It is one minute after twelve, the start of a new day. UPS employees across the United States have begun to walk out after another endless day of discussions concerning an expired contract. The warehouses are empty, the brown trucks are driverless. The only people on the job are scabs. (Scab - one in the same profession who refuses to join the local union.) Does this mean anything to you and me other than our packages will be late? What does it mean for the members of the union who have voted to walk out? For the members of the union, it means going from as much as twenty dollars an hour, to as little as fifty-five dollars a week. However, what will they get out of the strike in the long run? There will be more full time jobs, higher pay and most of all a guarantee of a sound contract. Do the scabs have a guarantee? No, they can be fired at any time and no one will be there to defend them. Why is this you may ask? Well, the union defends its member’s rights by the given contract. This usually allows situations to be resolved without harsh punishment. Though the scabs have no one to defend them. The union does not fight for them, why should they? The scabs could have joined the union at any time.
The union has walked out due to months of negotiating over an expired contract. United Parcel Service would not agree to more full time jobs or higher wages. Then you ask, why doesn’t the union ask for a little less? Why should they compromise their members futures. If part-time employees are able to do the same work for lower wages, where would that leave the full time employees? Out of a job, that is where. Is it fair for a part-time employee, who has been with the company for years, to work the same number of hours as a full-time employee and be paid less? No, the part-time employees should be granted the opportunity to become full time and earn a full time wage.
What is it going to take to have UPS see it the same way as the union (who sees through America’s eyes)? UPS would have to show a loss before they would compromise. When the employees walked out they were at risk of losing their jobs, but they took that risk. They took the risk as a group who would not give in to part-time and lower wages. "The union estimated UPS was losing $35 million a day in profits. UPS spokeswoman Gina Ellrich said the company had no precise estimate, but that it was losing "tens of millions of dollars a day."", this statement comes from, Teamsters, UPS Talking, But Little Movement, by David Lawsky. Why was UPS losing money? The answer is as simple as, they had no employees to run their business. "Union officials said the strike had crippled the company. "UPS is pretty much buttoned up. Packages in the system are drying up and the strike appears to be virtually 100 percent effective," Teamsters spokesman Rand Wilson said.", quoted from UPS Strike Wears on With No Talks Set, by David Morgan.
Who truly started this strike? Was it UPS, or was it the Teamsters? Neither could agree on a contract. It was the Teamsters who walked out, but they would not have walked out if UPS would have agreed on a new contract. If the walkout took place by non-union workers, they would not have gotten their jobs back. They would have been let go and men and women willing to do what they did for the same price would be hired. The union kept this from happening because of the old contract. Somewhere, I am sure, it stated that no one could be let go without just cause.
Where would we be today if we had no unions? We would all be making minimum wage and being slave driven is where. We would be let go if we did not fully comply with management. In other words, one foul and you are out. Unions guarantee fair wages for todays world. They ensure that you will have your job tomorrow. Unionism has worked for Americas working families until now and it will continue to work for eternity. Theoretically, if someone were to say the world would be better with out unionism, there would be no way to back the statement, considering all that unions have done for you and me.
Do not get me wrong. Strikes have a down side. While employees are off of the job they do not get their pension. The only money they receive is the funds in their local and national strike fund. In this case each employee received fifty-five dollars from their national association plus whatever their local gave. The employees will never see the money they would have made if they had stayed on the job. They are not only without a pension, they are also without health insurance. In some cases employees never return to work.
Several years ago employees at Mosler Safe Company in Hamilton went on strike never to return to their jobs. Union members stood the picket line for several years until Mosler folded up. This is an example of why unions refer to their members as brothers and sisters. No matter what happens, they stand together by their decision. They made the decision to strike as a membership and stood by their decision as a membership, just like brothers and sisters stand by their siblings decisions whether they feel they are right or wrong. A part-time worker, Alutriva Baker said, ""I'm out for as long as it takes. I don't care what I have to do. I'll even get another job somewhere to make ends meet." quoted from Teamsters Union Goes on Strike Against UPS, by David Morgan."
Strikes have a structure all their own. No one wants to, or likes to go on strike. I mean, they get less money, if any at all, and worst of all there is the chance they may never be able to return to work. Yes, it is a choice to strike. In most cases, it is a good choice. It is a way to show your company that you mean business and most of the time, forces them to make a quick decision in your favor. If companies are always permitted to have their way, nothing would ever be done fairly. You would be paid what they wanted to pay and you would work when and where they wanted you to. Otherwise, you would not work at all.