10 years behind the wheel- random observations

[tacken]

SAFE GETS THE JOB DONE.. They don't want you to work safe. Please have them put in righting sign it and move on. The next thing they will have are body cameras for us to wear..

 

[Brownslave688]

Clearly, we have some company men and some union men that are offended by my observations. That is to be expected, but these are MY observations.

First, on the 9.5 list, it only exists on the paper that is our worthless master contract. It does not exist in real life. Good luck getting management to even acknowledge it, let alone honor it. The union doesn't care about how we are treated at work, they only care about getting our dues. That may not be how it works at your center, but it is in ours. Sure, I could file a grievance over something that doesn't actually exist, but all grievances do is piss off management to the point where they will try to harass you or terminate you for something like not grabbing a handrail. Again, you experiences may be different, but that's how it works at my place. Non one has won a grievance against a 9.5 yet, and people no longer file because they know it's a waste of time and the end result is putting a target on your back while still getting a daily 10.5 hour dispatch.

The union is intimidated by UPS more than the workers are. The union knows it's days of being a useful entity have long since passed, and people are wising up to the shakedown that it is. It's hard for me to stomach their propaganda anymore. They create a climate of fear in order to take some of your pay. I don't know about you guys, but when you step back and look at our jobs, we are the poster children for the war on workers, and yet people are too stupid to realize that what we do and the expectations placed on our time and bodies is not normal.

Anyone that has delivered surepost for any length of time knows that the volume going to the USPS has increased dramatically. I don't recall taking a P1000 full of packages to a single post office when I started, but it's common now. What about those "size limits" that were in the contract? We used to primarily deliver bags of clothing and small boxes there, these days large boxes are common.

The reason we are still working 11 hour days is because subcontracting out to the USPS has allowed UPS to cut routes while volume actually increases. The stop counts increase every year and the number of drivers is stagnate or decreasing. That's how our workload, hours of work, and the USPS packages are all increasing. It's allocation of increasing volume.

I'm sure that some of you will be like, "Go get another job, but you won't make as much." Perhaps, but it has reached a point with me that if doing what I do, safely and efficiently delivering and picking up packages, isn't good enough then it's time to move on. I will continue to do my job, but I'm not going to be a victim of intimidation and distorted versions of reality.

I personally believe UPS is at a turning point, where the job, the customers, and the employees no longer matter. It's all about numbers that no longer are rooted in reality. UPS is on the verge of a public relations disaster, because they have lost their way and forgotten what the job is actually about.

Sounds like you work with the biggest bunch of pusillanimous this side of the Atlantic.

 

[OPTION3]

It's because hipster Teamsters will not go into management that UPS has to promote and hire driver sups from the non-Package Driver ranks.
You want to see the problem?
Go look in the mirror!!!

.......or old school managers who retire when they can no longer cut the mustard

 

[Broken down brown dog]

Dearest Vladimir, I am not complaining about not enough ex drivers in mgmt., but lack of talent and knowledge at that level. Let me know when the snow melts in Moscow, we can guzzle some cheap vodka.

 

[oldngray]

Please call me by my first name ... Vladimir.

Vlad the Inhaler?

 

[Returntosender]

 

[Lead Belly]

Things have become increasingly worse at my center. UPS clearly has too many systems that compete with each other, and as a driver, you cannot please all of them. You must pick which "goal" you are trying to obtain each day, and be prepared to be called on your failures in other areas that suffer because you tried to meet one of the other goals.

-Orion sucks. It is yet another system that doesn't work, but the only people that must answer to it are the drivers. It comes from the top that you must follow it, or else. However, UPS refuses to make it mandatory, probably because they know what the consequences are. they are content to implement a failure and blame the poor results on the drivers. Just this week, we had a driver run in 60% range, but beat his miles by 22. He was told by the supervisor that they didn't give a damn if he was 100 miles over, he needed to be above 85%. Just think about that for a second... If Orion worked, then why not make it mandatory? You run it, or you get canned. If the system works, why won't UPS shoulder the blame of the results?

-The Union (at least in my area) is a total joke. This past contract, there was supposed to be a 9.5 "list" you could get on. Management will not even acknowledge such a list when drivers have asked to be put on it. The union does nothing, and the company continues to raise stop counts and work driver 11+ hours a day. IMHO, there is no longer a need for a union when the company intimidates them and ultimately does what it wants to anyway. That is an extra $20 a week I could put in my pocket.

