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UPS

UPS Hub drivers met recently to discuss several issues including their Hours of Work Looping System and Day to Day Layoffs.

Teamsters Local 938 Business Agent Fred Randall and UPS Stewards were in attendance to field concerns by a large group of attendees. For photo gallery, go to Our Members - UPS.

UPS Stewards meet to learn. 

UPS Stewards met at the Local 938 Union Hall for a full-day Training Seminar in November 2011 to update on current WSIB issues as well as other notable procedures. The meeting was conducted by Local 938 Business Agent Fred Randall and WSIB Consultant David Adamson from Teamsters Joint Council No. 52.

UPS Collective Agreement Explained!

Teamsters Local 938 business agent Fred Randall announced recently that all UPS members have had an opportunity to have any issues on the new collective agreement clarified during a series of meetings held in the Hub, at Airway and all other terminals. "The response to these meetings was overwhelming" he added, "and I am now confident that those members who required interpretation or a better understanding of the agreement have had their queries looked after. I would like to thank all of the stewards and other volunteers who helped expedite this process" he said.

UPS RATIFY 5-YEAR DEAL!

July 29th 2010 – Montreal – Ending months of negotiations, UPS Teamsters members from across Canada today ratified a new 5-year agreement with an overwhelming 83.5% approval. The new agreement takes effect on August 1st 2010 and runs through to July 31st 2015.

Fred Randall, Teamsters Business Agent and head of the National Negotiating Committee said that several key highlights of the new package helped seal the deal including new language that forces the company to reduce excessive overtime when requested by the employee; a 38% increase in the member’s benefits multiplier that effectively adds $21.50 a month per year of service along with a $75 increase in eyeglass coverage. In addition, all full and part-time employees will receive a $500 signing bonus as a result of the new agreement.

“I’m proud of the effort that our negotiating team demonstrated during this lengthy process” Randall added. “They all worked extremely hard to insure that the members understood this deal and that effort paid off.” Members of the National Negotiations team included Ray Dyal, Clyde Gooding and Dave Vassos from Hub, Vince Johnson from Automotive, George Stockwell from Airway and Hugh Reid from Feeder. “I would also like to thank the membership for their support” Randall concluded. “It certainly makes the long process we’ve been through to complete this agreement all worth the effort.”

Local 938 UPS Proposal Meetings completed!

Members of the UPS Negotiations Committee discuss strategy. (L to R) Ray Dyal – Hub, Vince Johnson – Automotive Department, Fred Randall Union Representative, Clyde Gooding – Hub, Standing - Dave Vassos, Hub and George Stockwell – Airway. (Missing from photo) Hugh Reid, Feeder Dept.)

With the end of the current UPS collective agreement expiring on July 31st 2010, negotiation committee teams across the country have begun their planning for a new contract. At Local 938, proposal meetings with employees have concluded in Barrie, Peterborough, Harbourfront and at the Hub, Airway and YYZ locations. Fred Randall, Business Agent who is heading up the Local 938 negotiations was pleased with the response to these meetings. “We experienced about a 25% turnout overall” he said, “which is typical at this early stage of negotiations. These meetings are designed to gauge  the current feelings of the employees and establish what, if any, are the most pressing issues that members feel need to be put on the bargaining table” he said. “The membership certainly understand the current economic conditions” he added, “but nonetheless, a reasonable pension benefits wages increase appears to be on the minds of most members”.

The next stages are Correlation meetings between the three locals in Ontario which will be held from February 9th to 11th. The final national negotiation will begin March 1st thru the 5th. again in Montreal. This process could be a 6 to 8 week undertaking.

UPS Celebrates Centennial!

100 Years of Service Excellence

In 1907, Jim and Claude borrowed $100 to start the American Messenger Company from a humble office located under the sidewalk in Seattle. They paid $15 rent per month for the space, which held a counter, a bench, and two phones. Employing five or six boys as messengers, they were ready for business any hour of the day or night.

In 1907, there was a great need in America for private messenger and delivery services. To help meet the need, an enterprising 19-year-old, James E. (“Jim”) Casey, borrowed $100 from a friend and established the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. According to accounts given by Jim, there were quite a few messenger services already in the Seattle area, some of which he had worked for in the past.

That initial name was well-suited to the business pursuits of the new company. In response to telephone calls received at their basement headquarters, messengers ran errands, delivered packages, and carried notes, baggage, and trays of food from restaurants. They made most deliveries on foot and used bicycles for longer trips. Only a few automobiles were in existence at that time and department stores of the day still used horses and wagons for merchandise delivery. It would be six years before the United States Parcel Post system would be established.

Model T Ford, 1919 – UPS acquired its first delivery car in 1913, a Model T Ford. This, UPS’s 9th truck, was one of the first to bear the name “United Parcel Service”. Prior to 1919, UPS operated under the “Merchants Parcel Delivery” moniker.

