School me on Cover Driver...

Impex

Member
well looks like i will have the chance to go cover driver here really soon, like by the end of the month. i heard some things in the hub from other people and i don't really know what is true being our hub never had cover drivers until now. what is pay, i heard 19? you work the same route all week long if you work? if they call you to come in and its not scheduled you get top driver pay? you have to do the 30 day probation just like if going full time, what is the pay on that? can i still go full time if my name gets called, or do i have to cover drive for like a year or 2 if i commit to it? these are questions i could ask my HR but i would rather hear the answer from you guys...haha thx

...also anything else you want to add
 
M

Mr. Helpful

Guest
well looks like i will have the chance to go cover driver here really soon, like by the end of the month. i heard some things in the hub from other people and i don't really know what is true being our hub never had cover drivers until now. what is pay, i heard 19? you work the same route all week long if you work? if they call you to come in and its not scheduled you get top driver pay? you have to do the 30 day probation just like if going full time, what is the pay on that? can i still go full time if my name gets called, or do i have to cover drive for like a year or 2 if i commit to it? these are questions i could ask my HR but i would rather hear the answer from you guys...haha thx

...also anything else you want to add

1) Pay depends on your hub
2) sometimes. You work where they say.
3) no.
4) yes, same pay.
5) yes
6) no

You will accumilate full time seniority while cover driving that will transfer over when you go full time. That just means that if you cover drive for 6 months and then go full time, you'll hit top wage in 24 months instead of 30. Also, I'm not sure why I typed all this since I'd bet $50 to anyone that you'll go back to your p/t job after no more than 3 weeks.

-Mr. Helpful
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
I'm a part-time cover driver so I can help. Whenever you work you'll make 85% of the current top driver pay. Right now that is $23.11/hr. Being a cover driver basically means that you will occasionally get a phone call early in the morning, usually between 6:30-7:30am, to come in. Sometimes you might be told day day before. Sometime our On Car Sup will tell me to just come in the next day or the rest of the week and not worry about waiting on the call. You will be trained on a "training route" in the beginning and then eventually a couple of other routes. Sometimes you will run "junk". Junk consists of stops that have been taken off other routes and/or bulk stops. Sometimes you will only work like half a day and you will have to work on your regular shift.

If you are on preload it gets a bit trickier. DOT Regulations make it difficult to use cover drivers that work on Preload so sometimes you will be removed from Preload if they think they will be using you allot. During the months of Oct, Nov, Dec you might not work on Preload at all. Reload (small center version of twilight) is the best shift to be on as a cover driver. If you drive then you don't have to work that night. Being on preload is a hassle because you will come in at 3am and bust your but until 8:30am and then you'll have to run a route all day. Some people like that though.

Being a cover driver isn't bad. I made just over $40,000.00 last year cover driving and working on reload so I can't complain. I used to work in a factory full-time and at UPS to get by. On the days I don't get called in it almost feels like a day off. I find that it's best to enjoy those days while they last because full-time drivers have to wait until the weekends to have any free time.
 

Cementups

Box Monkey
Starting cover driver rate is under $15 I thought and is a progressionary scale over 30 months.The last rate before top rate is 85%.

My only word of advice can be that you have to be patient. Don't think it will just happen. take your time and make sure you are doing it correctly. If you follow the methods and HABITS you should be able to get the job done effectively. You can't control what happens around you but jsut try to be aware.

good luck and give it a good effort.
 

laborer

Well-Known Member
In the Southern agreement TCD's make 85% of top pay (as Big Arrow stated) and you go through a 30 day packet just like a full-timer does. When you finish your 30 days you won't have to requalify once you are hired full time. Normally you are left on a training route thru your entire packet(but not always) then you may continue on the same rt or you could be bounced all over the center, a lot depends on how well you pick up the new routes and how the management team operates. Our TCD's never go back to part-time with most of them staying in the TCD ranks for 2-4 years before finally gaining full-time status.

You have the right to go back to your part-time job at anytime and if you work 156 reports in a year as a TCD you get full-time vacation for the next year so keep track of your reports.
 

DS

Fenderbender
I`m a 17 yr driver and I have nothing but respect for cover drivers.The reg driver knows exactly where to go, but a cover driver has to make a decision at each stop as to the most proficient and timely delivery location ex: reception, recieving, attempt is made for every package.I did it a few times and I
hated it.Some guys get bored doing the same area every day,
but for me I like to know where I`m going before I get there.
Good luck and remember where the closest phones are,some days you will need them.
 

