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After the Buyout, What is coming next.....
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And you know, we all like to say uh you
know, screw the company whenever or
whatever it is. But the reality is is
that you are an employee and they have
rules and regulations and you as an
employee have to follow them just like
we expect them to follow the contract. And
the fact states and events presented in
this video are from the members's best
recollection and may not be fully
accurate. This video is intended for
entertainment purposes only. Always
consult with your local union about your
rights and duties at your workplace. The
opinions shared on this video are own
and do not necessarily represent my
employer's position, strategies, or
opinions. All views shared are protected
under the National Labor Relations Act.
What is going on everybody? So today I
have Greg Kerwood out of Local 25 in
Boston and we're going to get into basically
basically
the company is heating things up. You
know, we just had these uh buyout offers
and I don't think it's going too well.
And so we're going to get into like
what's the next step? Where's the
company going to end up going from here?
So, Greg, you know, UPS offered these
buyouts, then they ended up extending
it. I mean, what is this all telling you
right now?
Well, it says to me that they're not
getting uh people to take the buyouts
like they expected to. Um, clearly the
offer was garbage, so they were
delusional in the first place. Um but
you know that means that uh whatever
they're promising or calculating uh as
far as a reduction in the workforce
isn't happening through buyouts. And so
that says to me uh that they're going to
try to find another way. And the most
obvious way is to try to get rid of
people through discipline. And so I
would expect uh you know uh them to be
uh you know on on the money uh as far as
the discipline goes as far as looking at
every little thing, nitpicking
everything, trying to build up a case
against people uh you know warning
letters and progressive discipline or
and if they can jump straight to a a
discharge or put somebody on the street,
go down that road. But I think uh that's
the only way they're going to hit the
numbers they want to hit. And so that's
what I would expect to see. And let's
say I'm just a driver that comes in,
does her job, go home, maybe I'm late
every once in a while. You know, I don't
want to be in that place any longer than
I have to be. So maybe I'm a couple
minutes late every day. I I really don't
pay attention to the PCM. I just try to
rush out, get done. I mean, what do I
have to worry about with all this?
Well, I think anybody who isn't doing
everything by the book would have to
worry. I mean, you know, you can tell
yourself that, uh, you know, they love
you or, you know, cuz you run and gun or
that, you know, you don't have to worry
because you quote unquote show up and do
your job. Um, but, you know, there's a
lot of rules. There's a lot of methods,
340 of them. There's a lot of workplace
rules. Uh, attendance is an issue,
stealing time, all of these things that
the company has at their disposal uh,
when they want to discipline people. And
so it's there's few uh members that
would be uh safe in a situation like
that. You know, I mean, plenty of people
have said in my career, you know, I can
fire anybody anytime I want cuz you
know, somebody's always doing something
wrong. And you know, part of it is the
fact that we're human and we make
mistakes. And obviously those mistakes
don't wash when it gets to panel
necessarily. But, uh, you know, if
you're doing something and you think
that they don't care because perhaps
they haven't cared in the past, uh, but
it is in fact against the rules or a
violation or against the policy, uh, you
better start paying attention because
they're going to start to care and you
don't want to blow it off until all of a
sudden you're facing a, you know, notice
of termination because you thought it
was no big deal and you didn't take it
seriously. So, when you talk about this
these things that, you know, the company
didn't care about in the past and they
care now, are we talking like maybe I'm
not getting a signature on a package,
I'm just leaving at their front door? Or
maybe I'm not delivering everything and
throwing it on the the the bell. Is that
are those the things you're kind of
referring to?
Those would be obvious choices. If
you're if you're smoking packages and
not sheeting them, if you're not getting
signatures or you're signing for
packages, those are, you know, I hate to
say use the word easy discharges, but
they're easy discharges if the company
can catch you doing it. Um, but then
there's other more subtle stuff, uh,
like showing up to work on time.