Jim and his partner, Claude Ryan, ran the service from a humble office located under the sidewalk. Jim’s brother George and a handful of other teenagers were the company’s messengers. The company did well despite stiff competition, largely because of Jim Casey’s strict policies of customer courtesy, reliability, round-the-clock service, and low rates. These principles, which guide UPS even today, are summarized by Jim’s slogan: best service and lowest rates.

The year 1913 brought several significant changes. The company acquired its first delivery car, a Model T Ford, and on its side was inscribed a new name: Merchants Parcel Delivery. The new name, partially the result of Jim Casey’s agreement to merge with competitor Evert (“Mac”) McCabe, reflected a shift in the primary focus of the business from messages to packages. The business began to grow quickly, and because of its high standard of service and personalized attention to every package handled, the young company built a strong reputation among the stores in the city. In 1916, Charlie Soderstrom joined the company, bringing automobiles and expertise with him. He also brought the colour brown. By 1918, three of Seattle’s largest department stores had become regular customers, disposing of their own delivery cars (which Jim and his associates often purchased) and turning business over to Merchants Parcel Delivery.

In 1919, the company made its first expansion beyond Seattle to Oakland, California, and adopted its present name, United Parcel Service.

In 1930, UPS extended its reach to the East Coast when it began consolidating the deliveries of several large department stores in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. However, trends during the 1940s and the 1950s prompted UPS to redefine itself. During World War II, fuel and rubber shortages influenced retail stores to curtail delivery services and to encourage customers to carry their packages home. Nonetheless, UPS continued to grow.

While one part of UPS was striving for greater access to ground routes, another part was resurrecting UPS’s access to the air. In 1929, UPS became the first package delivery company to provide air service via privately operated airlines. Unfortunately, a lack of volume (caused in part by the Great Depression) combined to end the service in 1931. In 1953, UPS resumed air operations, offering two-day service to major cities on the east and west coasts. Once again, UPS packages flew in the cargo holds of regularly scheduled airlines. Called UPS Blue Label Air, the service grew, until by 1978 it was available in every state, including Alaska and Hawaii.

The first conveyor belt was put into commission in 1924 in Los Angeles, CA, and was only 180 feet long. It significantly improved the speed at which packages were processed, and marks the
beginning of a long history of technological innovation.

The demand for air parcel delivery increased in the 1980s, and federal deregulation of the airline industry created new opportunities for UPS. But deregulation also caused change, as established airlines reduced flights and abandoned some routes altogether. To ensure dependability, UPS began to assemble its own jet cargo fleet. With growing demand for faster service, UPS entered the overnight air delivery business, and by 1985, UPS Next Day Air Service was available in all 48 states and Puerto Rico. Alaska and Hawaii were added later. That same year, UPS entered a new era with international air package and document service, linking the U.S. and six European nations. In 1988, UPS received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate its own aircraft, thereby officially becoming an airline. Recruiting the best people available, UPS merged a number of cultures and procedures into a seamless operation called UPS Airlines.

UPS first went international in 1975 when it offered services within the Canadian city of Toronto. Operations in Germany got underway the next year. However, the 1980s saw UPS enter the
international shipping market in earnest, establishing a presence in a growing number of countries and territories in the Americas, Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East. Africa, and the Pacific Rim.

In the early years, drivers sorted and loaded packages in their trucks during the day by themselves. This changed in the 1950s, when employees came in during the night to sort and load packages, allowing the drivers to leave with their trucks first thing in the morning.

By 1993, UPS was delivering 11.5 million packages and documents a day for more than one million regular customers. The handheld Delivery Information Acquisition Device (DIAD), carried by all UPS drivers, was developed to capture and upload delivery information to the UPS network. On November 10, 1999, UPS offered shares of its stock to the public for the first time. This initial public offering strengthened UPS by giving the company the ability to use a publicly traded security to make strategic acquisitions in important markets around the world.

In 2001, UPS ventured toward retail business by acquiring Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., the world’s largest franchisor of retail shipping, postal and business service centers. Within two years, approximately 3,000 Mail Boxes Etc. locations in the United States re-branded as The UPS Store and began offering lower UPS-direct shipping rates. The stores remain locally owned and operated, and continue to offer the same variety of postal and business services, with the same convenience and world-class service.

The most recent public change came in 2003, when UPS introduced a new brand mark, representing a new, evolved UPS, and showing the world that its capabilities extend beyond small package delivery. The company went another step further, adopting the acronym UPS as its formal name, another indicator of its broad expanse of services.

Established in Canada in 1975, with its headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, UPS Canada employs over 8,750 people; some 2,000 of them are members of Teamsters Local Union 938.

Over the past 100 years, UPS has become an expert in transformation, growing from a small messenger company to a leading provider of air, ocean, ground, and electronic services. Yet ever true to its humble origins, the company maintains its reputation for integrity, employee ownership, and customer service. For UPS, the future promises even more accomplishments as the next chapter in the company’s history is written.

Source: UPS.com ®

All photos courtesy of UPS

Local Union 938 Notice for UPS Employees >>>

SAFETY FIRST!

To All UPS Drivers

  • Seat Belts Save Lives.
  • Buckle Up and Return Home Safely to your Family!