Technological Change

[Hiway80]

g. During the term of this Agreement such changes shall not include the use of drones or driverless vehicles to transport, deliver or pick up packages, platooning or shifting but in the event the Employer desires to implement any change described in this sentence, it shall be required to notify the National Negotiating Committee six (6) months in advance of any such change and shall be required to bargain the effects of any such change. If no agreement is reached between the parties the matter shall be resolved under Article 8

The above language says they have to talk to the union about it before they do it. If we don't agree it goes to the Grievance process where it could sit for probably the whole contract. Or am I reading it wrong?

[BBeatle]

Great language if your the company. What they give in one sentence they literally take back in the same sentence. LOL

[Pasco]

g. During the term of this Agreement such changes shall not include the use of drones or driverless vehicles to transport, deliver or pick up packages, platooning or shifting but in the event the Employer desires to implement any change described in this sentence, it shall be required to notify the National Negotiating Committee six (6) months in advance of any such change and shall be required to bargain the effects of any such change. If no agreement is reached between the parties the matter shall be resolved under Article 8

The above language says they have to talk to the union about it before they do it. If we don't agree it goes to the Grievance process where it could sit for probably the whole contract. Or am I reading it wrong?

Feeder Drivers beware, UPS has invested too much money in Driverless Truck research, development and legislation not to "desire" to use it.

[RosieRiveter]

g. During the term of this Agreement such changes shall not include the use of drones or driverless vehicles to transport, deliver or pick up packages, platooning or shifting but in the event the Employer desires to implement any change described in this sentence, it shall be required to notify the National Negotiating Committee six (6) months in advance of any such change and shall be required to bargain the effects of any such change. If no agreement is reached between the parties the matter shall be resolved under Article 8

The above language says they have to talk to the union about it before they do it. If we don't agree it goes to the Grievance process where it could sit for probably the whole contract. Or am I reading it wrong?

Given this and the pension contribution freeze for 5 years in the West, are we suppose to feel sorry for the idiot from Oregon because he now has to work a few hours a week reviving the VOTE YES CAMPAIGN he is famous for? Well, at least now we know why SOB wanted him as a VP in the West as it helps to have someone to carry SOB's dirty water.

[Gus]

Does the union think these jobs are untouchable for five years?

[Please Sign for This]

I'm surprised this wasn't a bigger issue, especially with a five year contract. So much is happening so quickly a three year deal would have been better. The language that was negotiated will not even slow UPS down, their committed to automating as many teamster jobs as they possible. They own a part of the company featured in the video above, not for nothing.

[Thisischange?]

Totally agree, 7.50 over 5 years isn't worth much sitting at home.

[nonstarter]

Totally agree, 7.50 over 5 years isn't worth much sitting at home.

No body is going to be sitting at home. This is new contract language , that you won't find in any other contract and it will get better over time, like any new language. Stop trying to scare people, this language prevents the company from automating teamster jobs.

[Hiway80]

No body is going to be sitting at home. This is new contract language , that you won't find in any other contract and it will get better over time, like any new language. Stop trying to scare people, this language prevents the company from automating teamster jobs.

This language doesn't prevent anything. What it really does is establish a procedure by which UPS can eliminate jobs, teamster jobs. The recent Wall Street Journal article claiming UPS had gotten just what they wanted said UPS got flexibility on weekend work and technology change. If you read the language it boils down to if UPS wants to install bots instead of workers for a specific function they have to notify the union and negotiate. They're not obligated to agree to anything, in fact the language speaks to "effects" bargaining which my BA says is mostly about severance. If no agreement it goes to panel process and in the meantime with proper notice the company can go forward with their plan. With things changing as fast as they are and a five year contract the membership could look much different in five years. As others have pointed out UPS has a big investment in driverless trucks and drones. And they always have a plan.

[Hiway80]

The following is from a longer Washington Post article about inflation and mentions how UPS can deal with rising cost https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...5ba_story.html


"But there are ways in which the economy can manage through these new dynamics without inflation being as much of a burden as it was in 2022.UPS executives didn’t talk about self-driving trucks in response to higher driver costs on their quarterly earnings call last week, but they did express optimism about productivity investments being made in their warehouses. The company has deployed technology that reduces error rates in warehouses and streamlines operations between warehouses and delivery trucks, saving itself money. Even though the contract negotiated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was more expensive than UPS had planned for, executives sounded confident that, over the long run, profit margins would not be negatively impacted in part due to productivity gains."