Unique prospective-Express courier to UPS pkg car driver

[ManInBrown]

The average UPS guy does bust his tail on the road more than the average FedEx guy does - however, comparing the toughness of the job based upon stop counts between the two is comparing apples to oranges.

Using stop counts to compare the 2 jobs doesn't come anywhere near telling the whole story. Average day. 150-175 stops. It's not the 110-120 residential stops that takes it's toll. It's the 40 commercial stops (on some routes) after NDA's are done in the morning that take 3-4 hours, where you have to dig out three 60 pound boxes from floor 3 that are now covered by 30 boxes that fell off the 7000 shelf when you made your first right turn of the dayAlways very fun. Not anything an Express courier ever experiences. I can count on 3 hands the total number of days I dealt with three 60lb boxes in my 10 years at Express. Then add in the 15-30 pickups late afternoon (on some routes) where you best have that package car empty enough by that time to fit your pickup pieces. Every single day is a fine line at UPS. Express pays swings to stand around and do nothing some days in case something goes wrong. That doesn't exist at UPS. You're on your own out there for the most part. Figure it out and get it done one way or another.

Like I said in my original post I enjoy it. The job is not for everyone. I haven't had a single moment since I left Express where I regretted my decision to switch sides.

 

[purplesky]

If your life revolves around the almighty dollar, sure UPS is better.

By the way - the health care may be "free" to everyone else, but $800/year union dues isn't free to me.

Are you fricking kidding? $800.00 is around 1 take home paycheck and thats with 401k and company stock purchase deductions. For drivers working lots of OT they are easily taking home around $1000.00 per week.

UNION DUES ARE A ****ING BARGAIN!

 

[jumpman23]

union dues are also a tax write off

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

union dues are also a tax write off

Union dues should help get us better leadership!.Why in the....friend....is Hoffa still in office??

 

[MrFedEx]

The average UPS guy does bust his tail on the road more than the average FedEx guy does - however, comparing the toughness of the job based upon stop counts between the two is comparing apples to oranges.

Exactly. If you simply compare stop counts, the UPS driver always works harder. When you start factoring-in things like mileage, on-calls, and multiple service levels, it gets more complicated. I wasn't kidding when I said 2 of the 3 UPS guys in my route area only have a couple of streets. They might only do 30 miles a day. I'm more like 100 per day, and cover 3 of their areas. They drive 100 feet and they're at their next stop.

 

[jmeti000]

Ive always said I don't expect UPS pay...I think for what we do our top out pay is fair (at least in my area). I just think a courier should be able to see top out pay at least around the 10 yr mark, if not sooner. Ive said it before and say it again...at this rate any forward movement would be nice to see.

 

[Maui]

Using stop counts to compare the 2 jobs doesn't come anywhere near telling the whole story. Average day. 150-175 stops. It's not the 110-120 residential stops that takes it's toll. It's the 40 commercial stops (on some routes) after NDA's are done in the morning that take 3-4 hours, where you have to dig out three 60 pound boxes from floor 3 that are now covered by 30 boxes that fell off the 7000 shelf when you made your first right turn of the dayAlways very fun. Not anything an Express courier ever experiences. I can count on 3 hands the total number of days I dealt with three 60lb boxes in my 10 years at Express. Then add in the 15-30 pickups late afternoon (on some routes) where you best have that package car empty enough by that time to fit your pickup pieces. Every single day is a fine line at UPS. Express pays swings to stand around and do nothing some days in case something goes wrong. That doesn't exist at UPS. You're on your own out there for the most part. Figure it out and get it done one way or another.

Like I said in my original post I enjoy it. The job is not for everyone. I haven't had a single moment since I left Express where I regretted my decision to switch sides.

Maybe you had cake routes at Express though. I ran routes that had about 50 100lb+packages for commercial stops, then about 70 resi stops in a delivery window of about 4.5 hours, then had to start blending deliveries and pups making sure I had room for some of those heavy packages to go back.

I have no doubt the average UPS driver works harder physically on a daily basis and has to stay out late much more frequently, but please do not think Express has NO comparable routes.

 

[jumpman23]

Totally believe that in the city. Too much area n the pie between us is split up.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

my Fedex health care plan for family would cost 4000 plus a year and thats if you dont have to use it!!! $800 for union fees, cmon, even you have to see the absurdity of that logic..right?

The notion that the union is "free healthcare" is absurd logic, that's all I was saying.

 

[MAKAVELI]

my Fedex health care plan for family would cost 4000 plus a year and thats if you dont have to use it!!! $800 for union fees, cmon, even you have to see the absurdity of that logic..right?

The notion that the union is "free healthcare" is absurd logic, that's all I was saying.

It's free in the sense that you pay no premiums out of your check not free that it is just given too you. The fact that FedEx is self insured and actually can make a profit off our premiums make it even worse.

 

[!Retired!]

Let's get to it. What's your beef with me? You vacillate between supporting FedEx and hating on it. Which is it? It seems like you're always gunning for something that will somehow prove me wrong.

1. I have no beef with you.
2. I don't always agree with the way the company does things. BUT, it's their company to run the way they want to. You don't have to like it or even stay here.

Most of us at FedEx don't expect to be paid UPS wages and benefits. We just want an honest days pay for an honest days work.

Starting pay in our area, I believe, is $15.50. What do you consider a 'livable wage'?

Its funny how some fedex drivers bitch about 70 or 80 stops a day. Im just like dude id get that done on 3 or 4 hours are u kidding me lol. Tha would be like half a day ll.

