DATE: Wednesday, August 6, 1997             TAG: 9708060476

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CLARK, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   98 lines

UPS STRIKE IS HITTING HOME WORKER SAYS THE TEAMSTERS DON'T JUST WANT MORE MONEY

For Kenny Rivers, the Teamsters' strike against United Parcel Service is about more than money.

Wearing a polo shirt and shorts, with a New York Yankees cap between his head and the sun, the part-time UPS employee endured the heat Tuesday to picket for what he feels is a just cause.

``The union is fighting for the long term,'' Rivers, 28, said. ``We're all here fighting for our future.''

There was no hint of a settlement in the second day of the Teamsters' walkout against UPS after a stalemate over pay, pensions and heavy use of part-time employees. No talks were scheduled, and President Clinton has no plans to intervene.

Rivers earns $10 an hour for his services as a ``pre-loader'' in the UPS warehouse and 50 cents an hour more when he drives.

But he notes that it took him two years to reach that level, after starting at $8 an hour.

UPS is offering to raise part-time pay over five years to $13.50 per hour. But it's not just the money that drives Rivers and the Teamsters to the picket line.

``I work six days a week, but the most I ever get is 32 hours a week,'' Rivers said.

In negotiations with UPS, the Teamsters want to reduce part-time jobs and turn them into thousands of full-time openings.

The last UPS offer outlined the creation of 1,000 new full-time jobs during the five-year contract, giving part-timers first shot at full-time jobs as they come open.

The way it is now, Rivers expects to wait six years before he gets a chance to go full time.

``You've got part-timers in Norfolk who have been on pre-load for six, seven, eight years,'' Rivers said. Engaged to be married, the Petersburg native has worked part time at the Virginia Beach UPS facility since late 1994.

He worked at Newport News Shipbuilding for eight years and was a member of the union there: the United Steelworkers of America, Local 8888.

He prefers the Teamsters.

``I love this union,'' he said. ``This is the strongest union I've ever seen. Everybody pulls together.''

After he was laid off from Newport News in 1991, Rivers worked a few jobs in the area - including 7-Eleven - before joining UPS. He augments his income by doing landscape work.

Now, he fears for his UPS job.

``We'll lose jobs,'' he said. ``The longer the strike goes on, the more part-time workers are hurt.''

But if he gets laid off when the striking workers go back, it will be for a good cause, he said. MEMO: ``The point is, we're looking out for our future.''

The Associated Press contributed to this story. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot

Kenny Rivers, right, holds a picket sign while standing outside of

Norfolk offices on the second day of the UPS strike. Rivers has been

a part-time UPS employee for the last 2 1/2 years. To his left is

Mark Howard, a full-time driver for 6 years.

Photo

L. TODD SPENCER

For Sean McBride of the Packing Store, the strike means special

wrapping and stacking of parcels for alternate shipping at higher

prices.

Graphic

LOCALLY

There are 1,000 UPS employees in Hampton Roads, 700 of whom are

members of the Teamsters Union.

Graphic

IN DISPUTE\ Part-time work

About 60 percent of the unionized jobs at UPS are part-time.

Teamsters want to reduce part-time jobs by combining them into

``thousands'' of full-time positions. The company has said it would

create 1,000 new full-time jobs during the five-year contract.

Pensions

UPS wants to stop contributing to a Teamster-run pension plan

that covers workers at other companies. The union, meanwhile, says

it is bargaining for all its members, not just the 185,000 who work

for UPS.

Pay

Average part-timer's pay would go up at least $2.50 per hour over

five years to $13.50 per hour under the latest company offer.

Full-time pay would increase $1.50 per hour by 2001 to $21.45 per

hour. The company also says it is willing to distribute

profit-sharing bonuses. The union wants bigger raises and rejects

the profit-sharing bonuses because they wouldn't raise the base from

which future raises are negotiated.

Source: Associated Press

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