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UPS lays off nearly 10% of drivers. 6 months ago they signed a new contract for $170,000 a year.

Photo above - The teamsters and Biden have deep ties. The teamsters have a new $170,000 contract. And massive layoffs at UPS.

First let's have level set: yes, I KNOW the UPS employs 444,000 people worldwide. But they only have 118,000 drivers in the USA. So the news that UPS is axing 12,000 teamsters should be front page stuff. (See link below).

Last summer, after threatening a strike against UPS, the Teamsters won a new contract worth $170,000 annually per driver. (That figure includes health insurance, retirement contributions, etc.). Team Biden immediately took a victory lap, claiming it had prevented a strike, “secured the future of the middle class”, and solved the nation's supply chain bottlenecks, all with a couple of white house phone calls. Now 10% of those Teamsters are without jobs.

In a rational world, nobody would have believed that a truck driver should be paid $170,000. That's double what most teachers get. Or police. It's about what a US Senator makes. Probably some teachers googled “how do I get a CDL license?” after reading about the new contract. Too bad some of the senators didn't try that.

At least Biden wasn't served up as a Teamster-striker prop by his campaign staff. The way the president was, when the UAW walked off the job. That UAW picket line appearance, by a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” was a first in American history. No other president has used union strikes to help engineer his re-election. Detroit immediately caved and gave auto workers a 25% pay hike.

Biden got endorsements of both the Teamsters and UAW in 2020. Undoubtedly, he will get them again this year too. Despite however many UPS layoffs take place. At least Detroit isn't laying off autoworkers, though. Wait . . . they ARE being laid off? Ford has mothballed 2 unfinished battery factories, cut production of the F150 lightning in half, and laid off thousands of assembly line workers. Geesus! And those trucks get huge tax subsidies too. Does Bidenomics deserve any credit for the Teamsters and UAW results? Victory laps were taken, after all.

I'm just sayin' . ..

UPS To Lay Off 12,000 Employees Just Six Months After Teamsters Won Lucrative Deal (msn.com)

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easterniowegin · 51-55, M

Dems never consider future implications or big picture perspective.
Making all decisions based on emotions very often creates unintended consequences.

MethDozer · M

@easterniowegin Neither does the right or hypercapitalists

trollslayer · 46-50, M

@easterniowegin Neither the left or the right have a monopoly on making decisions based on emotions.

justanothername · 51-55, M

@easterniowegin in any company Future business decisions are made on a financial basis, not an emotional basis.

justanothername · 51-55, M

Do the math. $170,000 x 118,000 drivers = $20,060,000,000.00

If UPS is going to pay all that money just to their drivers then they need to make cuts so that
A - they can afford it
B - they don’t have to pay so many drivers.

It’s not about emotions it’s about being profitable and surviving in a competitive market.

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SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@MethDozer nobody neutered the post office. they priced themselves out of the marketplace with ever increasing rates.

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MethDozer · M

@SusanInFlorida we all understand how money works. We just don't agree who should be paid all of it for merely buy the piece of paper with their name on it.

ilikeitlikethat23 · 61-69, M

You absolutely do not know what you are talking about.

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Havesomefun2 · 56-60, M

@ilikeitlikethat23 I worked at fedex when they merged

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ilikeitlikethat23 you didn't read the post. or the link embedded in it. @Havesomefun2

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@Havesomefun2 you're a moron. the stock ticker symbol for Fed Ex is "FDX". UPS is a separate company, using the ticker symbol "UPS"

justanothername · 51-55, M

In order to give a higher rate of pay, cuts have to be made in other areas.

trollslayer · 46-50, M

170k and still damaged packages due to carelessness...

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

In a rational world, nobody would have believed that a truck driver should be paid $170,000.

Yeah, because it's not like delivery drivers are the backbone of our society or anything. It's not like everything would grind to a halt if they all went on strike.

OH WAIT...

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justanothername · 51-55, M

@SusanInFlorida nurses regularly strike. It’s the only way they get a pay raise.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@LordShadowfire when your pay is falling behind inflation, that's called "lagging". you can look it up. it doesn't matter if you're paid minimum wage, $50,000 as a teacher, or $182,000 as a senator.

LordShadowfire · 46-50, M

@SusanInFlorida Yeah, well, since our household income, not counting rent from tenants, averages around $50,000 a year, and we're able to scrape by, I'd love to know what these senators are spending their money on.

MethDozer · M

When looking at wages the key is to look at what the CEOs and corporate are making off their labor. Wages should be reflective of how much is brought in and how much is going into the pockets of bougies

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justanothername · 51-55, M

@SusanInFlorida When Steve Jobs returned to being CEO of Apple he took a salary of $1. He said he would continue to take that salary until Apple became profitable.

Many other CEOs could take that same approach.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@justanothername i don't disagree. a real part of the problem are "start ups" which have zero profits, yet go public in billion dollar stock offerings which make the founders instant billionaires.

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