You are a good union member at UPS. You support your union, and vote the issues important to the union. You pay your dues and feel you have a good living because of your membership in the union. You know that the company would not provide you with the quality of health care, the wage levels, a solid pension, and the job security without specific action from the union. You watch the news and see what is happening with the Auto Companies, but feel that any of that doesn’t affect you or your union. What you aren’t seeing is the media’s use of this situation to turn public opinion away from the unions. To many people the only information they have about a union is what they see on TV. When they see a UPS guy, they don’t see a Teamster. They know you have a good job, but ever notice that many will ask you, “they’re a good company to work for, aren’t they?”.We all know they’re a good company to work for, because it is a good union job! Unions are something less than 8 percent of the workforce today, so many people never even come in contact with a union. Of course when they look for a job, the union jobs look inviting for obvious reasons, but the union jobs are slowly going away, (not so slowly in the auto industry), with the deliberate push to eliminate people’s perception that our country needs unions. The media is painting the union as some “commy” plot to destroy the country. The reality is of course the unions provide a real middle class. Something the corporatist’s hate. Keep in mind that the corporatists own the media. They hate the unions and what they stand for. They are fighting for the bottom line in their corporations, and they hate the unions there also. If you’ve noticed the muffled cry from the papers, and other media outlets, the unions are systematically being busted and broken. They do it by eliminating the company initially, then bringing it back in some other form, without the union attached. If you think UPS is not looking for the possibility of eliminating the Teamsters, you’re sadly mistaken. The only thing helping us ride out the current financial crisis is the length of our current agreement. My suggestion to you all is first to write your Senators, and Congress people, and demand they support the Employee Free Choice Act. Do not feel afraid to threaten their jobs. By that, I mean, for you to let them know you will support primary challenges against them if the do not back EFCA. Let them know that we took back our government from the right-wing corporatists, and we will take it back from them!
It’s time for a government for the people. Not the corporation!

End the Corporate Rule

Fight the Union Busting

Strengthen Your Union