lawless1...

UPS was amendable 6 mos. prior to fedex. We started negotiating 15 mos before the amendable date (fat lot of good it did!) with the hope of having something to vote on by the amendable date. Just like before, ups didn't start negotiating seriously until they considered the time was right. The first two years were spent nibbling around the edges (uniforms/training) disregarding the important issues (scope/scheduling/compensation/retirement) until ups was ready.

Our top rates moved up to basically match federal's wb proposals (whisper numbers). On the last contract, our blended payrate was $16/hr less than federal's wb rate. We have caught up with that this time. You can say the larger bonus reflects more pay increase but not really the extra time negotiating. It's the amendable dates that really matter when you compute retro pay.

Good luck drying off and starting a great future!

JMO

Pilot7576