Would like to come finish my time with UPS.

[Desert Skies]

Just put in some time looking thru these threads but Im not really finding what Im looking for I figured I would ask for some help.

After putting in 17 years as a teamster grocery driver in the pacific northwest I pulled the plug and threw it all away for what I thought would be my last job,my dream job. Without going into alot of detail it took just 15 months for it all to fall apart and now Im back where I was 20 years ago,running 11 western OTR for 40cpm. Its been a brutal experience to not only my ego but the almost 60% pay cut is causing some major financial issues.

My termination was an administrative issue and has not affected my safety record,my former employer is reporting no accidents,moving violations or drug/alcohol issues when contacted. Had this been a teamster job I have no doubt I would have been back to work in a week. This is something you younger people need to keep in mind when you question your teamster loyality or if your dues are worth it.

With 21 years and over 2 million miles of safe driving (mostly doubles and triples) you would think getting a job would be a breeze. Well companies that would have been begging for my services six months ago are now either not calling back or they are saying no thanks. Seems a termination in this industry is worse than having tickets or accidents,I have never been fired from a job so this is all new to me. My current employer gave me a chance and I am going to use it to rebuild my reputation. Most of the recruiters have told me I need to put 6-12 months behind me to help offset the termination. No problem I can do it but I need a goal to focus on.

With the time I have in with locals 162 and 305 I figure im going to want to put in at least another ten years. A good friend of mine retired from pakage car so I know a little bit about how things work at UPS I am well aware it could take years for me to fully recover financially but at this point I have no choice and at 49 I dont have alot of time to screw around so I need to get focused. Any advice you all could offer would be greatly appreciated and I appreciate you taking the time to read my post.

I live in the high desert of CA (Victorville) and am well aware I may need to commute. For the physical aspects of the job I have managed to stay in great shape, I run 3.5 miles and strength train a few times a week so I should be good to go.

 

[Indecisi0n]

Wheres the question?

 

[Desert Skies]

Wheres the question?

Not so much questions I guess but more direction is what I need. With my experience and back round is there one type of position I should focus on or should I take whatever I can to get in. Example,there is a part time air walker position open in Ontario,CA. Would someone be able to move into package cars from a job like an air walker. Should I look at something seasonal with hopes of going part or full time? Would I be better off going the loader to package car route (if it still works that way) or concentrating on the freight side.

There are some dedicated and road driver positions out here but Im not sure what those positions involve or even if UPS freight is union or not. My goal some where down the line would be full time driving something. Sorry if I wasnt clearer Im just not real sure how to proceed. Several years ago I thought of moving over to UPS,working at PDX as a loader then moving into package,at the time I was making 80k hauling groceries and could not take the hit financially.

Also I have not noticed any adds for seasonal tractor trailer drivers,they used to start gearing up for peak about this time of the year. Not sure if they are cutting back on the peak season hiring or what.

 

[anonymous6]

11 years ago at age 48 I went thru almost the same thing . almost total financial/ mental failure due to anothers person misdeeds. anyway it didn't matter how it happened . what does matter is how I responded.

I was fortunate enough to ask the advice of a very wise person.

First. exercise , eat right and sleep. You need to be in good shape to fight back, ( you're on the right track here )

second. get a notebook and start making lists of everything you need to do to make a comeback. they don't need to be in order right away, that comes later. I went on long walks for about 2 months and the fog slowly cleared and i could see what direction to go.

write the to-do list and then prioritize it. then just do the first thing first without looking at everything else. this priority list may take awhile but it's worth it. do the the #1 then cross it off and go to next. it's easier to take a big big job and break it down into little parts.

Read inspirational material. " Discovering The Laws Of Life" "The Magic Of Thinking Big" " The Power Of Positive Thinking" and others.

Watch Inspiratuional Movies to get you thinking positive. Surround yourself with positive people, etc.

For financial advice go to Daveramsey.com. In my opinion he is the best in the business.

Keep working. It is good medicine. It doesn't have to be agreat job at first. 6-12 months will go by fast and it will help you get on the right track to make your comeback. When not at a job, workout and or do yardwork etc. anything to keep busy. good ideas will come to you when you least expect it. even in dreams.

Realize there may be setbacks but if you stay focused on your written plan they will not last. You WILL make progress.

This will take time. It took us 2-3 years to just to breathe easier. a couple more years to be doing well again and now we are in pretty good shape. Looking back it is almost unbelievable how well we did. lots of hard work.

hope this helps. good luck brother.

 

[pickup]

Jobs and careers at United Parcel Service you might find a seasonal job on this link. Maybe the seasonal jobs ads are not in print media yet. I would have looked for you but I am not sure what hubs Victorville is near.

