Route Bidding

[Doc Holiday]

Hello everyone,

Here's my dilemma, we are getting PAS and EDD put into our center here in Lake Havasu. Every route is being affected. One higher seniority driver's route is being eliminated. I've been told by managment that because of this, the loop will have to be rebid in order to be fair to the displaced driver. I have no argument with that as it follows what is said in the contract.

Unfortunatley I'm the lowest senior driver in the loop, so you see my concern.

I just was told yesterday that the hole center will be rebid now but the drivers can only bid within their loops. I was also told that I cannot bid on another route in anohter loop because I didn't belong to that loop.

What concerns me about this is that lower senoirity drivers will be able to keep thier routes while I'll be top utility, I feel this is a violation of my seniority and unfair seeing that I've been with the company 18 years and the new comers have only been here a year.

All the routes when up for bid last night, and I put my name on several just in case something changes. If anybody has any insight on this please chime in and thanks for reading........Man it's gonna suck being utility again.

 

[brownhorn]

Maybe your region is different than mine, but when a route is eliminated the displaced driver can bump any driver in the center. There is a limit on the number of bumps that can take place--I want to say it's 4. I don't get the whole "bidding within your loop" thing. What does that have to do with anything?

 

[Doc Holiday]

Well right now our center consits of 12 routes and one loop. When PAS and EDD go in they are cutting it down to 10 routes and breaking it up to 3 loops. For example 4 routes in the first loop, 3 in the next loop and so forth.

I can't believe that loops would have anything with seniority, that's why I'm asking the question.

It sounds like my managment team is trying to decieve me again, and unfortunately I don't trust my stewart since his friend is my supervisor.

 

[AKCoverMan]

Well right now our center consits of 12 routes and one loop. When PAS and EDD go in they are cutting it down to 10 routes and breaking it up to 3 loops. For example 4 routes in the first loop, 3 in the next loop and so forth.

I can't believe that loops would have anything with seniority, that's why I'm asking the question.

It sounds like my managment team is trying to decieve me again, and unfortunately I don't trust my stewart since his friend is my supervisor.

Wow.. 12 routes cut down to 10 routes.. so basically every route gets about a 20% bump in stop count. Do most of these 12 routes come in around 9.5 hours currently in reality?

 

[sortaisle]

I'm sure there's no language for seniority in loops. It's seniority in center. However, I can see how the manager doesn't want to screw with the other loops in the center. What a nightmare for him. But guess what? They get to follow the contract that they negotiated and live with the consequences.

 

[Doc Holiday]

Here's what the contract states,


"WHEN A DRIVERS'S ASSIGNED DELIVEREY AREA IS PERMANENTLY CHANGED BY FIFTY PERCENT OR MORE OF ITS DELIVERY STOPS, SAID DRIVER SHALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO FOLLOW THE MAJOR PARTION OF THE ORGINAL DELIVERY AREA. WHEN MORE THAN ONE (1) DRIVER'S DELIVERY AREA IS AFFECTED, THOSE AFFECTED DRIVERES SHALL BE AFFORDED THE OPPORTUNITY AMONGST THEMSELVES TO BID THE AREAS AFFECTED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR SENIORITY."

The hole center is being affected by the adding of PAS and EDD and all routes in the center are changed by the subtraction of routes.

AKCoverman, the routes as they stand right now barely have an 8 hour day so I can see why it's happening. All the new adjusted routes will be overflowing with work except for one....guess......you got it, our beloved stewart no less.

 

[scoobypanda]

Put your name on all the bid lists and ask your business agent to oversee the bidding. The loop system that U.P.S has implemented does not have anything to do with the bidding of routes. We had one guy last year that jumped from our westernmost route to our easternmost route. He went across 7 loops. Your manager's reaching at straws to try to make the implementation easier on him.

 

[3 done 3 to go]

I don't think they are able to do that. Bids are every 2 yrs. They can't move the time. Bids are the whole building. Ours is Feb.1st. We had a driver that lost his bid because they made a satellite area and he didn't follow it. He could only bump the lowest bid route. With the lowest seniority. When Feb 1st '09 comes up again then he can bid on any route that had less seniority than he has. They cannot only limit to a loop. Contact your business agent. Hopefully you stewart isn't in managements butt.

