I would like to see some kind of profit sharing program. If the company is going to keep drivers out on routes all night and constantly cut
routes to save a buck.Then maybe the company should share the profits with the drivers and other inside employee's instead of being so
greedy.
I was thinking along these lines also. We recently recieved a letter from the New England pension plan stating the fund is only 50% funded. My guess? Its only going to get worse. I'm planning for little or no pension when I retire in 25 or so years. In light of this information, I would love to see a 401k match from UPS. A 3-5% match would go a long way compared to an increased contribution to the pension fund that only subsidizes the promised benefits from companies that went under long, long ago.
Next would be pay raises. As long as the UPS profit pie gets larger so should employee's pay increases. Hourly and management. If profits slip then I would be for a wage freeze. However, if UPS keeps doing what its doing, I consider this unlikely.
An extra sick day or 2 would be nice considering we are out in the elements everyday and considering if I'm any less than 80% it really takes its toll on me to pull a route. As a sick driver, its too much to come to work when its minus 10 wind-chill or 35 with a cold, wind-swept rain all day. I mean if you come down with a bad cold or a stomach virus once and there goes 3-4 days, leaving us with 1 for the rest of the year.
I would also like the option of taking a 30 minute to hour lunch or anything in between. Let it be up to the driver. Give us more flexibilty to get out earlier if we need without having to give up any pay and it still fullfills the law requirement that all workers must be given a 30 minute break when working more than 6.
It also gives management flexibility. House call routes don't need to be idle for an hour and that person would be more motivated to huslte and finish earlier knowing they could actually eat dinner before 8 PM on a regualr basis or they might be more open to helping another driver knowing they don't have to sit for an hour at the end of the night (which isn't lunch but that's another topic for another day, lol).
Also, if the route is strictly business then the driver will take whatever is left before pick-ups for lunch. Now, delveries must be finished exactly 1 hour before pick-ups. We all know this is impossible on a daily basis and the center must send help for all the deliveries the driver couldn't make before the 1 hour lunch starts. Under the .5 to 1 hour lunch option there is an extra .5 hours of error that can be dealt with more easily than sending another house call driver for 5 stops and screwing up HIS day. To me, it sounds like everyon wins.
And lastly, like Over9.5 said: bring back the turkey! Its just a show of respect. Most companies give bonuses at Christmas. My girlfriend works in a doctor's office with less that 12 employees and she recieved a $2400 bonus AFTER TAXES. UPS' 4th quarter profit $1,000,000,000. Total turkeys given to its employees: 0. Its just a sign of respect and I believe we deserve some as hourly employees.
Am I asking too much? Maybe. But I don't think so. To start a different topic that I will post soon; how about we get rid of half of all PT supervisors. Think of the cost savings there! The full-time sup. could easily pick up the slack of half of these people and probably 80% of them. They really are dispensible in my esitmation.