Satellite Routes??

[Hollerhead]

I don't know if this subject has been discussed here before, I am new to this forum.

At my center there are 2 satellite routes that will become available in JUNE. I will probably get one of the routes. the routes will originate from my hometown and I will no longer be driving 50 miles a day to work. (IF I GET THE ROUTE).

My question is for those of you who might have these kind of routes at your center: I have been told that I will lose all center seniority if I choose to take the route. Another word when routes become available again for bid at my original center I will not be able to bid on those routes if I don;t like the satellite route. To me this doesn;t make since? Does anyone know how there center is doing it. SENIORITY WISE.

[retired2000]

we had a run like that in opur center when i was working. the driver did not lose his rights in his center. he was able to bid again the next time bids came up.

[trickpony1]

If you take this satellite route, I would assure, in writing, that you won't be stuck on it the rest of your career.
The reason I say this is because feeder drivers that origin from extended centers aren't allowed to bid on runs that origin at the hub they go to.

I would also ask the union steward and/or the business agent.

[xracer]

You would still be dispatched out of that center and as such you should keep your seniority and be able to bid another route when your bid cycle is up(if your center has this practice as ours does but not all do). I personally do not agree with satellite routes as they benef it only a few and generally hurt many, mostly the cover drivers, as I understand how they work. As previously stated, I would check with your steward and local BA before pursuing this any further and as trick says "get it in writing", not that management would ever lie to you but it is always safe to cover your bases........

[surviv'n_it]

They recently created a satellite route in my center. The driver who bid on this route is stuck on it for a 6 month period then will be eligible to bid on another route if he wants too. So I guess its the same as any route you bid on and get requires a 6 month waiting period in which you cannot bid on any other route. I am not sure if this is everywhere or by region.

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by Hollerhead

I don't know if this subject has been discussed here before, I am new to this forum.

At my center there are 2 satellite routes that will become available in JUNE. I will probably get one of the routes. the routes will originate from my hometown and I will no longer be driving 50 miles a day to work. (IF I GET THE ROUTE).

My question is for those of you who might have these kind of routes at your center: I have been told that I will lose all center seniority if I choose to take the route. Another word when routes become available again for bid at my original center I will not be able to bid on those routes if I don;t like the satellite route. To me this doesn;t make since? Does anyone know how there center is doing it. SENIORITY WISE.

You do not lose your senoirity. I have been a satellite driver for 11 years. You can bid off of your route when bid time comes around but you can not be bid off your route. You are classified as a center unto yourself, so as long as you want to stay and the company wants the satellite route to stay in place you can stay or you can leave. I live 52 miles from the center and I can tell I like working where I live.

[dammor]

Originally Posted by trickpony1

If you take this satellite route, I would assure, in writing, that you won't be stuck on it the rest of your career.
The reason I say this is because feeder drivers that origin from extended centers aren't allowed to bid on runs that origin at the hub they go to.

I would also ask the union steward and/or the business agent.

Not true here. Make sure you know the rules in your region before bidding on anything. You bid satellite here you are there forever unless they move them back. Check your contract and for sure get it in writing. Stuck in hell is not pleasant....

[dammor]

Originally Posted by dammor

Not true here. Make sure you know the rules in your region before bidding on anything. You bid satellite here you are there forever unless they move them back. Check your contract and for sure get it in writing. Stuck in hell is not pleasant....

Sorry trick, I read your post wrong. Seems we are on the same page.

[dammor]

Originally Posted by dammor

Not true here. Make sure you know the rules in your region before bidding on anything. You bid satellite here you are there forever unless they move them back. Check your contract and for sure get it in writing. Stuck in hell is not pleasant....

Sorry Trick, I read your post wrong. Seems we are on the same page.

[Gman24]

Nope, not stuck in hell. I have the option of bidding another route if I don;t like it. I couldn't be happier!!!!!!! Check out the thread that I posted on the agreement that our local came up with when our center put in satellite routes.

If you live anywhere close to a satellite route bid it!!! This job is night and day from what I was accustomed to working out of our large center. No more "oh such and such has to get done early tonight to see his doctor about his roids, can you cover his pickups??" Yes you can bid back into the building anytime you want.

