Teamster UPS Aircraft Mechanics Vote to Strike

Airline maintenance technicians and related classifications who maintain UPS’s fleet of jet engine aircrafts announced Monday that they have authorized a strike at the shipping giant.

The airline maintenance workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike after three years of negotiations during which UPS has continued to demand huge health care concessions.

In total, 80 percent, 950 of the company’s 1,200 maintenance employees, participated in the strike vote, and 98 percent of those workers voted in favor of a strike.

The workers voted in October and November by mail-in ballot.

The strike vote comes after UPS announced earlier this month that it beat third quarter earnings expectations with revenue of more than $14.9 billion.

UPS will ship some 700 million packages during the holiday shopping season, the peak period for UPS, and an increase of more than 16 percent over last year.

“No one wants to strike, but members voted overwhelming to authorize a strike because UPS is refusing to work with us”Tim Boyle, President of Teamsters Local 2727

The company also announced plans to purchase 14 jumbo aircraft from Boeing Co. between 2017 and 2020 - the first such order by UPS since 2008.

The 14 Boeing 747-8s cost a total of $5.3 billion before discounts that may have been negotiated.

“We’re glad that UPS can afford to invest in beefing up its international fleet,” said Jim Kelley, a 29-year aircraft mechanic at UPS’s Louisville, Ky. gateway.

“But if UPS can afford major capital investments and huge raises for top brass, then UPS can also choose to invest in the maintenance workers who do strenuous and dangerous work every day to make its success possible. No one wants to go on strike, but I voted to strike because UPS mechanics and our families deserve better from UPS.”

UPS posted $4.84 billion in profits last year and is the world’s largest delivery company. The company’s stock was upgraded by many analysts following the strong third quarter and seven consecutive quarters of double-digit international profits.

In September, UPS announced additional stock incentives and 10 percent raises for its top executives: Chairman and CEO David P. Abney, Senior Vice President and CFO Richard N. Peretz, CCO Alan Gershenhorn and President of U.S. Operations Myron A. Gray.

Despite record profits, UPS is calling for massive reductions in health benefits for 1,200 maintenance workers who are critical to the company’s supply chain. UPS aircraft mechanics and other maintenance workers do physically demanding and often dangerous work around jet engine aircrafts and equipment and toxic chemicals and exhaust.

UPS said the actions taken by the union are merely an attempt to influence the contract negotiations between UPS and the aircraft mechanics.

“UPS Airlines places the highest emphasis on safety, and no employee has been assigned to work in an unsafe environment”Mike Mangeot, UPS Airlines Strategic Communications

Mike Mangeot, UPS Airlines Strategic Communications, told Logistics Management in a recent interview that the “the reality is, UPS Airlines places the highest emphasis on safety, and no employee has been assigned to work in an unsafe environment. Our exacting safety standards meet and often exceed government regulations.”

Mangeot added that UPS does a great job of taking care of its aircraft mechanics, who enjoy annual wages in excess of $100,000, a robust pension plan, and premium-free health benefits. And he was quoted in a Reuters report as saying this situation will not have an impact on the holiday shipping season, with the Teamsters’ Tim Boyle commenting in the same report that any potential strike would not occur before 2017.

“The vote is a symbolic gesture of solidarity common in many types of contract negotiations,” he said in an e-mail today. “Typically, the tally comes back in the high 90s. The vote does not give the union the right to strike, and talks continue under the control of the National Mediation Board. As we enter our busy holiday season, it is business as usual at UPS.”

What’s more, during the 28-year history of UPS Airlines, Mangeot noted UPS has successfully negotiated five contracts with its mechanics, who are among the top earners in their career field.

“We hope to reach a new agreement as quickly as possible,” he said. “However, airline industry contracts often take multiple years to complete. This is due to the complexity of the pacts and the protections of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), the U.S. law that governs airline contract talks.

Under the RLA, airline contracts do not expire, they become amendable. Their terms remain in force while the new contract is negotiated. This is true even when the union employs tactics such as a strike authorization vote, a routine show of solidarity in airline negotiations that does not give the union the right to strike.”

UPS aircraft mechanics earn $105,000 per year, among the best in commercial aviation;
UPS aircraft mechanics enjoy a company-funded retirement plan and a 401(k) plan with a three percent match;
they are covered by a comprehensive health insurance plan with no annual contribution. A typical US family pays approximately $4,800 for medical coverage, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation; and
UPS Airlines places the highest emphasis on safety, and employees are assigned to work in a safe environment. UPS said its exacting safety standards meet and often exceed government regulations.

UPS is also calling for a devastating reduction in benefits for retirees who spent their lives servicing the company’s planes. Under UPS’s proposal, health coverage for a retiree and his or her spouse would skyrocket to more than $19,000 per year in the first year with further increases each year thereafter.

“We work hard to make sure UPS planes are operational, on time, and above all safe. It’s a responsibility we take seriously and don’t expect much in return,” said Juan Flores, a 15-year aircraft mechanic at UPS’s Dallas gateway, who voted to authorize a strike.

“All we’re asking is to keep the health care we count on so we can stay healthy and keep UPS’s planes running for millions of customers around the globe. Voting to strike isn’t an easy decision, but I had to stand up for good, middle class jobs and the health of my family.”

A UPS aircraft mechanics strike would halt UPS’s global shipping operation. Last month, dozens of UPS mechanics picketed outside a major Amazon distribution center in Jeffersonville, Indiana to show executives at UPS and Amazon - a major UPS customer - that workers were united and committed to protecting their health and jobs.

Protests and informational pickets will continue throughout the holiday season at locations across the country.

UPS pilots have expressed their support for the mechanics and other maintenance workers in their effort to settle a fair contract. In a recent letter to the mechanics, Independent Pilot Association President Robert Travis wrote, “Please be assured that you have the full support of the 2,600 professional airline pilots who fly worldwide for UPS.”

“Dedicated aircraft maintenance workers are simply asking to keep the benefits they already have so they can keep UPS planes running effectively,” said Tim Boyle, President of Teamsters Local 2727, the workers’ union.

“No one wants to strike, but members voted overwhelming to authorize a strike because UPS is refusing to work with us. We’ll do whatever it takes to protect good, middle class jobs, our health and our families.”

Many UPS gateways operate with just one aircraft mechanic per shift, meaning he or she works alone around massive aircraft parts and equipment, sometimes for up to 39 hours straight. Lifting injuries and accidents are common. Repetitive stress injuries, hearing loss, inhaling toxic exhaust, and jet engine blasts are among other health risks UPS aircraft maintenance workers face.

In 2008, OSHA cited UPS for violations that led to, among other injuries, a worker breaking his neck when a truck he was parked in was blown over by the jet blast of a Boeing 747 aircraft. Recent OSHA complaints assert these and other dangerous conditions persist.

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