El Cid '95
Frag complete, froglegs
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2004
- Posts
- 22
Earlier today, the Independent Pilots Association held a press conference regarding the negotiations currently underway between UPS and the IPA. At that event, IPA President Tom Nicholson attempted to play on customers’ fears about holiday shipping and made a series of inaccurate statements about contract discussions.
It is important to note that UPS and the IPA have additional mediation sessions set for the week of Dec. 19-23, so any concern that customers’ holiday shipping needs could be affected by a work stoppage is inaccurate. By law, the pilots cannot strike while we are in mediation under the auspices of the National Mediation Board. UPS is disappointed that the talks have not resulted in a contract to date, but remains ready and eager to continue negotiations.
Furthermore, it is important to set the record straight on several issues about which Capt. Nicholson misspoke:
During talks, we are negotiating to provide our pilots a pay raise and to enhance vacations, work rules and other quality-of-life issues. We believe this contract will be resolved at the negotiating table with the assistance of our mediator, who has done a superior job in moving us closer together.
We look forward to our December talks, when we hope to continue progress toward a mutually beneficial contract agreement.
It is important to note that UPS and the IPA have additional mediation sessions set for the week of Dec. 19-23, so any concern that customers’ holiday shipping needs could be affected by a work stoppage is inaccurate. By law, the pilots cannot strike while we are in mediation under the auspices of the National Mediation Board. UPS is disappointed that the talks have not resulted in a contract to date, but remains ready and eager to continue negotiations.
Furthermore, it is important to set the record straight on several issues about which Capt. Nicholson misspoke:
- Health care. The IPA has accused UPS of proposing to increase health benefits by 1000 percent. UPS pilots, with an average salary of $175,000 a year, currently pay an average $18.42 a month for health care coverage. That is far below what the average American family pays, according to a Sept. 2005 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, an organization recognized for its benefits expertise. The rates that UPS have proposed are equivalent to levels that the UPS management team pays for their health care coverage.
- Crew rest areas. According to the IPA, UPS has said it would cost $65,000 per bed to put beds for our crewmembers in rest facilities. UPS currently provides crew rest areas for pilots at its facilities, using large reclining loungers. The pilots have asked for private bedrooms for use during their 3-to-5-hour layovers. UPS has responded that it cannot do so without completely reconstructing its buildings. This would cost $6.5 million, just in Louisville.
- Pension protection. The IPA implied that their pension plans are not secure. UPS’s pilots currently enjoy the protection of not one, but two pension plans. One is a defined contribution plan and one is a defined benefit plan. Both plans are single-employer plans set up just for the pilots. Both have been and remain fully funded under federal law. UPS has even offered proposals that would provide protection beyond federal requirements.
- Outsourcing. Capt. Nicholson implied that UPS is outsourcing pilot jobs. He later acknowledged that UPS, in fact, is not outsourcing pilot jobs. Indeed, UPS has never eliminated or replaced a UPS pilot through outsourcing nor does it intend to do so. Unlike most passenger airlines, UPS is in an enviable position as it continues to build infrastructure, purchase additional aircraft including A380’s and B747-400’s, gain new international flying rights and hire more than 300 new pilots this year.
- Net profits. The IPA claimed that UPS pilots are responsible for 42 percent of UPS’s revenues. Unlike at a passenger airline, the UPS pilot is not the sole transportation provider. Quite simply, UPS pilots share transportation duties with package car drivers, express drivers and tractor-trailer drivers and cannot claim responsibility for 42 percent of UPS profits.
During talks, we are negotiating to provide our pilots a pay raise and to enhance vacations, work rules and other quality-of-life issues. We believe this contract will be resolved at the negotiating table with the assistance of our mediator, who has done a superior job in moving us closer together.
We look forward to our December talks, when we hope to continue progress toward a mutually beneficial contract agreement.
