UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Not to sound crass but I don't run my area to please my cover driver.
Driver fired for falsifying timecard...
- Thread starter NHDRVR
- Start date
NHDRVR
Well-Known Member
No and no... The guys who cover my route, about 5 of them depending on who's available, all follow EDD so it's only an issue if they decide to get cute and change things up. And to be honest, I go back the words a now-retired driver told me when I first started. They were true then and even truer now, (paraphrasing) "I don't care how you do my route. It's not my problem so it doesn't concern me"... I could honestly care less how a cover driver does my route. If he/she wants to kill it, crush it, burn it up, I swear on my life I could care the frig' less. Most of us who have been driving a while are not going to be held to the standards of a cover driver. And when he/she takes his lunch is none of my business.
The beauty of this is my customers also know not to expect too much when another driver is pulling the run.
Yes, I am that good...;-)
I think that rule is more for the big centers. We can wear our uniforms to and from work as well.
Problem w/ the lockout feature is that it stops nothing. There are still ways around it. The board doesnt even lockout unless you put it on lockout. So what I wonder is how does it help these drivers that cant follow directions as you call them?
keyfingerYOUKNOWWHICHONE
Active Member
Our boards will not lock up either if we don't punch it in right away. But you cannot enter your lunch that you took at 1:30 PM at 5:00 PM. If you try, the board will tell you, "Lunch must be started after last completed stop." You will also be in office next day.
And if our wheels show movement while on lunch, someone somewhere sees bells and whistles on a comp screen.
keyfingerYOUKNOWWHICHONE
Active Member
Taking late lunches is profitable for UPS and has a negative effect on your health.
UPS can get more done before end of day (say 5:00 PM for commercial) with less people.
Working all day without stopping just isn't good for, do I need to spell it out for you. Areas with better representation had this language (when to take lunch) inserted into the contract to protect them.
If everyone took their breaks in the middle of the day, UPS would have to get more brown shirts on the road = more drivers more jobs to cover all that work that is not being accomplished while drivers are resting their bones and eating lunch.
It's the people that, for their own selfish reasons like taking a lunch at home after the kids come home from school, end up screwing the rest of us.
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NHDRVR
Well-Known Member
Shame on us for wanting to see my kids and screwing it up for the rest of us.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH...
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
You do what works for you, I will continue to do what works for me, but thanks for the "advice".
NHDRVR
Well-Known Member
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
I took my lunch today from 1:09 to 1:39 and puched out at 6:15. If I would have taken it from 5:00 to 5:30 I would have punched out at 6:15. I really don't see where it matters when you take your lunch as long as it works for you, your customers and your mgmnt. team. I've been on my route for 17 years and never asked a cover driver when or if he took lunch. By the way, the lunch period in our supplement is between the 3rd and 6th hour.
BrownArmy
Well-Known Member
I'm hear where you guys are coming from - I'm a cover driver, I probably know fifteen routes cold and another ten so-so. There are definitely a few routes where it's not practical to take your lunch between the fourth and fifth hour (why that's true is another story...).
I'm glad y'all have comfortable situations with your routes where it makes sense for you to take your break when you want and you don't get any flak for it. As well, cheers for you if you can actually take your break at home and maybe even see your kids! It's real hard to argue with that, although I might add that if that works for y'all, you're in the minority.
It's a cold simple fact that if every driver took their lunch within the contractually-agreed time, there would be more drivers on the road. That's easy logic.
Personally, as a cover driver, I would prefer to fit my breaks into the schedule of whatever route I'm on, just to get the sucker done. Taking an hour lunch ..."between the fourth and fifth hour" (as per my regional contract) gives me about an hour's worth of leeway to schedule the lunch in, which is just fine on most routes. It turns out there are a couple routes I cover (mostly all business routes) where if I took my break during the fourth and fifth hour I simply could not make service on both the pickups and the deliveries. You do the math...
About two months ago at my center, taking your break between the fourth and fifth hour (as per our contract) was the flavor of the month, and was brought up at every PCM for about two weeks. Lots of folks got talking to's for not doing it, but that didn't last long (and was rather selective...go figure). Just today, during the PCM our center manager told us that our center is currently having virtual time studies done for all of our center's routes. Our center manager (who drove for a dozen+years and who mostly seems like he wants to do the right thing, even though his hands are tied) stressed the point that it's most important to take your allotted breaks, at the time designated, or else you're only screwing yourself. Because, after all, what is the point of metrics if what's measured has no baseline in reality?
Personally, I wish I could be code-five'd every day, but that's another story...
This is what the problem could be and was a real situation to which UPS payed out a big lawsuit on. Drivers were being forced to take their lunch at the end of the day everyday. Now that is also against state law in many states to take it that late.
So its great and all that you people that take late lunch and get away w/ it but I love the rule because I would hate to be forced to eat lunch no wait dinner everyday. You better believe UPS would have us eat dinner every day if they could(not all of us just the business heavy routes). So all you dinner takers enjoy it while you can and I really dont care when you take yours as long as you dont screw mine.
That's what I was saying. You guys making the extra-contractual agreement with your boss to take your lunch late doesn't really bother me. BUT when some poor cover driver does your route, and wants to take his lunch say, AT LUNCH TIME, and then gets in trouble for it is just not right.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
I have two primary cover drivers. I have never discussed this topic with them as it is none of my concern. My only concern is that they take care of the customers and go the extra step to get rid of any send agains. I could care less when they take their lunch and break.
NHDRVR
Well-Known Member
UPDATE : (The Sequel)
The driver in question was fired....again.
I am on vacation but have been informed that the driver was fired again for a similar infraction as the 1st that got him terminated.
I am hearing this information 2nd hand and I do not know the particulars.
BUT
If it is accurate all I can say is, WOW... You gotta keep your nose clean
I began the original thread with a small rant against the typical UPS hypocracy and I end it now with a big wha-the-friend to the driver. You have a family. What are you thinking???
The driver in question was fired....again.
I am on vacation but have been informed that the driver was fired again for a similar infraction as the 1st that got him terminated.
I am hearing this information 2nd hand and I do not know the particulars.
BUT
If it is accurate all I can say is, WOW... You gotta keep your nose clean
I began the original thread with a small rant against the typical UPS hypocracy and I end it now with a big wha-the-friend to the driver. You have a family. What are you thinking???
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