Work at UPS? Tell us what you think about the company\u2019s wages proposal by filling out the form below. All submissions will bEarlier this month, United Parcel Service (UPS) workers voted by a 97 percent margin to strike against the logistics giant\u2019s new labor contract proposal. The company aims to add tiers and further erode wages and working conditions for 340,000 US workers organized under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, while pledging to strike if a deal is not in place by the time the current deal expires on August 1, has been frantically working to get a deal done before then.
Warehouse workers are the lowest paid section of the company\u2019s workforce. Overwhelmingly part-time and hamstrung by tiers and split shift schedules, the warehouse employees would face an effective wage freeze under the company\u2019s initial compensation proposal. (See \u201cUPS demands new tiers, massive wage concessions in next contract with Teamsters union\u201d)
Jay spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about the terrible working conditions in a UPS hub in central Virginia. His name has been changed to protect his identity, out of concerns of management harassment.
\u201cIn the warehouse, the water\u2019s not good,\u201d Jay said. \u201cThe plumbing is bad. I think the water pipes are tied into the plumbing because the water will make you sick. UPS will normally bring in pallets of water, but there are a lot of dry spells. The bottled water\u2019s not even cold, but at least we get some water that way.\u201d
\u201cThere\u2019s no ice,\u201d he added. \u201cThey took out the ice machines about six or seven years ago. They said it was mildewing, but they said they didn\u2019t have any maintenance to fix it. They didn\u2019t want to pay anybody to clean it.
\u201cThe bathrooms are always out of order. The water\u2019s rising in the toilets with feces sitting in it, and they just put plastic bags on it for months. They hire cleanup crews, but at one point they didn\u2019t have a cleanup crew and you saw mice running across the floor. It just wasn\u2019t getting clean. When the bathroom is out of order, nobody plunges. It\u2019s unhealthy to be breathing that stuff in every day causing mold and flooding.\u201d
\u201cOne guy filed a grievance and they took care of one bathroom,\u201d he noted, \u201cbut there are other bathrooms in bad shape that they haven\u2019t fixed.\u201d
\u201cThe building is old,\u201d Jay told the WSWS. \u201cYou really can\u2019t extend our hub to improve it. It\u2019s been here since the 1960s or 70s, and they have not done any renovation besides adding another level for small sort, the small items.\u201d In general, he said, the tools and equipment were also old and in disrepair, including electric mule cars used to haul irregular, heavy packages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n