with it.
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I feel good….I knew that I would
I feel good that the Employee Free Choice Act is going to come up this year for a vote in the US Senate. If you aren’t sure why America needs the Free Choice Act, read this great article. The Free Choice Act, which is often referred to as Card Check, will level the playing field for union organizing.
I am so sick and tired of union bashers going around and boasting that union ranks are shrinking because unions are dinosaurs who have out lived their usefullness. American workers and the middle class today need unions more than at any time in the last 50 years. Our jobs are disappearing, corporations treat us like waste and the American Dream is all but out of reach for most Americans.
We had it pretty good after the unions came to power in the 1930s and 1940s. Workers were a valued commodity and they shared in the bounty of their hard work. But we took too much for granted and slowly but surely, the corporations stole our wealth and our pride away from us. Now the game is one-sided.
Current labor laws have made it hard if not impossible to recruit new members. By allowing companies to harass and threaten interested workers during organizing campaigns, union membership has declined. And as union ranks began to shrink, so did the money. And since money is power, the balance of power shifted from the organized labor to the corporations. Many politicians claimed that the balance would work itself out. But we know what the result is when corporations call all the shots.
| Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama’s economists say unemployment could top 10 percent before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners is at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value. The Denver Post |
The time has come to rise up again. The Employee Free Choice Act will level the playing field when it comes to organizing. Unions will grow because American workers want to restore the power their fathers and forefathers knew. They want to share in the fruits of their labor. They want another shot at the American Dream.
I feel good because I know that unions will grow with Card Check. I’m tired of hearing people talk bad about unions because I believe that collective bargaining is the only way to wrestle good pay and benefits away from greedy corporations.
America needs to get back on its feet and I believe it will with the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. I believe the middle class will rise again. That makes me feel good…. I knew that it would.
Here are a couple of good links. The first two explain why the country will benefit from the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Read through these websites so you can be articulate on the benefits of card check. The great debate is coming.
Employee Free Choice Act
American Rights at Work
This other website is anti-union. It’s like the guy in the chainsaw massacre movie telling you how great his chain saw is. Of course he just used it to slash your job, cut up your health care, destroy your pension…but it’s a damn good chainsaw.
Heritage Foundation
Supporting YOUR Union
For thirty some years I have been involved with the Teamsters Union. I’ve watched the internal political fights, and actually have attempted to make some changes from within. It is very daunting, and scary to the average rank and file guy. You can feel very out of control when dealing with the 
Union. Even on a local level they can seem very aloof and detached. (Many times they are). In some ways they are absorbed with their own self interest much the way the corporatist’s are. The difference is when you (the rank and file member) slap them, they will at least look your way. Every one of you needs to become involved. The union was created to serve the membership, not be a gravy train for the self serving officer. You can help yourself by reading the information put out by the union both in print and on-line. Get information through the Teamsters On-line. Get opposing viewpoints. There are many, the biggest being TDU. It is the membership that ultimately drives this train. It is your apathy that derails it. Don’t depend on some other guy to direct the path of the Union. It may not go the way you want it to. It is the fear of you, (the rank and file), that forces our Union in the direction it needs to go. You pay for it. It is your Right. Let them know.
You can link to many of the informational sites from Denver Brown. Be sure to return here for more information, or better yet subscribe so that you get e-mail reports of updates.
The Attack of the Corporatists
As normal rank and file Union people we have done a wonderful thing (we think). We have risen to the occasion and elected a person we believe will look after our interests, take care of our family needs, help us for the future. We should be proud! The future is bright! Maybe! The ball is in our court now. Obama is beginning to make choices and push agendas that will affect us. All that’s coming out of the right wing sound machine is a hope for failure. Obama is under constant attack by the Limbagh’s and the Hanady’s hoping for his failure to implement the programs that will save you and I financially. John Boehner, (Randi Rhodes calls him Boner), continues to preach the tax cuts for the rich as the way out of our financial mess. Isn’t that part of the reason we’re in it. We vote them out, yet they continue to open their mouths as if they have some kind of mandate to be jack-asses. They continue to scream that the country is being taken over, (by you and me, the middle class, aren’t we Americans also, not in their eyes). They continue to scream that Obama is not an American, ( The Ron Paul conspiracy theorists are hard at work trying to spin some concoction that Obama is a Kenyan, not an American) to get you to believe there is some kind of foreign takeover happening. Meanwhile they are taking our middle class jobs to China, and stealing our government treasury, and enriching the Saudi’s, all the while lying to us that it will 
all somehow be to our benefit. They lie to us about what should be our Christian values. They lie to us about what should be our morality. They lie to us about how our guns are going to be stolen, and ammo will be priced and taxed out of the market. Many of you continue to fall for this crap. They are stealing your homes, and health, right out from under you while you sit there and nod in agreement with them going “yup, this Obama guy is going to screw up our country”. Let’s get this straight! The right wing has screwed the real Americans. The middle class is systematically being destroyed. Many of you are bending over and begging for them to give it to you up the ass. They are doing just that, still! Turn away from the propagandist’s. Turn away from the job selling, family killing corporatist’s. They do not have your interests at heart.
