United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, commonly referred to as UPS, is a global freight company with a revenue of $53.1 billion in 2011. In 2010 the company's revenues were $42.6 billion and its CEO, D. Scott Davis, received compensation of $10.73 million that same year. UPS was founded in "1907 as a messenger company in the United States."

Ties to Pete Peterson's "Fix the Debt"
The Campaign to Fix the Debt is the latest incarnation of a decades-long effort by former Nixon man turned Wall Street billionaire Pete Peterson to slash earned benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare under the guise of fixing the nation's "debt problem."

This article is part of the Center for Media and Democracy's investigation of Pete Peterson's Campaign to "Fix the Debt." Please visit our main SourceWatch page on Fix the Debt.

Ties to the American Legislative Exchange Council
UPS is on the corporate ("Private Enterprise") board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Pat Thomas, Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs, is the UPS representative on the corporate board. He is the Second Vice Chairman of the board as of 2011.

A list of ALEC corporations can be found here.

UPS and "Free Trade"
In March 2005 the CEO of UPS, Mike Eskew claimed that "one could argue that we in the business community have not done a very good job framing and promoting the benefits of international trade." "American business interests are at risk of losing a significant battle. We’re losing the battle here in the U.S. and abroad. The small, but vocal anti-globalization movement has pushed its message forward with great force and tenacity in recent years," he said in a speech at the Commerce Club in Georgia.

"As business leaders and advocates, we don't have much direct control over how issues are framed in political debates. But I do believe we can control and turn around the bruised reputation of globalization. We have the power to do that. And we have the responsibility to do that," he said.

"We can recite trade facts until we’re blue in the face," he said ".... But if you have lost a job these facts mean nothing. In fact, we really can't talk about trade liberalization without, in the same breath, talking about programs that help those who have been displaced or who are threatened to be displaced. We have a responsibility to help those displaced workers get the training they need to re-enter the workforce."

"We need to understand that in foreign affairs, corporate diplomacy is as important as political diplomacy ... The growing wave of anti-Americanism abroad is a significant concern for U.S. businesses," he said. "Many in the world have been upset for quite some time over what they perceive as an invasion of American culture and values and bad corporate behavior," says Eskew. "We’ve seen a significant slide in American business's favorability around the world, and in a short time frame."

Board of Directors
As of February 2013:
 * Ann M. Livermore - Director and former Executive Vice President, Hewlett-Packard Company
 * Carol B. Tome - Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President, The Home Depot, Inc.
 * Clark T. Randt, Jr - former U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China; President of Randt & Co. LLC
 * D. Scott Davis - UPS Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
 * Candace Kendle - Co-founder and former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Kendle International, Inc.
 * F. Duane Ackerman - former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, BellSouth Corporation
 * John W. Thompson - Chief Executive Officer, Virtual Instruments Corporation; former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Symantec Corporation
 * Kevin M. Warsh - former Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
 * Michael J. Burns - former Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President, Dana Corporation
 * Michael L. Eskew - former UPS Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
 * Rudy H.P. Markham - former Financial Director, Unilever PLC and Unilever NV
 * Stuart E. Eizenstat - Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
 * William R. Johnson - Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, H.J. Heinz Company

Management Committee
As of February 2013
 * Alan Gershenhorn - Chief Sales, Marketing and Strategy Officer
 * Christine M. Owens - Senior Vice President, Communications and Brand Management
 * D. Scott Davis - UPS Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
 * Daniel J. Brutto - President, UPS International
 * David Abney - Chief Operating Officer
 * David Barnes - Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer
 * John McDevitt - Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Labor Relations
 * Kurt Kuehn - Chief Financial Officer
 * Myron Gray - President, U.S. Operations
 * Teri Plummer McClure - SVP of Legal, Compliance, Audit & Public Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Former top executives:
 * Alan E. Hill, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Political contributions
In 2010, UPS gave a total of over $2 million to federal candidates: $1.1 million to Republicans and $898,505 to Democrats. This amount was split between their PAC and individual donations: $2,031,348 in PAC donations and $28,036 in individual donations.

In July 2010, CEO Scott Davis was named to President Obama's Export Council. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the council is "an advisory committee on global trade, the council advises on government policies and programs that affect U.S. trade performance. The council also provides a forum to resolve trade-related problems among businesses and industry, agriculture, labor and government."

Lobbying
UPS lobbied on 28 bills in 2010.

Criticism

 * Carl Winslow, "The Fight for Control at UPS: Forty Years of Struggle", Counterpunch, July 18, 2013.

Contact Details
UPS Corporate Headquarters 55 Glenlake Parkway, NE Atlanta, GA 30328 United States Phone: 1-800-PICK-UPS Web: http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/

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