Note:
The following is a repost of a portion of the February edition of the “New Day at UPS” which focuses on the layoffs at UPS including in Charlotte. “New Day at UPS” is a monthly newsletter written by UPS workers for UPS workers. It aims to be a voice in the struggle to build an independent rank and file organization at UPS. “The New Day” is an example of the type of initiative needed to be taken up en masse by workers to build a revolutionary labor movement in the United States.
It’s been almost a month since part-timers at the Warwick, R.I. hub learned that the daytime sort was being shut down. The Warwick day sort has only been in operation since 2020, when high load volumes caused by the pandemic necessitated another sort. UPS’ cycles of hiring and cutting have created a roster on the day sort where a majority have less than 4 years of seniority. It was initially said that February 15th would be the day sort’s last day of operation. Since then, this was moved to March 1st then to March 15th. Other than the sort’s last day of operation, part-timers have not been told anything regarding the sort’s closure. Potential transfers to the other sorts have been approached individually by the day sort manager. Those who have been approached have all had at least 2 years of seniority. For those who aren’t approached, the running assumption is they will be laid off. All of this is happening with zero information from UPS or Local 251. Amid the largest layoffs the Warwick hub has seen since the pandemic, IBT officials have gone silent. Seeing this silence as complicity and not ignorance is an important lesson for part-timers across all sorts at the Warwick hub. More cuts are being planned with 50+ feeder and brownie drivers being sent to work inside the hub.
At the West Charlotte, N.C. hub, not a single seasonal worker was kept on
past December. Meanwhile, for non-seasonal inside workers, they’ve been
met with increased surveillance, salts, load quality checks, and overall
scrutiny from management. All of this is part of the post-peak routine of
thinning the workforce and maximizing profits at the expense of those who
remain. The remaining UPSers are being forced to work in areas manned by
skeleton crews. In some areas, they have half the workers they had a month
ago. Local 71 stewards and officials in Charlotte are nowhere to be seen
during these staff cuts and speedups. In WORMA, some seasonals were not
told of their termination until January 16, just before the first sort after the
contractually mandated period when seasonals can be terminated. At least
one individual was told via phone call on their drive to the sort. Whether
management is just that incompetent or deliberately malicious, it is hard to
tell, but that same day part-time supervisors were ordered to do hourly
work.
UPS is cutting hours and staff, so while there is less volume post-peak, the average inside worker has a much higher package-per-hour rate as UPS crams as much volume through in as little time as possible. This creates an exhausting and constant rapid pace of work, which leads to full chutes and verbal raggings from management. (UPS announced January 30th that it would cut 12,000 management and contractor jobs in 2024 on top of the union layoffs. No doubt low-level managers are “feeling the heat” too right now.) Corporate’s annual crackdown makes union organizing even more urgent, as the IBT is simply not representing us
Working People's Press 