LABOR UNIONS GETTING MORE CLOUT

#LaborUnions #MoreUnionClout #workers #jobs
Labor unions, and their power to create a lifestyle for their members, have been declining for years.
And, government has been assisting in that decline by passing laws reducing the unions’ bargaining power. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that government workers who declined to join unions that represent them in collective bargaining cannot be forced to contribute to those unions.
That ruling would certainly have an impact on a union’s ability to raise money to cushion labor disputes etc.
But, according to an article by Nicholas Riccardi for the Associated Press, there’s a little more enthusiasm now for labor unions. His article was published June 29, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“There’s kind of a spark going on now with unions,” the article quotes Mike Hinton, 39, a UPS delivery driver and Teamster from Campbellsville, Ky.
Whether its Las Vegas workers striking at Strip casinos, and winning concessions, or teachers striking in states that have chopped education budgets for years, unions are trying to make a comeback, the article says.
In fact, the article says labor unions picked up 262,000 new recruits last year.
It’s not clear why unions are making a comeback. “I don’t know if locals have been unusually organized rather than things have just gotten very, very bad,” the article quotes Moshe Marvit, a Pittsburgh-based labor attorney and fellow at the Century Foundation.
Some historical perspective is in order. As the Industrial Revolution took hold, factories – often called sweat shops – emerged. People moved off the farms to get jobs in these factories and, at the beginning, those jobs paid very little for the hard work people had to do.
So, organizers got the idea of trying to negotiate better wages and benefits for the workers. If they didn’t get what they want, they would convince most, if not all, the workers to strike until demands were met.
Over time, those demands created inefficiencies in the workplace, and companies could not change things without union approval. Of course, the unions’ mission was to preserve as many jobs as possible, with the best pay and most benefits.
Technological progress sped up, and companies found ways to produce their goods more efficiently with machines, rather than human power.
As fewer people worked in factories, unions gradually lost their clout, with the exception of the public sector unions.
Some recent improvements in working conditions have taken hold because of a tightening job market. Still, in general, job security is almost non-existent. Raises are few and far between. Employee benefits, pensions etc., have gradually gone away. The income gap between rich and middle class grows wider. The middle class is declining.
Perhaps, with a strong economy and companies unable to find enough workers, labor feels emboldened.
The lesson here might be that, for as long as it took for unions to gain power in previous decades, workers may not want to wait for that to happen again.
If you have a job that doesn’t pay you enough, or give you enough benefits, you might want to find some part-time, off-work hours in your schedule to check out the many ways to earn money that doesn’t involve a W-2 job. To check out one of the best, message me.
Organizing labor is risky, as the article points out. The way things are, or the way things are headed, may make workers believe it’s worth the risk to organize.
Remember, whatever choice you make, think it through and make sure it’s the right thing for you to do. There are ways to bolster your financial future with much less risk.
Peter

UPS IS ADDING JOBS, BUT FOR HOW LONG?