-This is not a job where one can be expected to work at this level for 35 years before retirement. At this point in time, if your body, and or your family is able to withstand 20-25 years of this, you should be rewarded with a nice retirement.

-We are losing all of our business to the post office. We are delivering half a truck to most local post offices now. UPS has been able to shift volume to the USPS and it has allowed them to run a skeleton crew of drivers. I have noticed that the push for sales leads has disappeared, probably because UPS can no longer pull off the lie of what they claim will happen if we get more business. The more business they get, the more that will go to the USPS and the more work the remaining drivers will be left to do.

-Since most of our smaller and medium sized boxes have gone to the USPS, we are left with nothing but large,heavy boxes. I believe within a few years, a p1000 will not be big enough to hold all the daily deliveries for the average route. Couple that fact with Orion telling you your fist stop is on a shelf you can't see, let alone get to, and you have a big problem.

-Moving forward, UPS will need to greatly improve how they work and treat their employees. This is no longer a desirable job. The current generation has no desire to be worked this hard or treated like a criminal that just hasn't been caught yet. We have seen in the past two peak seasons that the pool of people capable and willing to do this job even for a month is EXTREMELY small. No one signs the driver intent sheet at our building anymore. Once UPS loses the current generation of drivers through attrition, retirement, or firings, they are going to have a hard time replacing these workers.

Do you need a Kleenex?

 

[Brownslave688]

Do you need a Kleenex?

I was thinking tampon.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

You're making this so hard. Run Orion as close to 100% as possible. File 9.5. If they won't file them keep moving up
The Union ladder or file NLRB charges. Finally direct all customer complaints to the 800 number.

I give customers the local number when they have complaints about delivery issues.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

I was thinking tampon.

I was thinking that too. But wasn't going to post it.

 

[Jackburton]

I can only imagine working here for 10 years, having all this hatred and animosity towards the union and company, yet continue to choose to be here. I can see how you think the next 15-20 years of you life are going to suck. I'd find another place to work if I despised the company and union in such a fashion.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

Clearly, we have some company men and some union men that are offended by my observations. That is to be expected, but these are MY observations.

First, on the 9.5 list, it only exists on the paper that is our worthless master contract. It does not exist in real life. Good luck getting management to even acknowledge it, let alone honor it. The union doesn't care about how we are treated at work, they only care about getting our dues. That may not be how it works at your center, but it is in ours. Sure, I could file a grievance over something that doesn't actually exist, but all grievances do is piss off management to the point where they will try to harass you or terminate you for something like not grabbing a handrail. Again, you experiences may be different, but that's how it works at my place. Non one has won a grievance against a 9.5 yet, and people no longer file because they know it's a waste of time and the end result is putting a target on your back while still getting a daily 10.5 hour dispatch.

The union is intimidated by UPS more than the workers are. The union knows it's days of being a useful entity have long since passed, and people are wising up to the shakedown that it is. It's hard for me to stomach their propaganda anymore. They create a climate of fear in order to take some of your pay. I don't know about you guys, but when you step back and look at our jobs, we are the poster children for the war on workers, and yet people are too stupid to realize that what we do and the expectations placed on our time and bodies is not normal.

Anyone that has delivered surepost for any length of time knows that the volume going to the USPS has increased dramatically. I don't recall taking a P1000 full of packages to a single post office when I started, but it's common now. What about those "size limits" that were in the contract? We used to primarily deliver bags of clothing and small boxes there, these days large boxes are common.

The reason we are still working 11 hour days is because subcontracting out to the USPS has allowed UPS to cut routes while volume actually increases. The stop counts increase every year and the number of drivers is stagnate or decreasing. That's how our workload, hours of work, and the USPS packages are all increasing. It's allocation of increasing volume.

I'm sure that some of you will be like, "Go get another job, but you won't make as much." Perhaps, but it has reached a point with me that if doing what I do, safely and efficiently delivering and picking up packages, isn't good enough then it's time to move on. I will continue to do my job, but I'm not going to be a victim of intimidation and distorted versions of reality.

I personally believe UPS is at a turning point, where the job, the customers, and the employees no longer matter. It's all about numbers that no longer are rooted in reality. UPS is on the verge of a public relations disaster, because they have lost their way and forgotten what the job is actually about.