Wrong. You can't compare the 2. Example: I have 3 apartment complexes. I MIGHT have a TOTAL of 10 stops between the 3 on any given day. The UPS driver has 10-15 in EACH complex. I average about 70 stops/day and he averages about 120. He also delivers 20-25 stops after I cleared and am heading back to the station.

The notion that the union is "free healthcare" is absurd logic, that's all I was saying.

If you consider union dues 'paying' for healthcare, you're right. But, the dues cover much more than that.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

If you consider union dues 'paying' for healthcare, you're right. But, the dues cover much more than that.

For the lives of most people at UPS, not really.

 

[Operational needs]

Wrong. You can't compare the 2. Example: I have 3 apartment complexes. I MIGHT have a TOTAL of 10 stops between the 3 on any given day. The UPS driver has 10-15 in EACH complex. I average about 70 stops/day and he averages about 120. He also delivers 20-25 stops after I cleared and am heading back to the station.

Great point. A UPS friend of mine said he may have 5 streets with 20 stops on them. I might have 20 streets with 5 stops if I'm lucky.

 

[MrFedEx]

Wrong. You can't compare the 2. Example: I have 3 apartment complexes. I MIGHT have a TOTAL of 10 stops between the 3 on any given day. The UPS driver has 10-15 in EACH complex. I average about 70 stops/day and he averages about 120. He also delivers 20-25 stops after I cleared and am heading back to the station.

Great point. A UPS friend of mine said he may have 5 streets with 20 stops on them. I might have 20 streets with 5 stops if I'm lucky.

Yep. Same thing for me. Building an impressive stop count at UPS is different than at FedEx. If I go down a major street, I might have 2 or 3 stops per mile on average. The UPS driver hits basically every business every day. I easily drive 3-4 times as far. Like I said, there are 3 of them for one of me in my route area. This is fairly typical.

 

[MrFedEx]

1. I have no beef with you.
2. I don't always agree with the way the company does things. BUT, it's their company to run the way they want to. You don't have to like it or even stay here.


Starting pay in our area, I believe, is $15.50. What do you consider a 'livable wage'?


Wrong. You can't compare the 2. Example: I have 3 apartment complexes. I MIGHT have a TOTAL of 10 stops between the 3 on any given day. The UPS driver has 10-15 in EACH complex. I average about 70 stops/day and he averages about 120. He also delivers 20-25 stops after I cleared and am heading back to the station.


If you consider union dues 'paying' for healthcare, you're right. But, the dues cover much more than that.

OK. BUT, even though it's their company, I don't have to stand idly by and do nothing while they loot my job. True, I could leave, and I eventually will, but in the meantime, I choose to fight them however I can. It may be tilting at windmills, but I happen to think it has an effect on some people. That's enough for me.

 

[!Retired!]

Yep. Same thing for me. Building an impressive stop count at UPS is different than at FedEx. If I go down a major street, I might have 2 or 3 stops per mile on average. The UPS driver hits basically every business every day. I easily drive 3-4 times as far. Like I said, there are 3 of them for one of me in my route area. This is fairly typical.

There's only 1 UPS driver in the same area I cover (his area is exactly the same), but I don't have the Ground packages in my area AND he still delivers when I'm heading back to the station at 6:20. He stops delivering at 3:00, does his pickups and then goes back to delivering.

OK. BUT, even though it's their company, I don't have to stand idly by and do nothing while they loot my job. True, I could leave, and I eventually will, but in the meantime, I choose to fight them however I can. It may be tilting at windmills, but I happen to think it has an effect on some people. That's enough for me.

So we'll agree to disagree. This I will tell you. If I had my own company, there's no way I would let the employees dictate how I run it. Though, I would take their concerns into consideration (unlike FS, as it appears). I will predict that if/when FS steps down, it will get a whole lot worse.

 

[SmithBarney]

You have a future working at UPS. Top rate is great when you make it there. It's a living wage unlike Express.

Even when I was at UPS, I made 3 times what I make at FedEx,(and I wasn't topped out) not sure my old body could take it any more. Starting wage at UPS is much better than FedEx(after 10years at FedEx, I'm still not making(hourly) what I made when I started driving at UPS)

I agree, Top Rate at FedEx is fair, unfortunately I'll never see it at less than %2 a year(that's roughly the average given two years of no raises) and when the top gets 2% and the bottom gets 2%, the top gets further away.

Hurrah for you..

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

You have a future working at UPS. Top rate is great when you make it there. It's a living wage unlike Express.

Even when I was at UPS, I made 3 times what I make at FedEx,(and I wasn't topped out) not sure my old body could take it any more. Starting wage at UPS is much better than FedEx(after 10years at FedEx, I'm still not making(hourly) what I made when I started driving at UPS)

I agree, Top Rate at FedEx is fair, unfortunately I'll never see it at less than %2 a year(that's roughly the average given two years of no raises) and when the top gets 2% and the bottom gets 2%, the top gets further away.

Hurrah for you..

I vaguely (very vaguely) remember you moving to FedEx. Has it already been ten years?!?! I'm one of the original members of the board (started under a different screen name) so its easy to lose track of all of the different people here.

 

[MaineGroundDriver]

Here's how hard the different opcos work IMO ..

UPS > FDX Ground > FDX Express > FDX Home Delivery

 

[MAKAVELI]

Here's how hard the different opcos work IMO ..

UPS >[ FDX Ground > FDX Express ]> FDX Home Delivery

This is debatable. And as far as I know Home del is not a separate opco just a division of FedEx Ground.