20_years_in
Active Member
So yesterday (they always do this on a Friday), one of our high seniority drivers was given a working discharge for "not using 3 points of contact" and "improper methods of loading a handtruck". This driver has about 23 years seniority and he is about 53 years old. He does have sort of a slow pace and he generally runs about 2 hours over allowed. Our District Manager sent a letter to his CMs and Onroads that stated that drivers who ran 2 hours over or more would be targeted and "thinned out". Our center manager accidentally left this letter out in the open and some drivers read it and I believe that some photocopies were made.
I am sure that this driver will get his job back, but I am concerned that management may be committing age discrimination under the guise of production standards and failure to follow methods. Management will go out and videotape the drivers who run over allowed and start progressive discipline for things such as not using 3 points of contact, grabbing straps, lifting incorrectly or not using hazard lights (flashers). The runners and gunners, so to speak, are given an "Atta boy" and left alone even though everybody knows that they run, jump out of the truck, drive with the bulkhead door open and work through their breaks. I know that the world isn't fair, but age discrimination is illegal.
So us drivers should just do every single thing the correct way every single time, even if it means not being able to finish within 12 hours (HUGE dispatches in our center)? This seems like it would cause someone to run over allowed even more and cause the driver to be even more of a target. Nobody can be perfect all of the time.
I understand that management and other stockholders want value for their investment dollar, but isn't UPS stock up 65% or so in the last 12 months? Is running the workers into the ground a sound long term financial plan?
When I first started driving about 15 years ago, a successful day was not having and accident or an injury or any service failures. Now we have to meet their optimistic SPORH metric AND never, ever fail to use three points of contact or load a handtruck improperly?
I am sure that this driver will get his job back, but I am concerned that management may be committing age discrimination under the guise of production standards and failure to follow methods. Management will go out and videotape the drivers who run over allowed and start progressive discipline for things such as not using 3 points of contact, grabbing straps, lifting incorrectly or not using hazard lights (flashers). The runners and gunners, so to speak, are given an "Atta boy" and left alone even though everybody knows that they run, jump out of the truck, drive with the bulkhead door open and work through their breaks. I know that the world isn't fair, but age discrimination is illegal.
So us drivers should just do every single thing the correct way every single time, even if it means not being able to finish within 12 hours (HUGE dispatches in our center)? This seems like it would cause someone to run over allowed even more and cause the driver to be even more of a target. Nobody can be perfect all of the time.
I understand that management and other stockholders want value for their investment dollar, but isn't UPS stock up 65% or so in the last 12 months? Is running the workers into the ground a sound long term financial plan?
When I first started driving about 15 years ago, a successful day was not having and accident or an injury or any service failures. Now we have to meet their optimistic SPORH metric AND never, ever fail to use three points of contact or load a handtruck improperly?
