What have you seen people lose their jobs for? How to avoid being fired.

[moreluck]

Obviously!

 

[clueless]

Sounds like a good wife.

More like a doormat.

 

[Catatonic]

I take it, Mrs. Hoaxster doesn't read on here?

No but she was sitting in the room and I read it to her.
I got the "LOOK"!

 

[soberups]

I have no problem whatsoever with terminations for drugs, drinking on the job, theft, multiple DUII's, or malicious and intentional dishonesty or falsification of records. The company has every right to hold us to the highest standards of personal behavior, and I dont want to work with thieves or drunks or liars.

What I do have a problem with...is when a person is fired for "dishonesty" for no other reason than they had the best of intentions but were put into an impossible situation and set up to fail by the same management team that then turns around and whacks them for cutting whatever corners were necessary in order to make that impossible situation work.

The perfect example of this is the employee who falsifies delivery records in order to show an impossible number of NDA being delivered by the commit time. The problem originated with managements calculated and intentional decision to overdispatch this employee; but rather than be the "bad guy" and force the problem to be corrected by alowing it to fail, these well-meaning employees will cheat in order to make it work. In many cases they honestly feel that they are doing the right thing by being a "team player", and quite often their management team will do nothing at all to dispel that illusion.... that is, until the s$%t hits the fan and Loss Prevention gets involved. At that point, the employee will be tossed under the bus by the very same people who put him in that situation to begin with!

If a guy is faslifying records in order to increase his bonus or get off at 4:00 every day then by all means fire his ass. But if he is falsifying records for no other reason than the fact that he lacks the backbone to confront his management about an an impossible dispatch situation, then it is hypoctical to fire him while letting off scot-free the very management people who set him up to fail in the first place.

 

[Returntosender]

As an employer (I own a TUPSS) I can tell you that this might not be the company itself. There are states that this is the law, and if the state finds employees not following the law, the assumption is that they aren't doing it for their own benefit, but for the employer's benefit, and there can be significant fines involved. And having once worked in a big company, I also know that reason for being so anal about lunches doesn't always get communicated well from those who have to write the checks for the fines on down to the front line employees. But all it takes is one disgrunled employee to file a formal complaint with the state, and there can be big trouble.

You got the right, a driver called OSHA becuase center manager wanted him to drive with a hairline crack in the windshield. A few days later a DOT inspector was doing audits on the trucks.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I have no problem whatsoever with terminations for drugs, drinking on the job, theft, multiple DUII's, or malicious and intentional dishonesty or falsification of records. The company has every right to hold us to the highest standards of personal behavior, and I dont want to work with thieves or drunks or liars.

What I do have a problem with...is when a person is fired for "dishonesty" for no other reason than they had the best of intentions but were put into an impossible situation and set up to fail by the same management team that then turns around and whacks them for cutting whatever corners were necessary in order to make that impossible situation work.

The perfect example of this is the employee who falsifies delivery records in order to show an impossible number of NDA being delivered by the commit time. The problem originated with managements calculated and intentional decision to overdispatch this employee; but rather than be the "bad guy" and force the problem to be corrected by alowing it to fail, these well-meaning employees will cheat in order to make it work. In many cases they honestly feel that they are doing the right thing by being a "team player", and quite often their management team will do nothing at all to dispel that illusion.... that is, until the s$%t hits the fan and Loss Prevention gets involved. At that point, the employee will be tossed under the bus by the very same people who put him in that situation to begin with!

If a guy is faslifying records in order to increase his bonus or get off at 4:00 every day then by all means fire his ass. But if he is falsifying records for no other reason than the fact that he lacks the backbone to confront his management about an an impossible dispatch situation, then it is hypoctical to fire him while letting off scot-free the very management people who set him up to fail in the first place.

I only have a problem with this IF the management team did not give this driver a warning prior to the termination.

If the driver was warned for sheeting NDAs before commit time and "holding scan" ( as all lower management would endorse ) , then was found out to do the same behaviour again - terminate.

However, I'm going to guess it's usually other seperate instances dragged into the termination, then the sole "dishonesty" occurance where the employee was simply setup to fail while the same stiffs directing him to do so are left smirking.

 

[ddomino]

What my center manager says is "we (UPS) don't fire drivers, drivers fire themselves" meaning doing thing they know are wrong. We have had a lot of drivers fired and not get their job back. A recent one: Driver has NDA, drives by stop at 940 am,(has time to make stop) signs for box then delivers sometime afternoon. Customer tracked and called in concern. Thing that got him fired, person's name he signed die 3 months prior. Driver fired himself. Enter drug program and test "hot" again. Driver fired himself.

 

[browncownow]

...having an affair...skip his meal break and meet her at a gravel pit...

Ah, the romantic setting of the gravel pit.
What lady could resist?