[trplnkl]

If these are new Satellite Routes be ware that the dynamics of the routes are going to change somewhat. When running out of the home center the routes go out with 55-60 stops and run around 260 miles (these numbers are made up for illustration) once they become sat routes you will need more stops to compensate for the 100 miles less you will be driving.
As far as whether or not you will be stuck on the route forever or will be able to bid back to the home center or if your bid is protected (as Sat drivers said) depends on the agreement your center and your local makes on the final language details. The contract does not spell all this out to my knowledge.
Now, if the routes have been in place for a while, the language details should already be set. However, I don't see how you have much to lose from bidding this route. If you get the bid, you will be saving yourself 100 miles a day on your personal vehicle, plus and hour or more of free driving time back and forth. If you don't get the bid, it's just business as usual. Right?
One thing you will want to make sure of is about your vacation bids, will you bid in line per seniority with all the home center drivers or just with your other sat center driver?

[wyobill1956]

in our center we had 1 satellite rt installed. The driver that took this Rt. is stuck there forever. He cannot bid another Rt. in our center. The satellite Rt has a center all of its own. Depends on your union.

With the sat. rte. all vacation and time off is based on where you fall in line on seniority with the other drivers out of my "home center". You just don't have to worry about getting bumped off of it, if you get the bid. Ahh the good life!!

[UpstateNYUPSer]

I am not familiar with satellite routes at all so please bear with me as I sure some of my questions to follow may seem basic.

1. Do you drive your own personal vehicle to the satellite location to start and end your work day?

2. Do they use cover drivers for vacation? If so, is consideration given for those drivers who live closer to the satellite location?

3. Do they bring a feeder to your location in the morning and then swap feeders in the evening?

[soberups]

Originally Posted by UpstateNYUPSer

I am not familiar with satellite routes at all so please bear with me as I sure some of my questions to follow may seem basic.

1. Do you drive your own personal vehicle to the satellite location to start and end your work day?

2. Do they use cover drivers for vacation? If so, is consideration given for those drivers who live closer to the satellite location?

3. Do they bring a feeder to your location in the morning and then swap feeders in the evening?

We have 4 satellite routes in our center. The driver who bids the route drives his personal vehicle to and from the satellite location each day. He/she is not paid for this time, and he/she has a later start time.
Each satellite location has two routes. These routes are fed from the center by a driver in a pkg car pulling a pup trailer. This driver brings out the DIADS and any necessary paperwork in the AM. The trailer is parked, the satellite drivers recieve their DIADS, and proceed to load their own vehicles for the day.
At the end of the day, they unload their pickup volume into the pup trailer prior to its scheduled pull time, and turn in their DIADS if they are done. If not done, they have to go back out and complete their deliveries. They then do a phone send with the DIAD, take it home, and bring it back the following day.
When a satellite driver is on vacation or calls in sick, the center sends a driver out from the building to the satellite location in his/her personal vehicle. Since this driver has a scheduled start time at the main building, he/she is paid for the time spent driving to/from the satellite location as well as for mileage.
In my location, bid satellite drivers are still considered members of their origin center, can freely bid any route on that center, and they select vacations from that center. The only difference for them is that they report to a different location and have a later start time than other members of the center. They also wash and fuel their own cars, using a fuel card and tokens for a public car wash provided by the center. A few times a year, they will be instructed to drive their package cars back to the origin center for PMI's or repairs in the evening, and will drive an exchange vehicle back out to the satellite location.

[UpstateNYUPSer]

sober, thank you.

Sober...very well put you explained the satellite operation to a T.

[25yrvet]

Later start time, no more big center politics--those are the big points I have to add.
You are almost on an isalnd, meaning you can't cry for help most days because you are in a remote area. Our sat. center has it's own seniority list and vacation list. FIGHT FOR A BUILDING to park and load your trucks; and not just a building.... one with running water, a bathroom, and heat. I know these sound like simple requests, especially in the 21st century, but we had to fight for these when the center was implemented, and we are dealing with ups

Our ctr has 2 diads for every driver, they are swapped out everyday. On Mon I'll use diad 1, Tues the feeder driver brings up diad 2 while taking diad 1 back that nite. I'll then use diad 1 Wed while #2 will go back that nite.