Impex

Member
hey thanks everyone for writing a response to my questions :thumbup1:

one thing im not sure of is laborer said keep track of your reports..what exactly are those??

oh and i work twilight and i do saturday air, so i better get some sleep...ill check back in tomorrow. thx again

-josh
 

laborer

Well-Known Member
Everyday you work is considered a report. It takes 156 reports to earn your entire vacation each year. If you get 156 as a TCD you get paid 45 hours vaca instead of your 20hrs as a part-timer the following year.
 

gamer282

Go Packers!
Cover drivers are another way for UPS to exploit low wages. Agreed If used correctly there would be a need. But to abuse the language on the usage of a "TEMPORARY" Cover Driver puts a bad taste for the hard work in negotiating a fair contract. We have TCD that have been on the same routes for over 2 years. Why go full time and become a swing driver when you have your own route? Maybe less wage is worth less aggrivation
I don't know about the wage as far as other conferences go but it is 85% in the Southern Conference. You must be told prior to the end of your shift what you will be doing the next business day. If sent to your part time job you can be asked to do cover work to cover unexpected absents, your option, even though management won't tell you this. You may be told to report as a cover driver the next day. Management will tell you to hang around and they will see if they need you.
The Key is for you to know your rights and take this to heart without burning bridges...
1. When reporting as a cover driver you are guaranteed 8 hrs. at cover driver wage for all work performed
A. performed work is not a junk car or bulk stops
B. it isn't air work for 2 hours and then go home
C. It isn't stand around and send you home, a grievance will get you your 8 hrs...
2. You shall be used to cover a full time package car
positon.
If you don't like doing TCD for 2-4 years, try it, get the taste, disqualify yourself, when you get closer to your seniority date to bid on full time then just before, get back on the cover driver list for 6 months. Your seniority now at 4 years will but you ahead of anybody that went TCD between that time. For example, your buddy that has 2 months less part time seniority has been coverdriving for 3 years you sign a TCD bid in your 4th year and you now have coverdriver seniority rights over him. Then the full time bid comes up and you slide right in without the 30 day qualification period. or starting at the lower wage.
Managers try to abuse the TCD's by offering you air work. If so, make sure they pay you as a cover driver not as an air driver. And tell them you want your 8 hr guarantee. Then do the work and file a grievance for the rest of the pay. You will eventually get it...

Just something to think about...
 

Jack4343

FT DR Specialist
I've been a cover driver for 3 years now. I haven't been back in the hub since. A few tips: Learn routes. You will be thrown on them blind most if not all of the time. The more routes you know, the more valuable you are. I've learned almost half of the 60 routes in our center and I always work on full routes. Also, know the senority of your fellow cover drivers. Management will work cover drivers with less senority than you because they know a certain route and you don't. It's less of a worry for them. Hold them to the contract! Our center has almost 1/3 of all routes open with cover drivers filling the slots. 5 cover drivers made full time this month so they filled some of the positions. I made 54k last year as a driver.
When you first start and after you qualify, be prepared to show up and only run air or bulk stops off of other routes. You'll get the shaft as far as routes go at first but hang with it. It does get better and easier as your knowledge of routes improve. After a while, you will be able to run routes as fast and as well as the regular driver. You'll deal with customers all day asking "Where's (insert drivers name here)? Check the pet peeves thread for some colorful responses to that question. However, after you run routes for awhile, the customers will like you as well. I just ran a route for 4 months after the regular driver got promoted to feeder. After peak, he got sent back down to his old route and the customers all asked "Where's Jack?". I got a big kick out of that when he told me that. :) Also, you'll waste alot of time bringing packages to the front door of a stop only to find out that they go to the back door and vice versa. When you run pickups, print the drivers pick up log so you can see what time the regular driver made the pu's. That will save you many headaches as pu's are not always in order in your DIAD. I've learned that lesson the hard way several times. Good luck!
 

Jack4343

FT DR Specialist
Good advice gamer. Management needs to follow the correct pocedures in regards to senority and the language of the contract. However, the key phrase in the post is "burning bridges". It's a double edged sword. Become a huge pain in the arse to management right away will get you in nothing but trouble. Yes, they are doing wrong but you need to handle things gently. If you have a problemsome center manager, he/she will suddenly watch you like a hawk and hold your feet to the fire with every mistake you make. You will make mistakes and use poor judgement on occasion and they will make you pay for it. So if you want to make management follow all the rules you must do likewise. Follow the proper methods in all regards. If not, you might find yourself on the outside looking in.
 
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