The Power at Work Blog is delighted to lift up this 1997 video --- Actions Speak Louder Than Words --- when the Teamsters and UPS were negotiating another of their nationwide collective bargaining agreements. Those negotiations led to a 15-day strike, but Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman mediated and eventually helped the parties reach an agreement. In addition to its retro 1990s vibe, this video discloses the Teamsters' reaction to UPS's efforts to implement a new management strategy that allegedly would "empower" workers. Note how the management representative in the video trips over the word "empower."
We were inspired to share this video with you by this year's ongoing negotiations and the recent Teamsters strike authorization vote (h/t recent blogcast guest John O'Malley). To learn more about this year's negotiations and the potential for a strike, read this recent post. The Teamsters' 1997 strike against UPS was the last time negotiations between these parties resulted in a work stoppage. Of course, the issues in 1997 were very different as were the leadership of both the union and the company. Here’s an explanation of the video from friend-of-the-blog Ken Margolies, a former Teamsters official, former trade union educator at Cornell University’s School of Industrial & Labor Relations, and recruiter for unions and related organizations:
In 1995, in preparation for bargaining with UPS (which led to the historic strike) the [Teamsters'] Education and Communications departments and the UPS Division produced this video. It was designed to help Teamsters working for UPS to evaluate a labor management program introduced by UPS management, called the Star Program. UPS introduced it without any bargaining or involvement of the union. The union deemed that the program was designed to divide the members prior to bargaining. The video was shown to Teamsters in the parking lots of UPS facilities and generated much discussion. It so undermined the program that UPS abandoned it. Gaye Williams of the Teamsters Communications Department, me from the Education Department worked with a UPS Teamster activist selected by Ken Hall from his local in West Virginia.
Enjoy the video and its distinctive 1990s feel.
