My husband is stuck on the dreaded satellite route...

[trplnkl]

The difference here is that you report to duty at the center while the sat driver reports to duty at the sat location.

AND get paid to make the drive.

 

[beentheredonethat]

Holy cow! I never knew this site existed!!!

I've heard that in other areas they've cancelled this satellite route deal but apparently not here. Are they all over the US still? By the time the other UPS driver gets up there to load my husband's truck and all the other expenses of this - I don't know how in the world they can really save that much money. But I guess a nickel is a nickel to UPS??
I thought my husband said that they are supposed to reimburse your fuel but there is no way or reason to try to even fight it to get it because they won't. Maybe they don't at all - period - and he had that wrong. You can never get a real answer out of management here. But the gas is real expensive for us.
Does anyone have any info on these routes? What we may be able to do to get reimbursement? Or just to complain with me?? Don't get me wrong... UPS has provided a lot for us! But we just want him to drive out of the center. Soon he should be bumped up hopefully and he'll get off that route. Hopefully!!!
Thanks!

Satellite routes are reexamined periodically to ensure that they actually save money for UPS. So occasionally one or two will be taken down. But in large part satellite routes are increasing. There are some big savings for UPS. The best types of satellites are when it's a one of, (sounds like your husbands), where it's a rural route, he has another driver in his general area where he drives a TP60 out to the satellite driver and\or loaded unto the existing drivers car. Then they can offload\load his car and he's off. The initial savings for UPS is that we can eliminate an hour of travel both to and from the area each day. If you had 4 drivers with similar charateristics that's 4 drivers driving 2 hours just to get on area\off area. That's basically one driver of savings. Also, the other savings is that by having drivers in satellites, it can delay when UPS needs to build a new building or expand an existing one. This in itself is a large saving. Also, the 2 hour drive time is quite a few gallons of gas on are package cars that gets saved. I know of a few area here, where the satellite drivers actually lived about an hour from the center and now with the satellite they have a 5 min drive to the center. So in some cases, the drivers are loving it for this reason alone.

 

[overallowed]

There is only one satellite route in our center. And I would have made a deal with the devil to get it. I live 35 miles from my center, and have been driving back and forth for years. The truck for the satellite route is 3 minutes from my house. I figured if I got it, it would have been the equivalent of a .50 cents and hour raise in fuel savings, but that isn't even the best part.
The best part is not having to run through the minefield every morning. I would love it if I rarely ever saw my supervisor.

 

[Old International]

I used to run a route where most of the folks answered the door with a shotgun...... I made sure I stood WAY back from the door, or was gone when the door opened.

 

[SmithBarney]

When I was a coverage driver(ie no route of my own) I would occasionally run a route out of a sat center.
The sat center had 3-4 routes and was serviced by a TP60.
Two P1000 covered the town area and the 4 sat routes handled rural.

We had two(sometimes 3 options)

Option 1, Paid mileage for mileage from home center to sat.
Option 2, they would put me up in a local hotel, pretty sweet gig when I was single, not to shabby when dating either.
Option 3, run the route(modified) from home center(this was management choice)

 

[bumped]

browngirl, have your husband talk to his business agent. I have seen in the past when a driver gets stuck on a sat route that they don't want to be on to cover vacations. UPS had the route moved back to the center for that week(s). Its worth a shot.

 

[trplnkl]

browngirl, have your husband talk to his business agent. I have seen in the past when a driver gets stuck on a sat route that they don't want to be on to cover vacations. UPS had the route moved back to the center for that week(s). Its worth a shot.

Moving the rte back to home center for vacation is SOP here, however that isn't what Browngirl is talking about. Her hubby is assigned to that rte as the regular driver. The BA can't help him.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Moving the rte back to home center for vacation is SOP here, however that isn't what Browngirl is talking about. Her hubby is assigned to that rte as the regular driver. The BA can't help him.

Tex, this may sound naive but why couldn't the OP's husband drive to the center and then ride (unpaid) with the sat drop driver, load and then deliver his area, and then ride back (again, unpaid) to the center with the sat pickup driver? It would save the wear and tear and gas expenses on his personal vehicle.

Also, how do optional and/or sick days work for a sat driver? Does the route go back to the center on those days or does the cover driver have to drive to the sat location? If so, could the cover driver ride with the drop driver as outlined above?

