Full Time Drivers as Helpers

outamyway

Well-Known Member
Any centers out there using full time drivers as driver helpers as an alternative to layoff? We have a small center who usually runs 18 routes a day. Lately we've been cutting 2 or 3 routes, and using drivers as helpers. Drivers get paid full wage to do this. I got 7.5 hours in today being a helper. Just wondering if this is happening in any other centers.


It's been happening here.
 

outamyway

Well-Known Member
Full time cover drivers in my center are currently being used as helpers.

Management is saying that they get paid the standard helper rate, around 10/hour.

Is this correct or should they be making their normal driving pay?

They laid off drivers should get full pay. I guess it works the same as if they were dropped back to preload/local sort.

Cover drivers cover routes. They don't get laid off when there is no full time work, they just don't get used.
 

55andout?

Well-Known Member
Our center alone has 1 manager and 3 FT sups for 65 drivers, average of 52 routes a day. Using those numbers we should see a reduction in management.

BTW, 2 drivers in a near by center were recently promoted to FT delivery sups.

Oh well, we all know UPS has a different "math" system!
That driver to sup ratio may be a little low but not much. The typical center runs from about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. with air routes included. Thats a lot of hours for managment to cover. I think your center is ok.
 

But Benefits Are Great!

Just Words On A Screen
That driver to sup ratio may be a little low but not much. The typical center runs from about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. with air routes included. Thats a lot of hours for managment to cover. I think your center is ok.

Bummer - taken off route, put on as a helper.

Oh well, at least I'm employed; but wondering about after January 1......
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
christmas during a recession. interesting. been through two.

peak volume? yup, there will be a peak, but much later, and not as great as years past.

christmas volume? it will be down by a large percent, and i dont think you will see the air volume on the eve like in years past.

what will happen is that the gift of cash will be greater this year than in the past, as it is cheaper to give and to send.

just be thankful there was not a strike earlier this year.

as for drivers being used as helpers, it happens all the time,

d
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
That driver to sup ratio may be a little low but not much. The typical center runs from about 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. with air routes included. Thats a lot of hours for managment to cover. I think your center is ok.
Thats also alot of hours to have a package car driver out on the street!
 

buttere

Well-Known Member
Here in Kansas it is peak on the route I'm covering. 200 stops the last 3 days and I had a helper for 2-3 hours each day. But yeah other drivers have been getting the day off. Drivers as helpers here get their driver pay. Our management says they were told they have to use so many helpers which is why some drivers are getting slammed while others get the day off or are used as helpers.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
We had a Christmas driver work from 9:00 A.M. until 4:30 A.M. the following morning. He did this after being chewed out for bringing stops back at 9:00 P.M. the previous day. Just working as directed- although he was lucky he wasn't shot by someone hearing him rattleing doors at 4 in the morning:peaceful:
 

UPSdriverROBOT

New Member
Cover drivers cover routes. They don't get laid off when there is no full time work, they just don't get used.
we're considered "laid off"... whole slew of us cover drivers told by management we are "LAID OFF". what sucks is when a center dissolves routes and then (AB)uses cover drivers as helpers, take for instance an extremely large shopping mall where 1 or sometimes 2 full-time drivers have as their route, are told by management: "we are dissolving driver x's route and adding his/her WHOLE route to your mall route, BUT since you have 2 helpers, you will take your p-12 and do driver x's route whilst your 2 helpers (laid-off cover drivers) do your WHOLE mall route (pickups, CODs, high-vals, etc.)"

UPS loophole??? abusing the system??? grievable??? just shows how dirty management is!!! this is happening at our center! and all the cover drivers being AB(used) as helpers are doing every single thing a Full-Time driver is doing but at a measely $9.50 an hour. just an absolute slap-in-the-face!

also, many of our 50+ year old package drivers just getting simply hammered by the EDD system. what would be considered grossly over-dispatched pre-EDD, EDD is now calling "in the gray"... or as UPS puts it, "just right".... well, guess UPS doesn't mind paying the loads of top-rate OT............

could employee moral at UPS be any higher????? LOL
 

JARHEAD

And...That's rite!
Even with the helper teams, we have about ten guys on lay off. They are now coming in and working preload and local sort as they can.

Pretty scary.[/QUOTE]
 
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