this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
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UPS’s tentative labor deal with the Teamsters hasn’t even taken effect yet. But it has already taken a bite out of its earnings and revenue, as both fell in the second quarter ahead of the deal being reached.

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[–] Bluefruit@lemmy.world 78 points 2 years ago (28 children)

If you're company isn't profitable enough that it has to underpay its workers to profit then your company should fail. UPS is huge. Theres no way they cant afford it.

Pay your workers a decent wage you philistine.

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Fuck it! I don't give a shit. Let its profit fall. Its already making a shit ton of money per year. How about forcing the CEO to take a goddamned pay cut!

[–] SaniFlush@hexbear.net 41 points 2 years ago (1 children)

If treating your employees correctly causes you to lose money, then your profits weren't real and you were just playing Jenga with your company's assets to line your own pockets.

[–] somename@hexbear.net 28 points 2 years ago

makes me wonder if this profit thing might be linked to exploiting workers? thinkin-lenin

[–] s20@lemmy.ml 36 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] GillyGumbo@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago

And stocks fall so people get big mad. Crazy how speculative markets basically rule policy and public opinion.

[–] GnuLinuxDude@lemmy.ml 32 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

The headline makes it sound like it was because of the Teamsters deal. Typical liberal ploy. The article summarily points out two factors for lower revenue. 1) Customers that went with competitors to mitigate risk in case of a strike and 2) lower volume of sales due to shift in consumer spending habits toward "travel, movies, eating out and live events"

And if you thought there was any reason to be nervous about anything, no. It's truly business as usual.

Despite the lower revenue and earnings guidance, the company said it expects to stick with its plan to pay $5.4 billion in dividends and repurchases of $3 billion in shares.

🙄

[–] TonyOstrich@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (2 children)

What makes it a liberal ploy exactly? Like I agree with everything you said, but I'm not sure what context the word "liberal" in your sentence means or is referring to.

[–] darthelmet@lemmy.world 19 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Liberal in this context refers to economic liberalism. Ostensibly for free market competition, (but in practice just a political deference to capitalists in opposition to labor or other social goods) it is the ideological backbone of capitalism.

In the US, while “liberal” is colloquially used to describe the Democratic Party for its relative social progressivism, both major political parties follow economic liberalism to justify their policies which favor the rich.

A liberal will side with capital over labor. Therefore, in this context, a liberal will use language that frames the shift in surplus value from corporate profits to labor as a total loss to the economy rather than just to the company.

[–] TonyOstrich@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

Makes sense, and you are right about where my brain went to. I was thinking this just sounds like capitalist bull shit, lol.

[–] culpritus@hexbear.net 9 points 2 years ago

Literally the 2nd to last sentence of the article. Talk about burying the damn lede.

[–] StrayCatFrump@slrpnk.net 5 points 2 years ago

I mean, even without revenue decreasing, profits are going to "decrease" because money that will go to increased pay and benefits to workers would otherwise go to greater profits. So even leaving out the fearmongering about lost revenue, the title and significant parts of the article (about profits and margins) is taking the liberal path of calling it a bad thing due to sympathy with capitalists instead of workers.

So yeah: how about a fuck you UPS, and a fuck you CNN. Nothing new, but always bears repeating.

[–] Rom@lemm.ee 21 points 2 years ago

Yeah, good. OK.

[–] culpritus@hexbear.net 19 points 2 years ago

stealing surplus value from workers is [checks-notes] more difficult when the workers organize

shocked-pikachu

[–] TheMusicalFruit@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago

Boo friggen hoo

[–] ilickfrogs@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago

You mean a company that's seen wild growth in the Amazon era is passing some growth onto the workers???? Boo fucking hoo cry me a river.

[–] reverendsteveii@beehaw.org 14 points 2 years ago

That's the idea, yeah.

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 13 points 2 years ago
[–] TokyoCalling@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Yes.

With this sort of insight, it's obvious that management doesn't deserve the money it earns.

What they are not saying is that in the long term UPS profits will rise. Their workers will be secure in their jobs. They will be excited about helping UPS succeed. They will innovate. Shareholders should be celebrating, but they are just as dim as UPS management and only understand success as making more money every quarter even if that means ruining labor and hollowing out the company.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Penny Smart Dollar dumb.

[–] nolannice@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago

The union agreement actually helps profit, because the union would strike if the terms were worse. You can't claim that your bad offer that got rejected is lost profit.

[–] Burn_The_Right@lemm.ee 11 points 2 years ago
[–] argv_minus_one@beehaw.org 7 points 2 years ago

Good. It's about time they learned to share.

[–] Washburn@hexbear.net 7 points 2 years ago
[–] ebenixo@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 years ago

once again the union leaders are capitulating to the powerful instead of striking. they should elect new leadership and strike.

[–] frippa@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

They scammed me out of 60 euros on a 150 euro order (calculating shipping into final cost to calculate customs, something that should be illegal) I hope they go into destitution.

Or even better, the CEO should be (redacted) and the company should be expropriated by the workers

[–] puffy@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It might vary by country, but in Germany this is how it works, customs fees are paid on the whole value including shipping costs. They are merely forwarding the money paid to customs, so they definitely weren't scamming you.

[–] frippa@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

I know but I feel it should be illegal, there are many things that cost up to 100€ to transport, plus I feel like they slapped some fees on top, because (after paying vat) I dont think customs is almost 70€ on a 150€ product, half of the price basically

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