Attendance is another easy one. You
know, you may think that, oh, they don't
care if I show up late or whatever it
is, but once they start disciplining
you, you know, if you get a warning
letter for something, you better start
paying attention. uh in this environment
because that warning letter will rapidly
turn into two-day, 3-day, 5day
suspensions, no determination if you
don't change your behavior. Uh because
if you don't change your behavior,
you're not doing what you're supposed to
do when you face discipline. And so, uh
it could be big stuff or obvious stuff
like that, but it could also be being
out of uniform. It could be, uh, you
know, violating their uniform policies.
Uh it could be paperwork, you know,
records. Uh you know, anything you've
been directed to do as far as pickups if
that's a hot topic, pick up within the
pickup window. Uh you know, if they're
telling you to do something and you
don't do that every day and but they're
directing you to do it going forward,
you better do it unless it's unsafe or
illegal, you know, you better do it.
So, let's say I just I show up in the
morning and
I get to the meeting, the PCM as they
call it, and the you know, center
manager's there and I notice him looking
around just gazing at everybody's
uniform and everything else. I mean,
what are they exactly looking for at
that moment?
Uh, it depends on what they want to pick
up on. I mean, you know, they've they've
loosened up a lot of the restrictions
with the shining of the shoes and, you
know, the the facial hair and all of
those things. So, there's not as much
stuff, but, you know, you have to be in
uniform. I mean, if you're wearing not
not that anybody's wearing a hoodie in
this weather, but, you know, if you're
wearing a hoodie and your your
supplement doesn't allow for hoodies or
or your agreement doesn't allow for
hoodies, um, you're out of uniform. if
you're wearing, you know, a t-shirt
that's got some fake UPS logo on it or
people make homemade stuff uh that's,
you know, brown and they slapped a logo
on, uh, you know, or you're not wearing
the socks you're supposed to wear or
whatever it is that you're supposed to
wear. If you're not wearing it, you're
out of uniform. And again, they can't
just, you know, these are not things
they can throw you out of the building
for. But if they say to you, listen, you
you know, you can't wear that shirt and
you wear it again 2 days later, that's
you not adjusting your behavior after
it's been corrected by your management
team. And you know, we all like to say
uh you know, screw the company whenever
or whatever it is. But the reality is is
that you are an employee and they have
rules and regulations and you as an
employee have to follow them just like
we expect them to follow the contract.
And you know, I'm not going to stand and
defend management's nitpicking garbage
by any stretch. But by the same token,
when you're facing an arbitrator, that's
the way an arbitrator is going to see
it, right? You work for this company,
they told you to do X, Y, and Z. I see
no reason why you can't do X, Y, and Z,
and you refuse to do X, Y, and Z. And
that, you know, leads you into
insubordination or just simply
progressive discipline that leads to
termination. And you're not changing
your behavior after multiple warnings.
And you know, you're not going to win
that battle. You're simply not. And it's
not worth risking your job over stupid
things where you think, well, I always
did it this way or I don't care or no
one's going to tell me what to do or I
don't like these shirts or or whatever
it is. You know, at the end of the day,
you don't have a leg to stand on with
that stuff. And you know, the company
can't turn around and suddenly flip a
switch. But as long as they inform all
the members, listen, going forward from
today, if you're not wearing your UPS
shirt to work, you're going to face
discipline. Then they're good to go.
It's as simple as that. So even if
they've neglected something in the past,
as long as they reset it and let
everyone know that going forward it's
going to be enforced, they can they can
change what they did, you know, two
weeks ago, 3 weeks ago, four weeks ago.
And you can't just simply say it's
always been this way and you're not
going to win.
And let's say I go to PCM, but you know,
I never like to attend it. I like to go
to the back and go to the snack machine
and grab my Diet Coke or whatever in the
morning. Is is there anything I should
be concerned about doing this?
Yeah. Again, in in a nitpicking
environment, you're stealing time.