 

[browncownow]

What I do have a problem with...is when a person is fired for "dishonesty" for no other reason than they had the best of intentions but were put into an impossible situation and set up to fail by the same management team that then turns around and whacks them for cutting whatever corners were necessary in order to make that impossible situation work.

The problem originated with managements calculated and intentional decision to overdispatch this employee; but rather than be the "bad guy" and force the problem to be corrected by alowing it to fail, these well-meaning employees will cheat in order to make it work. In many cases they honestly feel that they are doing the right thing by being a "team player", and quite often their management team will do nothing at all to dispel that illusion.... that is, until the s$%t hits the fan and Loss Prevention gets involved. At that point, the employee will be tossed under the bus by the very same people who put him in that situation to begin with!

....it is hypoctical to fire him while letting off scot-free the very management people who set him up to fail in the first place.

This response is in line with my feelings that motivated me to start this thread.
The situation quoted above has become the norm at my center. I fear that, as IE tightens the screws and the climate surrounding the share price becomes harsher, this situation (heat, really) will become the norm at your center.

I had a pupose for I starting this discussion: I really want to advise my coworkers to do things the way you were trained 100% of the time and cover your butts (in writing (i.e. ODS and your detailed written records)) if a service failure is pending.

I know that most of you know this, but I have worked for UPS over 15 years and I thought that doing things right 99.999% of the time was OK. It's not. That .001% will be magnified and put under a spotlight. The supes have so much heat on them that they have to throw you under the bus in order to preserve their own job.

So from never being late to never calling in sick to always using all of the 340 points to conforming to their "flavor of the month" (e.g. send agains, no unscheduled pickups) to driving and parking legally, let's not give management the pleasure of firing us.

I wonder what they would do if all employees did the above all of the time. Go after each other? Another round of supervisor layoffs? Find some way to tighten the screws more?

Would it be a good idea for us to keep written details about management's activities and let our steward know that such records are at his or her disposal, or is that going too far?

 

[some1else]

Like others seen drug,theft,dui. We hqve had alot of attempts to fire for production/stealing time and falsifying records (miles, inflating stop count, forge sigs) but none ofmthem stuck yet

 

[Catatonic]

Would it be a good idea for us to keep written details about management's activities and let our steward know that such records are at his or her disposal, or is that going too far?

Nothing wrong with that ... just make sure you don't do it on company time since that would be stealing time.

 

[22.34life]

dont ever lie,steal,kick anyones ass or threaten to kick anyones ass,come to work on time everytime you can,dont sexually harrass anybody and you will never be fired at ups.

 

[rod]

dont ever lie,steal,kick anyones ass or threaten to kick anyones ass,come to work on time everytime you can,dont sexually harrass anybody and you will never be fired at ups.

I would respecfully disagree with this statement. I've witnessed people get "fired "for the silliest of reasons although 99% got their job back. I have a friend right now that is on a "working suspension" for production issiues -----------what ever the hell that is. How can they suspend you but you still have to work. I thiink just about everyone at my old center has been "fired" at least once in their career. Thank God for the Union or the turnover rate would be sky high. Fortunately the ones that actually stay fired are management after they are caught juggling numbers -------------------------and they all do ----------------------one way or the other------------------ even if they won't admit it.

 

[Valkyrie_Drako]

My brother who is also a UPSer is going to panel this tues. He tested positive for marijuana and the only reason he was tested was because he got in a argument with his part time supe. The supe then went and told the higher ups that my brother was acting funny and he thinks he is on drugs. My brother never had safety issues or bad attendance so the supe had no other way to get rid of him. Now he might lose his security of life over an argument. He has worked at UPS for 12 years and has always had pride in his job. He is the reason I work there now.

 

[menotyou]

If they don't like you or if you stand up for yourself, you will have a target on your back. I know. Mine is so big it drags on the floor when I walk.

 

[Catatonic]

If they don't like you or if you stand up for yourself, you will have a target on your back. I know. Mine is so big it drags on the floor when I walk.

I'm surprised ... not!

 

[hypocrisy]

Targets are great because you'll know where they are aiming for. In my case, they've been lousy shots and even if they get lucky I'll know, in the immortal words of Frank, that "I did it My Way".

 

[menotyou]

I wear mine like a flag. I believe I might be lucky enough to have a few pictures of me floating around. Now, now. It's not what you are thinking. My face on bull-eye's that the DM and his cronies use for target practice. Na-na-na-na-na!

 

[UnconTROLLed]

gravedigger thread

 

[dilligaf]

My brother who is also a UPSer is going to panel this tues. He tested positive for marijuana and the only reason he was tested was because he got in a argument with his part time supe. The supe then went and told the higher ups that my brother was acting funny and he thinks he is on drugs. My brother never had safety issues or bad attendance so the supe had no other way to get rid of him. Now he might lose his security of life over an argument. He has worked at UPS for 12 years and has always had pride in his job. He is the reason I work there now.

Don't take this the wrong way but if you're gonna 'walk with Lions, you better not smell like food'.