[trplnkl]

Our Sat centers combine some elements from what each one of y'all have posted and have a few different. That's why it is important to get with your CM and your union BA (not steward) to make sure you understand what your are getting into BEFORE you bid on a Sat route.

Here when the center team knows far enough in advance of a sat driver being off for the day the truck is loaded in the center instead of in the trailer. Otherwise the cover driver drives a UPS vehicle to and from the sat ctr and loads there. Vaca sat rts are loaded in the home ctr.
We rotate 3 DIADs, each day the sat driver starts out with two boards, does the majority of his work on one and when he meets the feeder driver in the PM he turns that board in and starts recording on the second one. When he finishes for the day he calls in the remaining stops, packages, clock out time etc to the center OMS. The next day he gives that board to the feeder driver and starts over again.

When we first had a sat center several years ago, we were not allowed to bid back to the home center and our routes bids were protected from from people in the home center. We still had bids at the same intervals as the rest of the conference but was limited to other routes in our sat center, we had 8 routes. They eventually brought all but one route back to the home center except one route. Now all of our sat routes (currently 4 scattered about) are free game at bid time.

[reydluap]

Since this driver has a scheduled start time at the main building, he/she is paid for the time spent driving to/from the satellite location as well as for mileage.



Interesting! Our Center does an either/or policy. Hourly rate OR mileage.

[soberups]

Originally Posted by reydluap

Since this driver has a scheduled start time at the main building, he/she is paid for the time spent driving to/from the satellite location as well as for mileage.



Interesting! Our Center does an either/or policy. Hourly rate OR mileage.

The mileage is because the driver is in his own vehicle. Otherwise, the driver would have the right to demand the use of a UPS vehicle to drive from the main center to the satellite location.

[1989]

Our routes are loaded in a package car and runs from the center when a satellite driver is off or sick.

[browniehound]

This talk of Satellite routes is very intersesting. I've never heard a word about them as I live in a large metropolitan area. A short 50 miles however the area becomes very rural.

I'm very interested in the logistics of these routes, and I'm confused about some things. So can you anwser a few of my "stupid" questions?

Where are the package cars stored? From what I've read of "Sat RTES" it appears the employee drives his car to an area where he gets a UPS vehicle and then a feeder is driven to this location. At this time the drivers load their own truck?

Does this happen in some random parking lot, or is there a facility that UPS owns that the package cars are stored in??


Can someone please enlighten me here? When I first learned of SAT RTES, I pictured driving my car to a parking lot where my package car would be kept over night. Then a feeder would drive to this parking lot and 4 drivers would load their truck in the parking lot. Then all 4 drivers would return to the lot with their PU volume and the feeder would be on its way and the trucks are left in the parking lot for the night??? Or do I take the truck home with me once its empty? I'm guessing this is a long-shot!

Is this how it works?. Can someone please explain what I'm missing here??

[soberups]

Originally Posted by browniehound

Can someone please enlighten me here? When I first learned of SAT RTES, I pictured driving my car to a parking lot where my package car would be kept over night. Then a feeder would drive to this parking lot and 4 drivers would load their truck in the parking lot. Then all 4 drivers would return to the lot with their PU volume and the feeder would be on its way and the trucks are left in the parking lot for the night??? Or do I take the truck home with me once its empty? I'm guessing this is a long-shot!

Is this how it works?. Can someone please explain what I'm missing here??

That is pretty much how it works, except the part about taking the package cars home. My center rents space from an auto parts store to use for the satellite center. The store has a fenced, gated parking lot in back and there are two package cars that live there. The drivers report to this location in their personal vehicles. The "feeder" for these two routes is a pup trailer towed behind a package car. When the drivers are done they park their trucks, lock the gate behind them and go home. The key to the gate is kept in one of those little combination lock boxes like the realtors use to show houses. Routine maintainence for the pkg cars is contracted out to a mechanic at the auto parts store, but major repairs and PMI's are done by UPS mechanics back at the home center. It took a grievance, but our local was finally able to force UPS to rent a port-a-potty with hand and eyewash equipment so that the drivers wouldnt have to pee in the parking lot and would have some way to deal with a hazmat leak.