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... ude's 115, 000 part- timers) won all major issues. The issues included: 20, 000 full-time job opportunities for part-timers, including 10, 000 new full-time jobs created from existing part-time positions; new limits on subcontracting; the largest-ever wages raises and major increases in pensions under the existing Teamster plans; and new job safety protections (The Teamster, October 1997). At the time of the strike, House Speaker Newt Gingrich attempted to use tactics similar to those applied by Ronald Reagan during the PATCO labor movement.
The Teamster (October 1997) reported that Gingrich and other Republican leaders wanted to retaliate against the labor movement. Some of the attacks consisted of eliminating the 40 -hour work week and letting companies work employees without overtime pay; permitting corporations to dip into workers pension funds; interfering in Teamster contract negotiations; attacking members rights to vote for top union officers; and attacking Teamsters right to be heard (The Teamster, October 1997). At the time, President Clinton did not let history repeat itself but instead ignored the demands of Gingrich by letting the movement proceed. Ron Carey, the 1997 General President of the Teamsters, stated that, We have to hold politicians accountable to working people, and not just big corporations (The Teamster, October 1997). The outcome of the movement gave other laborers the will to fight with management for their rights and define the effort as an American labor movement. Witt and Wilson (1999, p. 58) reported that, Twelve days into the two-week, nationwide United Parcel Service strike in August 1997, fifty workers at the RDS package delivery company in Cincinnati voted to join the Teamsters Union.
Witt and Wilson also note that, In Washington State, 4, 000 corrections officers who had an ineffective, unaffiliated association voted to become Teamsters. The movement encouraged many others to either join the Teamsters or fight on behalf of the workers at UPS. In 1997, Ron Carey emphasized that, All American workers owe their thanks to the thousands of Teamsters, retirees, and family members who made our UPS victory possible (The Teamster, October 1997). The issues at UPS were not different from the issues of other laborers like the PATCO members. Since the UPS strike, other union affiliations have fought for similar terms.
In 1998 there was the UAW 651 810 - 742 - 864 - 2010 strike against GM, Delphi E for health, safety and subcontracts; in 1999, the SEIU 535 strike against the American Red Cross for union busting; also in 1999, the AFSCME 31 618 - 462 - 1896 strike against Beverly Farm for $ 5. 35 /hr pay rate (LaborNet, 1999). The above strikes are a small sample of other union affiliations. As a result, then, the Teamsters are not the only union representatives making a difference when managers and politicians continue to ignore these crucial human The victory of UPS increased the awareness of other laborers, but the effect on union membership was surprising. In 1998, BLS (1999) reported that union members in 1997 were at 14. 1 percent and in 1998 decrease to 13. 9 %. Also BLS (1999) reported that in 1983 union membership was at 20. 1 % decreasing an average of 6. 2 % in a 15 -year period in 1983.
The statistics suggests that a decline, but the causes of the decline are ill-defined at the present time. Summary and Future Research Recommendation Companies are often not aware of the ramifications of not addressing to laborers issues, instead they often choose to suffer the long term repercussion, as a result, in the market environment and employees spirit. Companies, such as UPS, have learned that not trying to meet employees needs can have negative effects on the results of their operations. UPS depended to a significant degree on the inability to avoid strikes and other work stoppages by their employees. As their competitors had grown in size and strength, UPS faced permanent loss of customers if they were unable to provide continued service.
Due to not being able to meet customer demands, their competitors became stronger and their market share declined during that period. Consequently, the Teamsters strike resulted in a decrease in the companys financial and operational status. The strike resulted in a net loss of $ 211 million and an operating loss of $ 349 million for the month of August 1997, compared to net income of $ 113 million and an operating profit of $ 187 million for August 1996 (Prospectus, 1999). These results suggest that solving employees issues in a timely-manner can have a positive effect on employees and customers as opposed to decreasing the spirit of employees and dividing the market with competitors.
