Feeder start and finish work updated???

[STLFeeder]

Two weeks ago at our Earth City hub hooking sets was taken away from all of our feeder drivers. They put it on all of the shifters now. They cut back start work time from 48 minutes to pretrip and hook a set and get out the gate to 34 minutes and from 34 minutes to pretrip and hook to a single trailer and get out the gate to 20 minutes. They are telling us this is a corporate decision and it is being done at every other hub in the country. The 34 minutes is doable as long as everything goes perfect. The 20 minute gate time never works. Feeder management has been following drivers around and harassing them for the last two weeks about getting out on time. Telling drivers they are gonna take there radios away if they can't get out gate in 20 minutes with a single. We have talked to othe drivers from other hubs that come in to Earth City and they tell us they aren't doing it. Thinking its the bag transportation manager we have just trying to make a name for himself again.

 

[trickpony1]

Your last sentence pretty much sums it up.
Take your radios away? They can't do that. It's contractual.
Nothing like this going on in my area.

 

[cachsux]

If anything it would take me longer to get that set out the gate because it would be a snowballs chance in hell that I would hook and book anything put together by someone other than myself. They wont be the one it comes apart on halfway up the road. I would battle this in the aspect of safety.

However, to be the devils advocate. Were there some who pushed their gate time to the limit and brought this down on all? I see it happen around here. The days of goofing around to excess are gone. With the GPS in the rigs they know everything tied to it's movement and, at least at our hub the have more cameras than Kodak.

 

[STLFeeder]

The majority of issues that caused anyone to get out of the gate late was waiting on the sort to go down. Some guys couldn't get to their back boxes until others had pulled their sets of building. It's not like anyone here really screws off trying to get out. It usually has to do with ups management in feeders or the hub holding us up with PCM's or not shutting trailers down so we can head to the gate. As usual though, they put all the blame on us. Our transportation manger majored in juvenile rehabilitation. He thinks he can treat us like kids. Has cost the company numerous amounts of money from lawsuits and losing customers but they keep letting him get away with anything he wants to do.

 

[raceanoncr]

As ususual, WORK AS DIRECTED! Who cares if they follow you around harassing you. Did that here too until we all said, "OK, YOU show me how you can do this EVERY SINGLE day with all the variables that crop up"!

LIke you said, the back trailers aren't shut down? The front trailers aren't shut down? Whose fault is that? Radios away? HA! Try THAT one! Like was said, it's contractual. Would absolutely LOVe for them to try that here.

Flat tires? You sposed to drive out the gate with em? Lights out? Again, whose fault is that? Chit is gonna happen.

Put the blame on you? Hmpf! They can put the blame on me all they want but if I hafta drive a 570 mile round trip, I'm gonna make damn sure that set is secure and to my satisfaction. Remember: YOU are the "Captain of the Ship" when you're out there!!!!! Do NOT be intimidated into doing something that could cause you or someone else harm.

I could go on and on about what has happened here and what I did about it and SAID about it. Sure, I got pretty arrogant and snippy but, as I said last week in a post, in my last 10 years at UPS, NOT ONE SUPE OR MANAGER had ever been a driver of ANYTHING, package car or feeder. When I came to UPS, I'd already had about 15 years of personal driving safety and ended up with 32 years company/48 personal years of no-accident driving. So, YOU, the "Ace/Top Gun of UPS" supe/manager are gonna tell ME how to hook up safely and drive?

 

[STLFeeder]

Agreed. It takes however long it takes. Doesn't bother me a bit. Funny part about it is they think calling you into the office everyday to yell at you and make threats is just going to make us go faster and risk making a mistake that could cost us our job for a few days. As long as I'm on the clock I'll sit in their office and listen to any BS they want to throw out there. At the end of the day, I know I didn't get hurt or hurt anyone else and that's all that matters.

The shifters are putting the sets together. They are told to hook them up and not pretrip them. The drivers are still required to pretrip their own set.

 

[raceanoncr]

The shifters are putting the sets together. They are told to hook them up and not pretrip them. The drivers are still required to pretrip their own set.

Yeah, I think they're trying that here too. One of many times they're tried it and it always fails.

Then they get on their "We gotta cut down shifter hours" flavor of the week rants and shut off all shifters. Then what? No trailer hookups, no moves, no nothing.