 

[Doc Holiday]

You guys are a great help thanks for your input and time on this matter, can't wait till Monday.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

I don't get this "bids are for two years." In our region, once you bid on a route and win it, it is yours until you bid off onto another route or want to be a cover driver.

I enjoy the security of knowing that I will be on the same route for as long as I want, rather than the insecurity of knowing that I can get bumped every two years and have to bid on a route I don't want.

How many parts of the country are like this?

 

[3 done 3 to go]

That is the way it is in the North East. I have been bumped about 4 times now. It's getting better now i'm 10th on the list now. Most of them want to stay put. But ther is still a chance.

 

[Jones]

I don't get this "bids are for two years." In our region, once you bid on a route and win it, it is yours until you bid off onto another route or want to be a cover driver.

I enjoy the security of knowing that I will be on the same route for as long as I want, rather than the insecurity of knowing that I can get bumped every two years and have to bid on a route I don't want.

How many parts of the country are like this?

I'm in the Atlantic Area, and we bid routes every year. Each January, every route in the building goes up for bid and we bid by center (you can only jump to a new center when a new route come up for bid in that center, or someone retires/quits/is fired). People get bumped all the time here, so unless you are close to the top of the seniority list it's a good idea not to fall in love with your route.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

We also bid our routes every 2 years. I am #10 on the package car seniority list and I am confident that I will stay on this route until I either retire or I choose to bid another route. I bought my condo partially because it is on my route (mostly because it is in a nice location and the price was right). I like the mixture of commercial/residential on my route.

 

[IDoLessWorkThanMost]

Here in ENE and NNE CHEMA (Local 25) bids are now biannual, every Feb. New contract is biannual, but previous years were annual.

 

[helenofcalifornia]

So what is the point of re-bidding routes every year or two?

 

[1989]

We bid when a route opens up and it's yours until you die. I don't understand why a bid driver is so posessive of a route they bid...They don't really own it.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

So what is the point of re-bidding routes every year or two?

Good question. I have noticed that most of the changes occur among the less senior drivers as most of the senior drivers have been on their areas for some time and wish to stay there. Changes also occur when you have a route which had been bid between normal bid cycles (retirement, termination, medical, etc) and the bid was only available to those drivers who had less seniority than the driver who had held the bid route, thus resulting in a bid and a place. Perhaps a new route has been added between bid cycles. A driver who did not want to leave his route when that new route had been posted may have changed his mind and wants to bid on that route now. We have one route that has been designated in our center as the training route, meaning that the driver who bids this route does so with the understanding that he must vacate that route for the 30 days that a new driver needs to qualify. Well, that driver may have tired of having to work elsewhere for that month (or more depending on how many new drivers) and wants more stability.

I like the change to a bi-annual bid cycle as I felt 18 months was not long enough and this will reduce the potential amount of training necessary if any changes are made as a result of the bidding process.

I probably should have asked this first but are we to assume that routes in your center are bid and then held until retirement, separation or disqualification?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

We bid when a route opens up and it's yours until you die. I don't understand why a bid driver is so posessive of a route they bid...They don't really own it.

They may not own it but they do become a part of it and it becomes a part of them.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

I don't get this "bids are for two years." In our region, once you bid on a route and win it, it is yours until you bid off onto another route or want to be a cover driver.

I enjoy the security of knowing that I will be on the same route for as long as I want, rather than the insecurity of knowing that I can get bumped every two years and have to bid on a route I don't want.

How many parts of the country are like this?

We bid every 2 years here in rainy southeast Florida. I've been on my route going on 4 years now. My route is the kind that other drivers look at and say, no way, too many pkgs. I'm about halfway on the seniority list of about 50 drivers, most of which above me are looking for the ease of the routine. As far as why I personally act like I own this route? I like the stability of knowing where I'm going to be each day and the fact that my customers look forward to having me deliver their pkgs.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

They may not own it but they do become a part of it and it becomes a part of them.

That too, thanks upstate!!!