 

[trplnkl]

Tex, this may sound naive but why couldn't the OP's husband drive to the center and then ride (unpaid) with the sat drop driver, load and then deliver his area, and then ride back (again, unpaid) to the center with the sat pickup driver? It would save the wear and tear and gas expenses on his personal vehicle.

Also, how do optional and/or sick days work for a sat driver? Does the route go back to the center on those days or does the cover driver have to drive to the sat location? If so, could the cover driver ride with the drop driver as outlined above?

First of all, employees not on the clock are not supposed to be riding in a UPS vehicle. Second, the route is rarely finished by the time the feed returns to the center.
We don't have "sick days" as such here but can use the Opt3 days for that purpose. If the center knows in advance and the communications are good (not likely) they will load the Sat rte in the center and run it out of there for the day. If (as usual) they don't get it loaded they send the cover driver out in an extra car to drive, on the clock, to and from. If they don't have an extra PC, the cover driver uses his own vehicle and gets paid mileage for that day.

There are other scenarios but these are the most common.

 

[Just Numbers]

Tell him to suck it up and be a man when your low in seniority you have to take what you can get.

+1

 

[browngirl4]

+1

He IS sucking it up and being a man! It's ME - the wife - that was talking about it and wondering about options. No big deal!

 

[browngirl4]

First of all, employees not on the clock are not supposed to be riding in a UPS vehicle. Second, the route is rarely finished by the time the feed returns to the center.
We don't have "sick days" as such here but can use the Opt3 days for that purpose. If the center knows in advance and the communications are good (not likely) they will load the Sat rte in the center and run it out of there for the day. If (as usual) they don't get it loaded they send the cover driver out in an extra car to drive, on the clock, to and from. If they don't have an extra PC, the cover driver uses his own vehicle and gets paid mileage for that day.

There are other scenarios but these are the most common.

Yeah, I'm not sure if riding with the other driver would fly. I think the point is to save on labor costs from 8:30 to 9:30 while he is driving to the location unpaid to meet him. And yeah, my husband could be done at 7:30 and the other driver at 6:00 and then he'd be screwed and left in the boonies. But it's a good thought!

And yes, when my husband is not assigned to that route (sick days, vacation, laid off) it just runs out of the center. Lucky ducks.

This SAT route does sound like a great deal for someone living near it! Just not in our case unfortunately.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If your husband finishes before the other driver how do his pickup pieces get back to the center? Does he have to go to the sat start point and dump his pickups before finishing his area?

 

[Anonymous 10]

browngirl, have your husband talk to his business agent. I have seen in the past when a driver gets stuck on a sat route that they don't want to be on to cover vacations. UPS had the route moved back to the center for that week(s). Its worth a shot.

That's the practice we have here at 407.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

That's the practice we have here at 407.

The OP has the sat route as his bid run so this would not apply.

 

[trplnkl]

If your husband finishes before the other driver how do his pickup pieces get back to the center? Does he have to go to the sat start point and dump his pickups before finishing his area?

There usually is either a meet point on area where the Sat driver gives his P/Us to the feed driver or the Sat driver drops everything at the TP60. I promise you, if the sat driver is finishing way under allowed and before the feed driver, it won't be long until some stops will be moved to the sat driver and lord help him if he under dispatches a few times. That has happened to every Sat driver of ours in the last five years.

 

[trplnkl]

The OP has the sat route as his bid run so this would not apply.

Not exactly a bid run, the sat rte wasn't bid by anyone and the OP's hubby was assigned the rte due to being the lowest sr driver. The difference is OP's hubby didn't ask for this stuff.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Not exactly a bid run, the sat rte wasn't bid by anyone and the OP's hubby was assigned the rte due to being the lowest sr driver. The difference is OP's hubby didn't ask for this stuff.

Let me rephrase--hubby drew the short straw. We all go through it. I worked stocking shelves from midnight to 4am when I was first hired as a casual. We do what we have to do to support our families and our families do what they have to do to support each other. Make those moments that you have together special and cherish the weekends.

 

[dilligaf]

While you "hicks" were dealing with semantics, you missed the whole "women peeing in a bucket in the garage." WHAT??!!!!! Some guys would bid onto this route just for that. I deliver a somewhat rural route and have never encountered any women peeing in a bucket. That would be a first. And "hick" may apply here.

LOL Helen. I've delivered in some rural areas and I love them. One never knows what one is gonna see. I've seen a few naked men and women. And that is mild.

 

[dilligaf]

Where are ya Sat? You haven't chimed in on this yet.