Did that once here a long time ago. Wanted shifters to do everything, even quick pre-trips. I had shifter job then and just went at usual pace, one move at a time. It was working...UNTIL...the FOW came up again..."Cut shifter hours". After midnight sort, sent everyone home but me. Unload MTs weren't pulled out, hence, unload not put back in for sunrise. No doubles hooked up. No door-door moves. No MTs put in load doors...long story short...I was expected to do it all myself. "Fine", I said, "What do you want me to skip?" They: "You can't skip ANYTHING"! "OK, maybe YOU hafta run me thru EACH STEP YOU WANT DONE IN WHICH ORDER, OK?" The did. One step at a time. Sunrise didn't have first trailer in til 6:30 AM (with a start time of 4:45). Screaming!

Next day...5 shifters were helping and, you know what? It's been that way ever since.

Carry on. Good job.

 

[STLFeeder]

Yeah they cut our shifters down to 8 hours only. No overtime except during peak. If you ask for extra work after your shift they ask what job your doing. When you say shift anything they automatically say no work for you. Go home.

Funny thing about this new deal is they are cutting time from all the drivers and putting on extra jobs to handle the extra work.

The numbers games they play is absolutely rediculous.

 

[barnyard]

The majority of issues that caused anyone to get out of the gate late was waiting on the sort to go down.

Managers know this. UPS accounting is not set up to place costs where they belong.

An example, I pick up 2 trailers on a run, the back trailer and dolly are in position and I am waiting for the front trailer to finish loading. Something happens and my pull time is delayed 20 minutes. That 20 minute delay is paid for by the feeder department, not the sort that delayed it.

If I were a manager, that would irritate me to no ends.

 

[anonymous6]

last time they put my set together the dolly had an expired fhwa and i had to redo the set. out 35 minutes later than my usual 15 minutes late.

it's almost impossible to get out on time if you are a PROFESSIONAL.

truck not washed or fueled from previous driver, doors not closed. waiting for iregs, paperwork missing, going to the shop because previous drivers did not post trip trailers.

the list goes on and on. we have a bunch of so called "stars" that get out on time that don't check anything. They are HACKS in my opinion. most are glorified package drivers that came to feeder that think driving a big rig is like driving a car.

the co has it bass akwards. the good professional drivers are treated like carp and the accidents waiting to happen are treated like heros.


it makes me want to puke. i'm calling in sick today.

 

[STLFeeder]

We are running into that too. I have seen guys have to break down and switch boxes around cause they had shifter hook lighter box to box on door that ends up filling up 100%.

I had one last week that had wrong destination on seal control. Had to cut open and get new paperwork. Out gate almost 30 minutes late. Then you get put on their list. Haha. Call me into office. I don't mind listening to their lies and BS on their time. I don't want to hear it on mine.

 

[cachsux]

If ANYTHING deviates give them a call on their phone. Trailer not ready,call form that doors phone. Something needs repair, call them from the shop. I bury them in phone calls and absolutely will not play "middle man" to their "Tell them to..........." directives. If they say anything I hand the phone to the person responsible and let the two have at it.

 

[STLFeeder]

Yep. I let them make all the decisions. I make more money 99% percent of the time that way.

Always drive like their sitting right there with me and follow all the rules in the yard. When they come ask me why it's taking so long to do something I can tell them with a clear conscious that I'm doing everything the way I was trained.

 

[outta hours]

Please, please, please do not revert to the pkg car "hurry up mentality" to make a pull time .It takes however long it takes to do it right, and safely. Sometimes we make the gate times, sometimes we don't. Most always if we don't, it is because of a variable we don't control. Sort late, trailer not where it should be, equipment breakdown,missing seals or paperwork, etc. etc. I agree with cachsux and call them anytime something is delaying me. You can also make notes yourself and keep them if you think they may ask you at a later time "what happened last night."

 

[anonymous6]

Yep. I let them make all the decisions. I make more money 99% percent of the time that way.

Always drive like their sitting right there with me and follow all the rules in the yard. When they come ask me why it's taking so long to do something I can tell them with a clear conscious that I'm doing everything the way I was trained.

just had my annual the other day. took 30 minutes longer than my usual day. doing everything the ups way.

 

[cachsux]

Also, the comeback to "this is a hot (cutoff, gate time, trailer,etc)" is "Really? What made it so hot and why is it my responsibility?".