Telematics What is it? What it means to you!
Many of you have heard of the possibility of the company wiring your package cars. The plan is to put sensors on your seat belts, your bulkhead doors, your e-brake, and your reverse gear. It’s happening now. Our shop has piles of the wiring harnesses to do all of the trucks, (except for some of the old stuff), in our building. I’m sure every shop across the country is gearing up for this major install. I’m sure the extended centers will end up with it soon as well. If your cars suddenly disappear for awhile you can figure you’ve got it. So what does it do? It’s simple. When you put your car in gear it senses if you have your seat belt on, and whether your bulkhead door is closed or not. Additionally it will tell if you put the car in reverse first and for how long. The other sensor on the e-brake will tell if you applied the e-brake when you turned the key off. The nuances of the system are yet to be 
discovered. When you return to the building at night it supposedly downloads all of the information, including the time you first hit the building. Again if you go to the air dock, or unload internationals, that may affect the real time, but they will know when you got there. HELLO BIG-BROWN BROTHER. “WE ARE WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE. PRETTY SOON WE’RE GOING TO PUT A SENSOR UP YOUR ASS SO WE KNOW IF YOUR REALLY TAKING ONE, OR TALKING TO THAT PRETTY GIRL AT THE COUNTER!!” How’s that for paranoia. Really for those of you that do your job as trained, (we have harped at you about that on these pages), it won’t change anything. Who it will affect are the balls to the wall, kiss ass that throws everything like it was a newspaper route. Those guys have big trouble ahead. I say Right On. All it will do is make a lot more good Union Members. What does it mean to you discipline-wise? You can be fired for not wearing your seatbelt. Get that straight today. That will be the major issue to come out of telematics. You can be disciplined for not closing your bulkhead door. You better get in the habit or you are going to have big trouble ahead, “up to and including discharge”. Close it every time without fail. They will know if its open when you are moving. The other stuff will aid in any accident investigation. No more lying about the e-brake in a roll-away. No more lying about whether you pulled into a space or driveway, then backed out. They will know. The big thing you need to realize is the more technical this job becomes, the more valuable you become. You guys that master this stuff are gold to them. All this system does is raise your value to the company. The major goal of the new system is to eliminate management. One guy will have more information than ten. The company continues to treat it’s management as overhead, and do everything in their power to reduce their ranks. If you read these pages you know about my “Lord and Master” theory. The company hopes to manage us all from one office in Atlanta, Georgia. That theory will remain until they create robots to deliver like in the movie Hitch. My point here is not to scare you, but to keep you informed. If you are on of those haul ass, kiss asses, you better get a clue. If you are one of those, get the job done right, and go home guys, you have nothing to worry about. The other little point is to remember there is such a thing as “too much information”. While this information is readily available, there won’t be anyone to look at it unless you rise to the top of the sh-t list for some reason. Do your job everyday, go home to your family, and have a nice day. Big Brown is Watching!
One last thing to remember is that the system will download any vehicle codes the on-board computer sets much like On-Star. Most of the time it won’t matter to you, but it will give an indication of vehicle abuse. Just a fact to keep in mind.
10 Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some of the more frequently asked questions of the stewards with some general recommendations how to deal with the situation. As always consult your steward before taking any action to be sure of your rights.
These are simple answers to some complicated questions. Your union is in place to help you be treated fairly and to see to it that you are provided with a decent, safe, workplace. Educate yourself to your rights, and you will have a good career with the company. *
I Told You So
OK, I can’t resist. Any of you that have read my stuff on Denverbrown know that I have been an ad advocate of taking the corporations out of our national politics and making our government a government of the people.
I have advocated the reduction of corporate welfare. Look where we are now. The corporations are taking us all down. But today we have hope. On January 20th, Barack Obama will become our 44th President. While I am hopeful about the possibilities for the future, the time has come to rise up and demand what we have all voted for.
If we all sit down and just let it happen with out voicing our concerns, the money trap will swallow our hopes for the future. Don’t kid yourself; these people that will take office are politicians after all. They will be looking out for their survival first as all of them have in the past. It is up to the people to make their concerns known.
The first step must be to get coprorate money out of politics. The next step must be for the working people of this counmtry to rise up and demand health care, card check, and that workers comp., social security and welfare be restored to functional levels.
The people must also demand that a level playing field be established for importing goods to help generate American jobs and American wealth. We Americans are paying for the benefit of coprorations to be able to buy cheap labor overseas and s–t can our jobs. You pay for it, and they they sell you out. In fact, they steal what little you have left.
The true patriot supports American workers and American people. Our children are dieing in Iraq to support the Saudi’s. That is the corporate way. Sacrifice your jobs, sacrifice your health, and sacrifice your life; all for the bottom line. It is the ultimate in soul selling. Only they are selling your sold to the devil for you, without your permission.
Stop them now. Get involved. Open your mouth. Speak your peace. Change won’t happen without you.
Yes you.