August 11, 1997: UPS strike
A UPS management caller contradicts union claims that part-time workers receive no benefits, stating that all part-timers who reach seniority get full medical, dental, and vision coverage. An 18-year part-time feeder driver confirms he earns $17.89 per hour with excellent benefits and says he chose part-time work for the lifestyle flexibility. Both callers express frustration at being kept in the dark by negotiators in Washington and support giving rank-and-file members an opportunity to vote on the company's offer.
A third caller, a preloader and air driver, identifies the pension plan as the central sticking point, explaining that UPS wants to take over pension management from the Teamsters. He supports the strike on the pension issue but agrees the membership should be allowed to vote on the proposal rather than having the decision made entirely by union leadership.
Key Moments
Art calls out Clinton on Taft-Hartley and Teamsters cash: Art notes that Clinton intervened to halt the baseball strike but won't trigger Taft-Hartley on UPS, and connects the inaction to the Teamsters' heavy donations to the president's campaign.
UPS manager: $2.4M Teamsters donation, part-timers do get full benefits: A UPS management caller pushes back on the union's framing: part-timers get 80/20 medical, dental and vision, and the Teamsters donated $2.4 million to Clinton's campaign - which he ties to the president's hands-off stance.
Managers running 10-15% of volume; Teamsters fined $5,000 for crossing: The UPS manager says management personnel out on the road are moving only 10-15% of normal volume, and that in his state the Teamsters have threatened any member who crosses the picket line with a $5,000 fine and loss of their union card in a closed-shop UPS.
Part-time driver: $24B revenue, $1.2B profit, pension is the killer issue: A 18-year preloader/air driver tells Art that UPS grossed roughly $24 billion last year with about $1.2 billion in net profit, that the company can hold out a long time, and that the real killer issue is the pension - which he believes the Teamsters will never give up.