UPS pays $254,000 to fired whistleblower

[cheryl]

UPS pays $254,000 to fired whistleblower - Newswatch 50

UPS is paying over a quarter of a million dollars to a former employee they fired for reporting unsafe conditions at its Watertown facility.

Daniel Peterson of Redwood filed suit against United Parcel Service Inc. in February of last year alleging he was fired for complaining about the company's trucks and for taking defective trucks out of service against management's orders. Peterson, a mechanic for the company said the trucks had cracked and rusted out frames and were unsafe to drive.

 

[trickpony1]

What price hath this whore?
$254,00 is a mere pittance of the original $2 million sought.

Daniel Peterson gets screwed,
The company dodges a bullet,
Life goes on at Brown.

Will anything change?
.....not until it costs the company a whole bunch more than $254,000 or;
.....someone gets killed and it can be traced to the unsafe company vehicle;

.....and maybe not then.

 

[steamroll]

the chicken's are coming home to roost. imagine everyday what ups does to survive. now things do catch up to you

 

[Griff]

Yet another fine display of management's integrity.

 

[Braveheart]

So I take it the employee got the 1/4 million dollars and was not returned to work?

Glad to see somebody had the guts to do the right thing and take on UPS!!!

He is a mechanic so he will find work no problem.

 

[RockyRogue]

He is a mechanic so he will find work no problem.

Probably true. But....most companies don't like whistleblowers. Never heard of one having a hard time finding work but that kind of thing probably wouldn't make it to press. His name is all over the web, too. He might not have much luck in his immediate area. -Rocky

 

[local804]

Probably true. But....most companies don't like whistleblowers. Never heard of one having a hard time finding work but that kind of thing probably wouldn't make it to press. His name is all over the web, too. He might not have much luck in his immediate area. -Rocky

This guy actually sleeps well at night and good things happen to good people. Hope he hits powerball or pick 5. Im sure he will have no problem finding a good place to employ him. I pray to God he gets a job with Osha, funny how things work.

 

[mathematics]

This guy actually sleeps well at night and good things happen to good people. Hope he hits powerball or pick 5. Im sure he will have no problem finding a good place to employ him. I pray to God he gets a job with Osha, funny how things work.

Very, very true. Takes guts to do what he did.

 

[jimmy james]

a multi-billion dollar company cant even afford to buy us good trucks. they preach about safety, and look at what we drive. they are all pieces of crap. maybe if the management will stop cutting routes and taking the bonus we can have good trucks.

 

[BrownTech]

Good for him....I am a mechanic for the company as well and it's my liscense on the line when those trucks go on the road...so no manager will tell me what not to red tag for safety issues.....it's not their lively hood at stake...
Seems all they care about is their numbers....

 

[dilligaf]

You do know that as drivers we have the right to refuse to take unsafe equipment out on the road. It's as much our responsibility as it is the mechanics. I have refused to take a truck out that is unfit for service. It's my job and part of DOT requirements to make sure that truck is fit for service. No I am not a mechanic, but there are certain things that I can do and am required by law to do. If I fail to do a proper pretrip and miss something then it's my fault and I refuse to allow the company to put me in a position that could cost me my life or someone elses. I am glad to hear this mechanic stood up for what was right and we need to have more mechanics like him that will not bow to the wishes of the company in the name of numbers.

 

[Sad Employee]

It took a lot of guts and integrity to stand up to this Company--I'm sure he went thru a long period of doubt-- but fortunately things worked out for him because he did the right thing!!! Its too bad only greed and arrogance rule at UPS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dannyboy]

Dill

Yes, you do have the right not to take out an unsafe vehicle. Problem is that you would never know until it was too late that your frame had large cracks in it. And that is where the honest mechanics come into play.

IT is a shame that this is going to mostly be swept under the rug at UPS. For a while right after this case went to court, they did hold out the affected package cars at our center for inspections on the frame. I assume it was company wide. That allowed the company to go before the judge and claim they had checked all the package cars, and there were no other problems, and that also could be why the amount was so low.

While it was a loss for UPS, it was not really a victory for safety at UPS either. And for sure not for the mechanic.

Shame it has to go like this. All the employees want are safe package cars to drive. Is that too much to ask?

d

 

[705red]

Very well put danny, maybe we should all have our trucks inspected by an outside mechanic on our routes while we are on break or lunch just to be safe.

I have a truck that has a blow back pipe that is not long enough and diesel fumes come into my cab. Its not so bad in the warmer weather but when you close the doors it takes its toll on you. Ups refuses to extend the pipe because its unsafe for the person in the car behind me.

 

[dilligaf]

I agree D. 100%

 

[moodaddy247]

a multi-billion dollar company cant even afford to buy us good trucks. they preach about safety, and look at what we drive. they are all pieces of crap. maybe if the management will stop cutting routes and taking the bonus we can have good trucks.

I realize what you're saying; and w/o the knowledge of how many years that you've been driving... You need to understand how that dollar that comes into the company is spent... for example that one dollar must pay for the following(in no certain order) the truck, its maintenance, fuel, the driver, drivers' benefits, And that doesn't even begin to count the cost when accidents occur.... I agree with you; these trucks are paid for b4 the paint dries when leaving Grumman-Olsan.... But Buster has been doing the same thing now for a long long time. I've only been here going on two years...but I;ve been driving for over 12 years. I don't like driving this garbage either... but its either drive junk and get paid 85k a year or drive around in 'the top trucks in the land' and only make 45k or 50k a year... Now tell me, is your pride really worth 40k?
dont sweat the small stuff.

 

[mattwtrs]

Dill

Yes, you do have the right not to take out an unsafe vehicle. Problem is that you would never know until it was too late that your frame had large cracks in it. And that is where the honest mechanics come into play.

All the employees want are safe package cars to drive. Is that too much to ask?

d

I remember when Automotive would have a big campaign to check vehicles because of a big potential problem. The red tags on the fence were funny. Drivers would whine & moan till they'd get "their" car back. When I would cover "their" trip I'd usually fill the DVIR book with safety issues that they had overlooked. The mechanic wasn't always happy with the extra work but they were glad for the write up that caused them to look the car over with a "magnifying glass" to prevent an accident or breakdown.

 

[UPSycho]

I drove a P-500 until 2 weeks ago that was 21 yrs old & 1,241,000 miles on it. My mech. kept in good order, but it was old. He spent 10s of thousands of dollars on it keeping it up. WITH A GOOD MECH THEY STAY SAFE. Now I have a brand new p-700 it's really nice