General: July 2007 Archives

I received this tonight in my email after filling out the online form at the UPS site.

Same old crap, just explained away with a bunch of excuses.

Dear Mr. Cannon:

I got your email that you sent to our customer service dept. I wanted to respond personally to let you know that UPS does indeed provide benefits to domestic partners. Some of the media you may have seen is not giving the full picture.

As a matter of corporate policy, UPS currently offers same sex benefits to all non-union employees -- management as well as administrative workers. This includes all such employees in New Jersey, even though the state has failed to recognize gay partners as married spouses. Beyond health care, UPS also offers benefits such as medical leave, pension rights, funeral leave, relocation and transfer benefits. We recently added same-sex benefits as part of a new union contract with UPS pilots too.

UPS doesn't legally have the right to give same sex benefits to package car drivers (like Ms. Brazier who was cited in some of the media reports) because she is part of the Teamsters and any changes to benefits have to be done as part of the collective bargain process. The contact expires in 2008. Absent a law that specifically categorizes same sex partners as married spouses such as in Mass., UPS cannot unilaterally change a union contract to offer same sex benefits. We have already brought up this issue to the Teamsters for consideration. The situation regarding Ms. Brazier and her partner is just as disappointing to UPS as it is to them. But for unionized employees, we can only address the issue through the union at contract renewal time.

Hopefully, this will help you feel better about doing business with UPS.

Sincerely,

Lynnette McIntire
UPS Public Relations

Anyway, if anyone cares, here's the contact information for UPS.

In the real world, civil unions are to marriage what artificial sweetener is to sugar. It's not the same thing and it leaves a bad aftertaste. (source)

In reference to UPS.

TRENTON, N.J. -- United Parcel Service has denied health benefits to some same-sex couples in New Jersey, a decision gay rights advocates say starkly illustrates the limitations of the state’s civil unions legislation.

The company provides health benefits to its employees’ spouses, including married gay couples in Massachusetts. However, it said the Garden State’s decision to recognize same-sex relationships as civil unions, rather than marriages, has tied its hands.

In a letter to Gabriael “Nickie” Brazier, a driver for UPS, and her civil union partner, Heather Aurand, the company concluded that “New Jersey law does not treat civil unions the same as marriages.” It said if the state had done that, Aurand could have been included in the health coverage plan as a spouse....

However, benefit plans offered by many employers, including UPS, are governed by federal law, which recognizes only the union of a man and a woman as a marriage. Those companies are allowed, although not required, to deny benefits to partners in other relationships.

Another longtime UPS driver, Tom Walton of East Brunswick, said he was verbally rejected when he sought health coverage for his civil union partner, Mermon Davis. Walton, though, said he has not received a formal explanation for the decision.

“It’s upsetting,” Walton said. “We were told this law was going to give us the same benefits as everybody else, even though they weren’t calling it marriage. It just goes to show when something is separate, it’s never equal.” (source)

Well, we should expect to see this more and more. Many companies use the federal laws to guide (and conveniently exclude) them in who they will offer “marriage” benefits to. Does anyone honestly believe that civil unions are equal to marriages? And if you do, are you really being honest about that opinion?

Let’s be clear about one thing. UPS or any other company in this country could offer these benefits to same sex couples in a state civil union if they wanted to offer them. They simply don’t. I actually prefer UPS over FedEx, but after today, that’s going to change.

You can write to them at...

UPS Corporate Headquarters
55 Glenlake Parkway, NE
Atlanta , GA 30328
United States

They can also be called at 888-967-5877

Or send them an online message here.