UPS Loader: union and public pressure needed
Richie
I work as a loader at one of UPS’s distribution centers; I handle about a thousand packages every day, coming from all over the country, and going to hundreds of households and businesses. UPS, which annually moves about 6% of the annual US GDP, has been declared an “essential service.” Despite the critical work we do, we are not provided with hand sanitizer, gloves, or masks, and the bathrooms have no paper towels, making it impossible to avoid touching bathroom faucets or doorknobs. UPS’s public pronouncements that it is keeping its centers safe and sanitized are a massive joke.
While other centers have stopped Pre-Work Communication Meetings (PCMs), mine continues to gather 20+ employees in close proximity to go through an empty ritual of statistics reportage and repetition of safety tips which go unenforced. Lately there has been no mention of the virus at all in these meetings! Our last PCM included recognition for performance via a communal tomato pie (they won’t splurge for actual pizza). A good number of part time employees commute from the city to this hub, so you can add the risks of frequent public transit combined with the nocturnal hours of my particular position weakening my immune system by default. I’ve made peace with the fact that I WILL catch the virus in these working conditions.
Given this inevitability, the fact that UPS provided no sick leave in the case of infection was a major source of anxiety. Our meager savings, if they exist at all, are already suffering. Part-timers like myself make a base-pay of $13 an hour, but can only count on 3.5 hours a day, five days a week. The assumption is that we all have another job to fill out our budgets. But now these second jobs are disappearing as businesses close or cut staff due to the quarantine. Recently, we did receive a guarantee of paid sick leave if we tested positive for the virus. This was won thanks to pressure from our union the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, particularly by the initiative of locals with reform leaderships. However, even if you manage to get tested amidst the shortage of tests, and are granted sick leave, this will be based on the assumption of a 20 hour work week. The majority of UPS workers face supporting themselves, and often families, on half an income.
Given our high exposure, “essential” status, and meager base pay, there is a desire among part-timers for hazard pay for the duration of the crisis. We know that UPS can afford this. Despite falsely pleading poverty during our contract negotiations, when it bargained a $15 an hour base pay (demanded by the rank-and-file) down to $13, UPS has made record profits the last two years. It will make further windfalls during this crisis. UPS touts its crucial role in providing food, medicine, and other critical supplies to those unable to leave their homes or frequent stores during quarantine. This is true, and highlights just how central our work is to society. Hazard pay is the least compensation we should expect, but it will only be pried from the company with pressure from the union locals and the public.
We are also delivering more cases of wine, home gyms, TV’s, and other luxuries to those with the means to treat this pandemic like a stay-at-home spring break. UPS shareholders, upper management, and our new CEO are sitting at home enjoying the profits of this mini peak season at our expense. To truly contain this crisis, UPS needs to halt deliveries of all non-essential items while maintaining full pay for all workers. There is no reason why we should be putting ourselves and the public at further risk for infection to increase the profits of a massive corporation.
Of course, this begs the question, what do we need the board members and CEO’s for anyway? It is the loaders, sorters, drivers, etc. who are the essential employees making our economy run. Alongside other essential workers, we’re the ones keeping this country moving, fed, clothed, medicated, and comforted while the billionaires count their profits, or dumped their stocks and plunged us into a recession. They are nothing without us, and we are better off without them.