 

[TearsInRain]

sounds like UPS is the place for you

management will ride you hard, but the stability is unbeatable in this economy

 

[laffter]

What you talkin bout Willis?

 

[Jackburton]

UPS is a place you strive to get away from when looking at retirement, not come to work for.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Just put in some time looking thru these threads but Im not really finding what Im looking for I figured I would ask for some help.

After putting in 17 years as a teamster grocery driver in the pacific northwest I pulled the plug and threw it all away for what I thought would be my last job,my dream job. Without going into alot of detail it took just 15 months for it all to fall apart and now Im back where I was 20 years ago,running 11 western OTR for 40cpm. Its been a brutal experience to not only my ego but the almost 60% pay cut is causing some major financial issues.

My termination was an administrative issue and has not affected my safety record,my former employer is reporting no accidents,moving violations or drug/alcohol issues when contacted. Had this been a teamster job I have no doubt I would have been back to work in a week. This is something you younger people need to keep in mind when you question your teamster loyality or if your dues are worth it.

With 21 years and over 2 million miles of safe driving (mostly doubles and triples) you would think getting a job would be a breeze. Well companies that would have been begging for my services six months ago are now either not calling back or they are saying no thanks. Seems a termination in this industry is worse than having tickets or accidents,I have never been fired from a job so this is all new to me. My current employer gave me a chance and I am going to use it to rebuild my reputation. Most of the recruiters have told me I need to put 6-12 months behind me to help offset the termination. No problem I can do it but I need a goal to focus on.

With the time I have in with locals 162 and 305 I figure im going to want to put in at least another ten years. A good friend of mine retired from pakage car so I know a little bit about how things work at UPS I am well aware it could take years for me to fully recover financially but at this point I have no choice and at 49 I dont have alot of time to screw around so I need to get focused. Any advice you all could offer would be greatly appreciated and I appreciate you taking the time to read my post.

I live in the high desert of CA (Victorville) and am well aware I may need to commute. For the physical aspects of the job I have managed to stay in great shape, I run 3.5 miles and strength train a few times a week so I should be good to go.

I think a good place to start would be contacting one of your former local unions and asking if they could place you.

 

[yeldarb]

UPS is a place you strive to get away from when looking at retirement, not come to work for.

UPS is a better means to an end than almost any job out there. It is arguably the best teamster job there is. UPS gas major faults, but the total compensation package is what keeps us all there tolerating the problems.

 

[TechGrrl]

Not so much questions I guess but more direction is what I need. With my experience and back round is there one type of position I should focus on or should I take whatever I can to get in. Example,there is a part time air walker position open in Ontario,CA. Would someone be able to move into package cars from a job like an air walker. Should I look at something seasonal with hopes of going part or full time? Would I be better off going the loader to package car route (if it still works that way) or concentrating on the freight side.

There are some dedicated and road driver positions out here but Im not sure what those positions involve or even if UPS freight is union or not. My goal some where down the line would be full time driving something. Sorry if I wasnt clearer Im just not real sure how to proceed. Several years ago I thought of moving over to UPS,working at PDX as a loader then moving into package,at the time I was making 80k hauling groceries and could not take the hit financially.

Also I have not noticed any adds for seasonal tractor trailer drivers,they used to start gearing up for peak about this time of the year. Not sure if they are cutting back on the peak season hiring or what.

Why not get a job as a feeder driver? Not sure of current UPS position on this, but between the tighter Federal safety rules, and the demographic bulge of over the road drivers retiring, I read lots of articles bemoaning the current/impending shortage of over the road drivers. As the economy recovers, it seems this shortage should manifest itself....

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Why not get a job as a feeder driver? Not sure of current UPS position on this, but between the tighter Federal safety rules, and the demographic bulge of over the road drivers retiring, I read lots of articles bemoaning the current/impending shortage of over the road drivers. As the economy recovers, it seems this shortage should manifest itself....

The OP has 17 years of service within the Teamsters and is looking to finish up with a Teamsters company in order to collect a Teamsters pension. We had a driver who worked for St. Johnsbury, which was a trucking company which went bankrupt, who went to UPS. He was pleasantly surprised when he was told that he could retire with a full pension at the age of 50--he had no idea his time at St. J would be added to his time at UPS. He was in no way ready for retirement and unfortunately has recently had some serious health issues.

 

[UPSGUY72]

I think a good place to start would be contacting one of your former local unions and asking if they could place you.

This great advise... Depending on the location getting a TT job with UPS off the street is impossible no matter how many years of experience you. Getting FT driver job off the street is isn't easy either most of us drivers worked PT to start and it can take years get a FT package car driving position as a PTimer. Years could be 1 or more than 10.

