August 7, 2017

Today Teamsters Local 89 held a meeting for all UPS Stewards (Air and Ground) to discuss upcoming Contract negotiations.  Sixty-four stewards were in attendance at the five-hour meeting, which included a breakfast and lunch. 

Teamsters Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman and Vice President (and International Vice President) Avral Thompson presided over the five-hour meeting, which included International Vice Presidents from the Central and Southern Region, Bill Frisky, Robert Kopystynsky, John Palmer, and Kimberly Schultz. These guest speakers educated the audience on their roles as International Vice Presidents, and further, promised to be a voice on the General Executive Board (GEB) for members of Teamsters Local 89 as well as all Local Unions.

Communications Director Stephen Piercey gave a presentation on the communications strategy for the upcoming contract campaign, including the role of Stewards, our Social Media pages (@teamsters89 on Facebook and Twitter), and our UPS specific websites (www.teamsters89.com/ups and www.teamsters89.com/ups2018contract). In addition, there are several new types of flyers we are experimenting with, including the Teamsters 89 UPS Membership Contract Questionnaire which will be conducted at the gates of the Air Hub and the Ground Centers.

Following lunch, we were joined by Brian Rainville, a Communications staffer for the IBT Package Division. Rainville discussed the UPS Rising app and website, which are launching tomorrow.  This app will include many helpful resources for Stewards and rank-and-file members.

The final guest speaker, introduced by President Zuckerman, was Eastern Region Vice President and President of Teamsters Local 25 Sean O’Brien. International Vice President O’Brien was recently appointed Package Division Director and will be leading contract negotiations for the UPS National Master and all riders and supplements. O’Brien spoke at length about working with Teamsters Local 89 to get a better contract for all UPS Teamsters.  Further, he announced that he has submitted a letter to General President Hoffa recommending that Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman, Secretary-Treasurer John Bolton, Vice President Avral Thompson, Trustee Brian Hamm, and Business Agent Mike Rankin be assigned to the National Negotiating Committee. O’Brien stressed that, although the ultimate decision would be up to the General President, he would push hard for his recommendation to be approved.

President Zuckerman, the Officers, Agents, and Staff of Teamsters Local 89 would like to thank all of our Stewards for attending today’s very important meeting. We would also like to thank our guests from the IBT GEB and Package Division. It was a pleasure for us to host Package Director and International Vice President Sean O’Brien, and International Vice Presidents Bill Frisky, Robert Kopystynsky, John Palmer and Kimberly Schultz.