So here’s the skinny under the tentative contract agreement.
      Retirees that are in the UPS healthcare system will remain in the UPS system.
       The cost to the retiree of that healthcare will remain the same for the duration of this agreement.
      Whatever coverage you have, is the coverage you will keep. There will be no changes to your plan.
      You will not be moved into the Central States C-6 plan. Only current, active employees will be moved into that plan, and that will happen on January 1st of 2014.
       Anyone that retires prior to January 1st 2014 will stay in the plan they have for the duration of the contract. The cost will remain 200 dollars per person.
       Basically what was negotiated on our behalf was the best we could hope for, NO CHANGE! No increase in cost. No change in our coverage or networks.  Now the decision to the guys on the border of retirement will be “do I go now, or wait to get the pension increase, but pay more for my insurance”. If you read these pages, you will find that my speculation held true. Current retirees will keep what they have. It’s what has happened in every contract in the last 40 years. It is what happened this time, and I must say, thank you Teamsters negotiating teams for keeping it that way.
         There will be even more rumor, and more speculation, but the Teamsters Union did the job for the retirees.
        All of this applies to Local 455 retirees from UPS. Those of you under other Local jurisdiction need to contact your officers to find out what is in store for you.
My information comes from one of the people that sat on the National Negotiating Committee. If anyone has any different information, please respond to our comments section below.

If a full-time employee cannot be reasonably accommodated in a full-time job, the Company may offer a part-time job as a reasonable accommodation if the employee is qualified and meets the essential functions of the job. If the employee accepts the part-time accommodation, the employee will be placed into the applicable part-time health & welfare and pension programs, will be paid the appropriate part-time rate for the job performed based on his company seniority, and will receive the part-time contractual entitlements as per the appropriate Supplement, Rider, or Addendum using his Company seniority date. This placement will not prohibit the employee from bidding on future full-time jobs for which he is qualified and meets the essential functions of the job. Should the employee not accept the part-time reasonable accommodation, he shall be allowed to be inactive for three (3) years. During those three (3) years, he shall have the ability to return to his job should he become able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation; have the ability to bid on openings as his seniority allows, providing he can perform the essential functions of that job; and have the ability to accept the part-time accommodation referenced above. After three (3) years, his seniority shall be considered broken. Said employee shall be entitled to receive long term disability and workers’ compensation in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan.

Section 6. Technology and Discipline

     After reading what is available about the tentative agreement, many questions remain. The single biggest question for retirees is “will our benefit level remain the same, at the same cost?”
     From what I can find, our cost will not increase. In my conversations with Local officers though I have been led to believe that our benefit levels will be reduced, effectively raising our out of pocket costs for healthcare.
     As retirees it is somewhat frustrating. Once we retire we cannot vote to accept or reject the contract. We also have no say in who negotiates our benefits for us. We are basically stuck with what is negotiated on our behalf, like it or not. 
     Pay attention for the next few weeks as the actual details of the tentative agreement will be forthcoming, and the Locals are supposed to be having informational meetings to go over the changes. A good idea would be for you to contact your Local and find out when these meetings are scheduled to be held.
     One final detail would be to thank the officers for the difficult task of negotiating with the behemoth UPS. As I have contended for years, if our membership does not get on the side of our Union, it will be a long downhill slide.
                                           Get involved. You future depends on it!

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