MORE FROM THE INBOX AT SCREWUPS@RISEUP.

NET:
What a year for our beloved company UPS. Record profits keep getting bigger every year, and
this year won't be any different. With this peak season already happening, this will be an even
busier one than last year, when we hit over 200,000 in building volume 3 times last peak. Just
amazes me the timing of it all, still no contract ratified. Just when it looked like we were going to
be saved just in the nip of time with a passed contract, the full timers are rejecting it. What does
this mean this peak season? WE are in for a world of hurt. Nobody is going to want to work here
with no benefits and $8.50 an hour. For the past 2 years now, this company has been slowly and
sneakily like not keeping departments at full staff. This year it took a turn for the worse. I'll bet
that most if not all departments were 30% understaffed. If an employee transferred to another
bid won, or an employee quit, they either A: failed to replace the employee with a new one, or B:
would only replace the employee IF and only if that previous employee was a great worker. So
what has all this contract stuff, and the understaffing done to this place? Here's whats been
going down....... More higher part time seniority workers would transfer to other departments by
winning a bid of course, so that they are not on the bottom or near the bottom of the seniority list
in that department. Departments are so grossly understaffed, that the few that are on the bottom
would be constantly shuffled around to help for half the night doing shittier jobs, like loading,
unloading. Sorry, I don't entirely mean that loading is a complete shit job. I stayed in it for years
before I did something else. So now lets say maybe your in a "Slightly" easier job like a sorter,
but it's one of the busier sorting areas, and now since everyone has been getting worked and
fucked over, even those departments now are staffed with high seniority people only. Not even
one employee under 3 years is in some department. Morale has sucked all year long, and you
can cut the tension with a thin piece of string. Ever since they moved several good area
managers, and promoted them to different hubs, that left Cully to be the midnight plant manager
(he had been plant manager prior 2 years before this year) and the super bitch drunkie District
Manager Deborah Miller. Along with a few new hires promoted to take the spots of the former
good managers. Even a more higher senior person in my department has averaged near 20
hours per week, and I can't even imagine how many hours loaders are averaging, 23 maybe?
This is before peak averages. Were still down 20% in staffing, and it looks like now that we are
about to have a brutal peak season, and Deb wonders why injuries have been way up in the
past few years. This company doesn't seem to care, or lacks the brain cells, that it is VERY
unsafe to have run this place at 75% staffed. When somebody gets hurt now a days, who's the
one person now that gets involved?? Keep guessing...............Deb Miller! She is not very kind to
say the least either. I have heard this from at least 4 employees now who have gotten injured,
that she has totally blown up at them and blamed THEM, not UPS for getting hurt...

-Anonymous
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! EMAIL US AT SCREWUPS@RISEUP.NET

Peak sea
so n

re ups!
screw
Issue 4

We're happy to present to you a very special holiday issue of Screw Ups.
This issue focuses on the living hell that is peak season and all that entails.
As always, we welcome your comments and thoughts at our 100%
confidential email address, screwups@riseup.net

UPS Failed to Deliver Millions of Christmas Packages On-Time.

We Asked Your Supervisor, And It's ALL YOUR FAULT
Over the past few weeks, news outlets across the country have reported
UPS's failure to deliver packages in time for Christmas and the backlogs
that followed. We asked your supervisors about the situation, and they
said it was all your goddamn fault.
Asked for further clarification, your part time supervisor said that maybe if
you had busted your ass a little more, all those kids wouldn't have had
Christmas ruined, adding, what the hell are you doing just standing
around? And why is the goddamn belt stopped? He further noted that if
you hadn't fucked it all up, the whole section would have gotten pizza at
the end of the week. So that's your fault, too.
Nearly every major newspaper, channel, and website took the time to
note the thousands upon thousands of irate customers, many of whom
had their shipping costs refunded as a result of the major service failure.
According to your full-time supervisor, if folks had just loaded, unloaded,
or sorted harder, than it wouldn't have been such a fucking problem.
Asked if he could pinpoint the issue, he pointed right at you and said,
yep, it's all their fault. Also that guy over there, it's all his fault too. And
the one over there...
Even though the these problems took place across the country, district
manager Deb confirmed that you are to blame for ruining Christmas.
Asked to confirm who exactly was at fault, she simply waved her hand to
gesture at the entire hub and said, that one right there.