You're supposed to be somewhere. You're
on the clock. You're being paid and
you're handling your own personal
business uh by going to the soda machine
or or whatever it is. you know, folks
that are like, uh, you know, stopping
off to use a bathroom and grabbing three
Twinkies and a six-ack of Coke along the
way. Like, that's not a bathroom break
anymore. It's now a break. You're
purchasing items to consume on company
time that's not coded off as a break.
like you know these things seem like
they're uh splitting hairs but at the
same time if the company is in that mode
which I think they're going to be given
the way this buyout has has gone and
what I I see and hear uh you know you
have to go by the book you have to tow
the line you have to do things you have
to split those hairs you have to know
the difference between a bathroom break
and a break you punch out for you know
and and and not cross that line and if
they catch you crossing that line or
they tell you to do something or that
you know you're you're caught doing
something that you were getting away
with quote unquote and now you're not,
you need to stop the behavior. If you're
driving around with your cell phone to
your ear and someone sees you doing that
and they tell you you're getting a
warning letter for using your cell phone
while you're driving, you know, without
a Bluetooth, you better stop doing it
because the next time it's going to be a
notice of suspension and they're going
to start licking their chops, you know.
And I will say, not to single out any
one group here, but those of you newer
drivers who haven't perhaps seen any of
this cycle in the past, who think that
the job consists of showing up whenever
and running and gunning and doing 300
stops and they love me and and you know,
they'll never get rid of me because I do
this and that and whatever for them,
you're going to be in for a rude
awakening because at this point with
this company where it's at, a body is a
body is a body. And if they can get rid
of a whole bunch of new guys easily
because they don't know the rules and
they don't know the methods and they
never learned them or taught them or
followed them, they're going to do it.
They're not going to worry about who's
going to replace who. They're going to
worry about, listen, we're not getting
rid of the people we want to get rid of.
And here's a quick way to get rid of a
whole bunch. And so, you got to be on
your toes.
Absolutely. In the end of the day, we're
under a contract. And by doing all these
A, B, and C, you may think that, you
know, the company loves you because
you're scratching and you're making the
numbers look all great and everything
else, but in the end of the day, as Greg
just said, a body is a body. And if you
are violating the contract, that is uh
an easy case for them to win that panel.
And they would rather bring an easy case
for them to win that panel than a guy
they can never get in a million years.
So, we're just cutting straight to it.
And uh Greg, thank you so much for
coming on. You know, uh if you have not
done so already, follow Teamster
resource page on Facebook. Uh Greg
Kerwin runs it. And uh shout outs, Greg,
who you want to shout out?
Yeah, I'm going to give a shout out to
uh our brother uh Steve Bloomer out of
Pennsylvania. Uh he had uh some form of
accident uh couple days ago. I don't
know all the details and I'm not going
to pretend to. Uh, but the short version
of the story is he was found uh with his
feet up in the cab and his head down on
the ground uh outside of the driver's
side door. Um, you know, there's plenty
of room to speculate as to whether he
passed out, had some kind of medical
issue, overheated. Who knows? I don't
know. I don't pretend to know, but he uh
was in critical condition. and I haven't
received an update today and you know as
of whenever this comes out but there is
a gofundme page set up for him. Uh if
anybody would like to give please do so.
Um obviously
that's the kind of thing that is
everybody's worst nightmare. And I think
that you know sometimes we mis uh
understand just how dangerous of a job
we do. You know we're out in traffic,
we're getting in and out of vehicles all
day. We work in crazy weather, heat,
cold, and you know, a split-second
decision or a split-second mistake or
anything at one time uh can change our
lives and the lives of the people we
care about. So, uh if you get a chance,
you know, please do what you can for him
and his family and you know, keep them
in your thoughts.
Absolutely. I'll leave it a link down
below in the description or uh in the
comments section for anybody who wants
to donate. Uh I got another thing for
you guys. Uh, Brown Cafe is I think it's
officially closed off. Uh, one of the
guys who was always on the forum, all
the forum guys, they moved over to this
other page overworked. I'll put that in
the link as well for anybody who was a
Brown Cafe goer or casual goer and wants
to go to the new site to where they all
congregate. So, uh, that's all I got
everybody. love you and I'll see you next
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