As a manager of United Parcel Service, Inc and a past UPS striker in 1997, it is thought that the following points are in order to maintain effective &# 61553; Publicize all events to employees, including financial reports, make job posting available, and publicize the benefits that the company offers &# 61553; Cross train employees (especially if in union guidelines), &# 61553; Implement surveys and focus attention on union members opinions, &# 61553; Work towards incorporating wage / benefit status to all workers and publicize how increases are tabulated (according to seniority date and / or other variables that may affect wages), &# 61553; DONT let information become a mystery for employees and, provide the necessary resources to help solve problems, &# 61553; Let employees know the BIG PICTURE regarding why a company does things a particular way and be HONEST about problems, suggestions and The above outline may or may not help to contribute to a union free environment. But, they may also help to avoid future strikes if the company is already operating in a union setting. Unlike the PATCO situation, the UPS members did have an impact on the labor movement and opened the doors to future efforts all of which centered on employees needs and consideration of these needs early on. With respect to future research efforts, the following points seem to be in order which of the above ideas might have the biggest impact in satisfying employee needs, and when, in particular, should they be delivered in order to maximize their effects.
The desired outcome, of course, should be a harmonious employee / management relationship, where trust and dialogue can be used to avoid such things as strikes and animosity. Bibliography: References Bureau of Labor Statistics. (1999). Union Members in 1998. Washington, DC: Author. Cooke, W.
N. (January 1983). Determinants of the Outcomes of Certification Elections. Industrial and Labor Relation Review, 36 402 - 414. Chezum, B. , (Winter 1997). Market Power and Price: Theory and Evidence on Labor Unions. Eastern Economic Journal, 23 (1) 73 - 88.
Fichtenbaum, R. H. , & Traynor, T. L. (Winter 1997). The impact of post-patco labor relations on U. S.
union wages. Eastern Economic Journal, 23 (1), 61 - 73. Grimes, P. W. , (June 1995). The decline of strike activity and the post-PATCO era.
Atlantic Economic Journal, 23 (2), 155. Hatfield, D. E. , & Murrmann, K. F. (Fall 1999). Diversification and Win Rate in NLRB Certification Elections. Journal of Labor Research, 20 (4), 539 - 556.
Judis, J. B. , (1994). Why your wages keep falling. New Republic, 210 (7) 26 - 29.
LaborNet Steering Committee (1999). LaborNet [On-Line]. Available: web Meyer, D. (Summer 1994). The effect of environmental economic factors on the choice of union.
Journal of Applied Business Research, 10 (3), 113 - 125. Partridge, D. M. , &Townsend, A. M. (Fall 1999). Revisiting Multi-Tier Wages Structures: Equity, Employment Mobility, and Tier Effects. Journal of Labor Research, 20 (4), 605 - 620.
The Teamsters. (1997, October). Gingrich Gang Retaliates Against Labor. The Teamsters. (1997, October). Help Build on The UPS Victory. The Teamster. (1997, March/April). Part Time, Full Time, Union Time.
The Teamster. (1997, October). Teamster Unity Wins UPS VICTORY. The Teamster. (1996, November/December). Teamsters Uniting to Make UPS Deliver.
United Parcel Service, Inc. (1999, October). Prospectus. Atlanta, GA: Author. Wilson, R. , & Witt M. (Spring 1999). The Teamsters UPS Strike of 1997: Building a New Labor Movement. Labor Studies Journal, 24 (1) 58 - 73.
Appendix Union Names and Acronyms Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, United (UAW) Service Employees International Union (SEIU) State, County and Municipal Employees, American Federation of (AFSCME) Teamsters, Chauffeurs and Warehousemen & Helpers, International Brotherhood of (IBT) Author Note The recent paper utilized the contents and the data drawn together to form conclusions about the post-actions of the UPS events. I am associated with UPS and the conclusions and steps that are suggested do not necessarily reflect the companies opinion. I thank Geraldine Miller for her insights on labor unions and the political events, which assisted me in organizing my paper. I also thank Gerald Vaughn and Sonya McElveen for gathering the materials on the Teamsters. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tonya D.
Moore, Department of Business Administration, University of Sarasota, 5250 17 th Street, Sarasota, Florida 34235. Electronic mail may be sent via Embanet to Tonya Moore.
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