The Bottom Line

Contract Update: The Saga Continues

Its the busiest time of year for us. Many of us are working extra
hours as drivers helpers or doubling. And were all exhausted. I
see it in my co-workers eyes as we shuffe to our sections each night.
As often as we are told to pick it up, it has become steadily less
possible over the past few weeks. And it isnt because we are lazy
underperformers. UPS is doing this to us. On purpose. To make
more money.

The epic story regarding this year's contract negotiations has been a long
and storied tale. After two rounds of voting and renegotiation, we are still no
closer to approving a national master contract. For those who are not aware,
every 6 years our union the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and UPS
enter into contract negotiations. When the negotiations are finished, the
proposed contract is then presented to the broader union membership for
approval. It took two rounds of voting for our region to approve the contract.
However, Ohio, Indiana, Western Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Louisville
all voted no on their regional contracts, and the whole contract only goes into
effect when all regional agreements are ratified. This means that we probably
wont see a new contract passed until well into 2014.

Even with the annual pre-peak hiring frenzy, there is always more
work to be done than there are employees to do it. But the packages
have to be delivered on time, or else risk the good name of the
company. So we are expected to work faster and stay at work longer.
Almost every night, I am sent to another section where packages are
already clogging the entrances to most trailers. As soon as those
trailers are cleaned up, I return to my section where my coworkers
have often fallen behind with one less person to share the work.
Supervisors are still pressured to make cuts as early as possible,
which often results in chaos when an unanticipated spike of packages
comes down the belts. So we work even harder, and are that much
more exhausted to begin our next shift.
But as long as the packages
show up on time, UPS doesnt
give one gingerbread crumb
about the conditions we work in
to make that happen. The
disgruntled elves toil thanklessly
on, and the Big Man gets all the
credit, and all the cookies. Our
paychecks may look a little nicer,
but we pay extra in the toll on our
mental and physical health. Our
supervisors get their bonus
checks for saving the company money by driving us harder, and their
bosses line their pockets with crisp bills that you and I produced with
sore backs and aching muscles. And theyll do it to us again next year,
expecting the exhausted work force to go on without complaint. Lets
make sure we get to enjoy the holidays next season, and not let the
bosses have all the nice things in life.

For those who may remember, sometime before the 2nd round of voting we
were promised 70 cent increases if we simply voted yes for the contract. We
have done that and yet no increase has occurred. The union could have
asked the company to give us 70 cent raises anyway, and yet they didnt. It
seems that UPS and the Teamsters are content holding our wage increases
hostage until the whole contract is approved nationwide. This is because
both parties understand just how questionable the proposed contract is.
Issues regarding changes in health care and pension are all evidence why so
many rank and file teamsters continue to vote no.
70 cent wage increases and a starting wage increase of 10.00 certainly adds
up to a lot, especially when you consider that the starting wage hasn't
increased in decades. This actually means the wages have declined because
of inflationwhen the $8.50 starting was first set, that was worth over $20 in
today's dollars! However, as we discussed in the last issue, when you
actually do the math UPS still could and should be paying us a lot more. The
biggest lesson in this experience is that we actually had nothing to lose and
everything to gain by voting no. Our round of voting may be over but if they
are content holding our wage increases hostage then we as workers should
never be afraid to hold UPSs production hostage. Only then can we get the
things we really want.
Hey fellow screw ups! We're putting together another issue soon
About why some of our coworkers, as soon as they're promoted
to supervisor become such humorless jerks. We have some ideas
as to why this happens, but what do you think? Is it...

a) brainwashing
b) demonic possession
c) swapped out for evil robot who just looks like them
d) company has secret you must be a dick policy
e) something else entirely!

Let us know what you think the reason is!

Email us at screwups@riseup.net and we'll publish the
best (anonymously, of course)!