 

[menotyou]

He might be willing to move to the job, as they are hiring FT in certain parts of the country.

 

[Desert Skies]

Thank you for the advice and feed back,I really do appreciate it. Retirement is actually not my number one concearn,stabilty and job security are more important. One lesson I have learned in all this is that it can all go away tommorow,being associated with someone as big as UPS makes that possibility of that much less likely.

During my 17 years with 162 and 305 we had a an above average pension contribution. Our last five year contract had us at 6.00 an hour up to 2080 hours a year,so there is already a decent pension waiting when I turn 65. My goal was to try and double it up by making my own contributions combined with the better than average match offered by my previous employer.

Contacting my former locals is something I will look into but moving back to the northwest is not an option. I have some pretty good connections with the studio teamsters here in So Cal but film and tv production both are really slow.

My research on feeders has returned mixed opinions,some say its possible to come in off the street while others say its a climb up from the bottom. With the increased scrutiny placed on drivers by CSA and insurance companies the fact is that if you dont have an excellent safety record your not moving up. Filling these feeder spots that open up may well have to be done off the street in order to find qualified drivers. There is a tremendous amount of liability associated with operating any commercial vehicle and only the very best will to remain employed in the industry.

 

[Desert Skies]

11 years ago at age 48 I went thru almost the same thing . almost total financial/ mental failure due to anothers person misdeeds. anyway it didn't matter how it happened . what does matter is how I responded.

I was fortunate enough to ask the advice of a very wise person.

First. exercise , eat right and sleep. You need to be in good shape to fight back, ( you're on the right track here )

second. get a notebook and start making lists of everything you need to do to make a comeback. they don't need to be in order right away, that comes later. I went on long walks for about 2 months and the fog slowly cleared and i could see what direction to go.

write the to-do list and then prioritize it. then just do the first thing first without looking at everything else. this priority list may take awhile but it's worth it. do the the #1 then cross it off and go to next. it's easier to take a big big job and break it down into little parts.

Read inspirational material. " Discovering The Laws Of Life" "The Magic Of Thinking Big" " The Power Of Positive Thinking" and others.

Watch Inspiratuional Movies to get you thinking positive. Surround yourself with positive people, etc.

For financial advice go to Daveramsey.com. In my opinion he is the best in the business.

Keep working. It is good medicine. It doesn't have to be agreat job at first. 6-12 months will go by fast and it will help you get on the right track to make your comeback. When not at a job, workout and or do yardwork etc. anything to keep busy. good ideas will come to you when you least expect it. even in dreams.

Realize there may be setbacks but if you stay focused on your written plan they will not last. You WILL make progress.

This will take time. It took us 2-3 years to just to breathe easier. a couple more years to be doing well again and now we are in pretty good shape. Looking back it is almost unbelievable how well we did. lots of hard work.

hope this helps. good luck brother.

Thank you for your kind words and good advice,I will remeber them while we work thru this. My thinking has always been that you have to have some bad to get some good and whats going to happen has pretty much been all laid out anyway. When I look back there have been only a few bad things to deal with in my life and experiences helped open doors that lead to better things,if I had made other choices things might not have worked out so well. At this point its pretty hard to find any positives that might come from this and I have searched for them. I know it will get better and it might even be much better but,tick tock.

Twenty years ago I laid out a plan and began my climb to the very top of the driving industry,actually I have hit the top twice with different companies. During that time I took all the abuse and put up with all the garbage because I knew that it was part of the game. Having to do it all again is not something I look forward to but I am willing to do it because I have others depending on me. Plus I really love a good challenge,kicking butt and taking names is something I am really good at and its what helped me to be successful for most of my life.

When I left my teamster job for my "dream job" my income dropped just a bit but quickly recovered and then increased. With this job loss my income has gone from 100k+ to maybe 55k is not only hurting me but also having negative effects on my family. For twenty years they have never had to worry about things like food and shelter because I have always been a very good provider. Now all that security has been ripped away and I know they worry about what might happen. Do I see us homeless or hungry,no not even close but they see things different. They worry about money for thier sports or that mom might have to work,these are the things that are important to them.

 

[UPSGUY72]

He might be willing to move to the job, as they are hiring FT in certain parts of the country.

That would be FT with a 90 plus day probationary period as no one make book during Oct, Nov, and Dec. We call those people seasonal...

 

[menotyou]

That would be FT with a 90 plus day probationary period as no one make book during Oct, Nov, and Dec. We call those people seasonal...

It doesn't start here til Nov.

 

[UPSGUY72]

It doesn't start here til Nov.

Oct 1 in New England..

 

[anonymous6]

the Chinese have a symbol for this. on one side is Hardship. The other side is Opportunity.