No offense but it sounds like your center, collectively, are a bunch of lady reproductive parts. My center used to be that way but a few years ago many people got fed up and the grievances started poring in. Grievances won't fix everything. But grievances in combination with showing management that their drivers aren't going to be intimidated anymore will curve plenty of problems. And also get your local's reps out of the office or their favorite building and into yours more often.

 

[Brownslave688]

I can only imagine working here for 10 years, having all this hatred and animosity towards the union and company, yet continue to choose to be here. I can see how you think the next 15-20 years of you life are going to suck. I'd find another place to work if I despised the company and union in such a fashion.

I wouldn't. If I really hated this place enough that I wanted to quit. I can tell you exactly what I would do.

I'd become a steward. I would man the up and take on the Union and company. I would use every connection and ounce of energy I had to do what I thought needed to be done to make things right.

Not for me but for all of the other poor saps who are either unable or unwilling to do what needs to be done.

 

[Jackburton]

I wouldn't. If I really hated this place enough that I wanted to quit. I can tell you exactly what I would do.

I'd become a steward. I would man the up and take on the Union and company. I would use every connection and ounce of energy I had to do what I thought needed to be done to make things right.

Not for me but for all of the other poor saps who are either unable or unwilling to do what needs to be done.

True, you also wouldn't come posting here in the fashion the OP did. This is what defines a mans character, what he does in the face of adversity, give up or stand up.

 

[toonertoo]

I agree with most of what the OP says. Except my union does work for me when I call on it.
The 9.5 list at my building took a lot of work to get in place. But I had to jump on it when it came because it had gotten out of control. It is much easier at peak to handle 11 hour days when you have not done it all year.
He is posting his thoughts, and you call him a whiner. I dont think he is whining, He came here to share a thought and get input.
Maybe he is looking as to how to face adversity, and stand up, and get good advice from the older guys, and ya all gave him what?

 

[OPTION3]

I was thinking tampon.

 

[coolslice]

I agree with most of what the OP says. Except my union does work for me when I call on it.
The 9.5 list at my building took a lot of work to get in place. But I had to jump on it when it came because it had gotten out of control. It is much easier at peak to handle 11 hour days when you have not done it all year.
He is posting his thoughts, and you call him a whiner. I dont think he is whining, He came here to share a thought and get input.
Maybe he is looking as to how to face adversity, and stand up, and get good advice from the older guys, and ya all gave him what?

Thank you. The rest of these guys are real comedians, and I can only assume that grabbing their ankles has become a way of life for them. They obviously have grown to love it and think it's funny when someone has the intelligence and fortitude to realize that things aren't always what they seem.

I'm not quitting. I'm not going to call the union and beg them to do something for the money I pay them. All I'm saying is that you can no longer give a damn working for this company. If you care about trying to please UPS, or providing a good service to the customer, you will lose your mind. I'm at the point where I do what I do, and if it's not good enough then they can fire me.

Maybe some of you have a local that makes it possible for you to cry to someone every time your feelings get hurt. Many of us do not. The fact that some here would look to criticize and lay blame on a good, honest, hard working employee speaks volumes to the "character" that was mentioned. I laid this out to vent, and perhaps show others that want to drive what they are getting into. If you don't agree, that's fine, don't make yourself look like an idiot. It's too late for most of you.

 

[upschuck]

I give customers the local number when they have complaints about delivery issues.

I bet your OMS' love you.

 

[hellfire]

Thank you. The rest of these guys are real comedians, and I can only assume that grabbing their ankles has become a way of life for them. They obviously have grown to love it and think it's funny when someone has the intelligence and fortitude to realize that things aren't always what they seem.

I'm not quitting. I'm not going to call the union and beg them to do something for the money I pay them. All I'm saying is that you can no longer give a damn working for this company. If you care about trying to please UPS, or providing a good service to the customer, you will lose your mind. I'm at the point where I do what I do, and if it's not good enough then they can fire me.

Maybe some of you have a local that makes it possible for you to cry to someone every time your feelings get hurt. Many of us do not. The fact that some here would look to criticize and lay blame on a good, honest, hard working employee speaks volumes to the "character" that was mentioned. I laid this out to vent, and perhaps show others that want to drive what they are getting into. If you don't agree, that's fine, don't make yourself look like an idiot. It's too late for most of you.

Guess you didn't know it but the regulars here are the baddest bunch of tough guys in the Co. They tell UPS how things are done. Whats your local?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I bet your OMS' love you.

I tell them to ask for (insert center manager's name here) when they call.