Center Manager might be trying to bone me out of a FT driving job.

[SpicyItalian739]

OK, so here's a little background. Our center manager was a previous on road sup at a neighboring center until getting promoted and moved to our center. She obviously knows people at center B from before she came to center A where I work. Having said that, the reality is that she's definitely the most hated supervisor of our center's 30 year history according to all the old timers. I've never had any trouble with her myself, as she's rarely still in the building by the time we start, I'm an excellent worker, haven't called off a day in like 5 years, haven't been late a day in over 3 years, and have the highest scans per hour rate our sort has ever had. She has no personal reason to be out to get me, except...

Here's how she operates. My current part-time supervisor used to work on my local sort and had signed a bid sheet for a full time driving job last year. Unfortunately for him, there was already a trained seasonal driver who knew the swing routes, so what does the center manager do? She personally takes my boss for an 80 minute "road test" instead of sending him out with an on-road sup on the normal 15 minute or so around the block, park on a hill, back into the building test that they usually give. After 80 minutes she has enough points on him to flunk him and all of a sudden, the guy who is already trained gets the route! So he decides to just take a part-time sup job.

OK, so now they put up a bid this Friday and I sign it, and have the most seniority (12 years) so I figure it's mine for the taking, right? Well all of a sudden a trained seasonal driver from building B that had driven out of our center to cover a few call offs before shows up on the bid sheet! I'm thinking she tipped him off to the job posting since she knew he was trained already and she knew him from when she was an on road sup over there.

Obviously a driver from another building can't get the job... unless they fail everybody who signed up at our building, right? So I'm thinking I'm going to get the center manager's personal road test from hell treatment so she can get her way. What in the world do I do?


P.S. It's not like she's paying out of her personal bank account to train a new driver. Grrr!

 

[UPSGUY72]

I take both building are in the same local and everyone is on the same seniority list... If that is the case seniority rules no matter what building the person bid from and too... If the other person has more seniority than you your SOL. ....

How can you have been working for UPS for 12 years and still have no clue on how seniority works over all and how things work in your are??? Have you been working in a box????

You might want to talk to one of your Steward's if you know who they are...

 

[SpicyItalian739]

I take both building are in the same local and everyone is on the same seniority list... If that is the case seniority rules no matter what building the person bid from and too... If the other person has more seniority than you your SOL. ....

You're sure about that? I already talked to the shop steward about the driver from the other center signing and he said that it only counts if nobody else in our building wants/can take the job. Maybe it's different in your region... I'm in the Central Region. Even if he was from our center and had less seniority than me even, the problem I'm having is that I'm going to get flunked on my road test no matter what I reckon, since the center manager has shown that in the past she would do that to get somebody she wants. Is there anything I can do if I think I get an unfair road test?

 

[UPSGUY72]

You're sure about that? I already talked to the shop steward about the driver from the other center signing and he said that it only counts if nobody else in our building wants/can take the job. Maybe it's different in your region... I'm in the Central Region. Even if he was from our center and had less seniority than me even, the problem I'm having is that I'm going to get flunked on my road test no matter what I reckon, since the center manager has shown that in the past she would do that to get somebody she wants. Is there anything I can do if I think I get an unfair road test?

YOU might want to read your rider/ supplement and see what it says... When you bid jobs every 2 years can you bid into that building or people from that building bid into your building???

 

[SpicyItalian739]

I don't see anything about bidding into other buildings anywhere. All I see is "Part-time employees with six (6) or more months seniority may bid on a full-time opening IN THEIR BUILDING..." so my understanding is that since he is a part-time worker and a seasonal driver, he has no right to bid in our building. The way I read the entire rider, if he were a laid off full-time driver he could bid into our building based on seniority.

 

[UPSGUY72]

I don't see anything about bidding into other buildings anywhere. All I see is "Part-time employees with six (6) or more months seniority may bid on a full-time opening IN THEIR BUILDING..." so my understanding is that since he is a part-time worker and a seasonal driver, he has no right to bid in our building. The way I read the entire rider, if he were a laid off full-time driver he could bid into our building based on seniority.

When you bid routes every 2 years can people in your building bid routes in the other building and vise versa?????

 

[SpicyItalian739]

When you bid routes every 2 years can people in your building bid routes in the other building and vise versa?????

There's no language like that at all in our rider... I went over every word.

 

[UPSGUY72]

There's no language like that at all in our rider... I went over every word.

forget about what contract says.. Do you bid routes every 2 (two years ) ??? When you do bid routes can people in your building bid routes in the other building and vise versa ???

 

[DS]

Ninja,JMHO but,It sounds to me like it would be a good idea to have a talk with this center manager.
Inform her that you feel,that you should have the opportunity to take this position.
Every center is run differently,As far as failing someone on a simple road test goes,that could be an issue to take up with the union.
Keep pushing,and good luck.

 

[cachsux]

Sleep with her for the job.

 

[2Slow]

Supervisor trying to go full time delivery is in the same boat as a seasonal driver, subject to being the "1" in the 6 to 1 ratio. You aren't. Are you the only part timer in your building that signed? Every eligible part timer gets their shot before company can break the 6 to 1. If the center manager is pulling stuff, file grievances, get it on paper.
In the meantime, start memorizing the 5 seeing habits and the 10 point commentary. You're going to need to know them anyway, and if you are driving with them it will giver her less to hit you with. Good luck.

 

[OptimusPrime]

While it does seem like dirty pool, I don't see how she could pull it off with out some serious red flags. Though maybe you work in a small facility? I mean, for example, the hub I work at, she would have to flunk 30, 40, maybe more people, to finally be able to do a hire from another building. The way I was told as to an out of building hire was that they had to exhaust all current in hub resources before they could look for a hire from another building.

 

[SpicyItalian739]

While it does seem like dirty pool, I don't see how she could pull it off with out some serious red flags. Though maybe you work in a small facility? I mean, for example, the hub I work at, she would have to flunk 30, 40, maybe more people, to finally be able to do a hire from another building. The way I was told as to an out of building hire was that they had to exhaust all current in hub resources before they could look for a hire from another building.

Yes, we're an extremely small center leasing a building from some local mob family (it's not even a UPS building). On my reload shift we work 5-6 guys most nights, and there's usually anywhere from 23-30 drivers on the road depending on the time of year.

At any rate, I talked to the center manager today and my road test is Thursday (assuming the one reloader with more seniority than me doesn't decide to throw his name in the ring after 28 years of pt). center manager says that the guy from across town is totally ineligible, as I suspected. I'm not sure if she came to that conclusion before or after the shop steward talked to her, but she seemed reasonably certain.

It's really my job to lose at this point, since I've only driven stick for a few hours this past weekend, but I get down the road without stalling and can safely start on a hill. My biggest concern is that if I don't quite pass the road test that it's a fair test and that if I fail one--of my deserving coworkers gets the job--and not somebody from somewhere else.