#UPS #OnlineShopping #AddedJobs
UPS is “hiring like crazy” because of the growth in e-commerce. “I’ve never seen jobs get added at UPS like it has in the last year,” says Eric Massaro, a shop stewards for the Teamsters union at a UPS sorting facility in Roswell, Ga.
Massaro was quoted in an article by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Kelly Yamanouchi, published Aug. 25, 2017.
In addition to adding people, UPS is adding technology to help it get packages delivered more quickly, with fewer mistakes and greater efficiency, the article says.
The UPS situation illustrates how a decline in some brick-and-mortar retail businesses can turn in to a boon elsewhere.
UPS also had to add Saturday delivery, because people shop online on weekends and the packages back up on Mondays, the article says.
UPS is also trying to nudge customers to pick up their own packages at various locations, to save time for its drivers, the article says.
Let’s examine the UPS situation from a different perspective. Right now, it’s hiring – “good-paying jobs with benefits,” the article quotes Massaro. The workers are putting in long hours which, if you are unemployed, could make you jealous.
But what the article does not discuss is what technology could do to a lot of those jobs 10 or 20 years hence.
Think driverless vehicles, better sorting and loading technology, deliveries to homes by drones, etc. And let’s not forget that Amazon is testing its own delivery service, which could affect UPS directly. Yamanouchi reported on that in the Oct. 6, 2017, edition. The trend at UPS could be good if you don’t have many more years left to work. If you are just starting out, though, think long and hard about what you will do.
Most jobs undergo change whether the person doing them changes or not. Companies have to be flexible and nimble enough to change quickly, as situations change. Therefore, companies will need to have less structure and more technology to allow them to change more quickly.
The article says that UPS has increased its technology already, but still needs even more people. That’s good news for those looking for work today. Working at UPS for a few years could get you over the hump, if you’ve lost a good job and are having trouble finding another one.
But a wise person will also be looking at a Plan B – something he could do a few hours a week when he’s not working at, say, UPS. There are many such vehicles out there for those willing to look for them. To check out one of the best, message me. You might even see something that will allow you to do online shopping and save money, too.
It is not as easy being a working person today, as it was several decades ago. Change came more slowly then, and that allowed people to finish out careers and retire when they were ready. Today, that is almost unheard of. People are often forced out of jobs long before retirement age and are banished to a job market that doesn’t want them.
Thanks goodness companies like UPS need people. But one could mistakenly think that its need for people will be everlasting. That kind of thinking might be a mistake.
Using the retailers’ example again, there was a time when some retailers could not keep up with demand in their stores. As fast as goods came in, they were bought.
Today, many of those same retailers are struggling, because of e-commerce and other reasons. Don’t let this sudden demand for help by UPS allow you to think it won’t go away. Many good things like this usually do. Be ready, so if the rug is pulled out from under you, you can have a puffy pad to land on.
Peter

BROKEN PROMISES AND PENSIONS: NEVER PRESUME

#UPS #pensions #FreezingPensions
UPS plans to freeze pensions for non-union employees effective 2023.
So says an article by Kelly Yamanouchi, a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which was published June 29, 2017.
The freeze will affect about 70,000 administrative and managerial employees, the article quotes UPS.
The employees will be shifted to a plan that includes extra company contributions to each employee’s 401(k) accounts, the article says.
“Continued increases in future pension obligations and volatility that makes it difficult to plan for future costs,” was cited in the article as the reason for the change. The non-union pension plan has a deficit of about $6.5 billion, according to the article.
It’s difficult to judge how badly those non-union employees will be hurt by this change, but it speaks to an ongoing trend.
If you are fortunate enough to work for someone that provides a pension plan – they are getting fewer by the day – be prepared for some changes somewhere along the way. Unionized employees in both the public and private sectors are susceptible to changes, even if a contract locks the employer in.
It’s truly the wise person who anticipates changes, even if he or she doesn’t know what those changes are, or when they will come.
UPS, it seems, is giving their affected employees some warning, so they can begin planning.
It’s unsafe to presume that your employer – again, if you are lucky enough to be in a pension plan – will do the same, or even give you notice.
So, if you are not covered by a pension plan, or if your pension plan undergoes a sudden change that may give less than you had anticipated, what should you do?
If you are still relatively young, start by not presuming that your company will take care of you when you retire. Remember the adage, if it is to be, it’s up to me.
Save your money as if there will be NO benefits coming to you from your company. If you get benefits, then you’ll be that much better off. In other words, consider whatever pension you get to be gravy.
Next, sit down with a trusted adviser who can guide you to a financial plan that will cover your life expenses now, and encourage you to save so you can provide for yourself in your elder years.
There’s nothing worse that working your tail off for, say, 40 years, and be broke, or close to, when you are older.
Also, anticipate the possibility that you WILL BE retired before you want to be. That is happening, and has happened, to countless people.
Another tip: instead of getting a second job if you are unable to save enough, look into one of the many vehicles out there that allows you the chance to earn a potentially lucrative income with a few part-time hours a week. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
The corporate and business worlds are littered with broken promises to employees. Never presume that promises made when you were hired will be kept when you retire. Don’t even assume that promises made the day you were hired will be kept throughout your career.
Remember, too, that as you walk through that broken promissory litter, no one but you will pick up the pieces.
Peter