Aug Frontline

[It will be fine]

Management can get rid of anyone they want to. It's not that hard to find something to hang on any driver. I've had GPS on my fleet for a few years now and have used it to exonerate my people far more often than to punish them.

 

[Star B]

IWBF, here's the thing..... if you don't exonerate them, don't you get fined depending on the situation? Express doesn't have to worry about that... well... unless it's the government...

I want to be wrong about this livegps being used to harass hardworking couriers further. I think my stance will be... I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[MAKAVELI]

Management can get rid of anyone they want to. It's not that hard to find something to hang on any driver. I've had GPS on my fleet for a few years now and have used it to exonerate my people far more often than to punish them.

Yes they can fire anyone for any reason. But firing for just cause and denying unemployment benefits is more difficult.

 

[59 Dano]

No, the ones you have so much contempt for.

How many years have the usual suspects been whining about older, slower, and less productive being targets to be terminated... without being terminated?

As far as contempt goes, if you can no longer do the job -- get out of the way.

 

[59 Dano]

Been saying this along, do it by the books and let the purple promise fail.

I've never been in a station where the numbers fell because methods were strictly enforced.

 

[MAKAVELI]

How many years have the usual suspects been whining about older, slower, and less productive being targets to be terminated... without being terminated?

As far as contempt goes, if you can no longer do the job -- get out of the way.

Just because someone is slower doesn't mean they can't do the job.

 

[It will be fine]

Yes they can fire anyone for any reason. But firing for just cause and denying unemployment benefits is more difficult.

It's not really that hard to get unemployment denied. If you have clear policy manuals all you need to prove is misconduct that caused harm to the employer. I'm sure it varies by state and Cali is likley more employer friendly than most, but it's not that difficult. I don't think the GPS will provide that much more ammo for a firing, unless something egregious is going on on road. In which case the driver probably should be fired.

 

[MAKAVELI]

It's not really that hard to get unemployment denied. If you have clear policy manuals all you need to prove is misconduct that caused harm to the employer. I'm sure it varies by state and Cali is likley more employer friendly than most, but it's not that difficult. I don't think the GPS will provide that much more ammo for a firing, unless something egregious is going on on road. In which case the driver probably should be fired.

I understand it differs from state to state. But just because one is fired doesn't preclude one from unemployment benefits. If that were the case FedEx would be going on firing sprees. FedEx doesn't even fight on a case if a terminated employee has an attorney. For a non union job it really is hard to get fired from here. You really have to be a serious friend* up to get fired. Lol

 

[Yomama11]

I've never been in a station where the numbers fell because methods were strictly enforced.

Numbers cant fall because numbers can be changed to fit the courier. If you only take out 20 p1s week after week then your numbers will reflect that you can only do 20 even though you can really do about 25. Driver at my station will never take more than 20. If the person has 21 they go directly to the manager and ask who they can drop the 1 stop to.

 

[vantexan]

Just because it doesn't harm me doesn't mean it is harmless. This isn't a political thread, so stop grasping at the one side reference i made, kplzthx!~


1) if he had so much time between P1 stops to interline P2, he should have been given check rides. If magically his times during the check rides came in at what they were supposed to be... they should have been digging deeper (see next point)
2) they could have followed him
3) current gps solution would have caught it, because you know they are pulling our GPS if something starts stinking like a missed pkg of fish from thursday that shows up on Monday.

He didn't want to give it up because he had the flexibility of a part timer while getting paid like a full-timer. Managements failure to check him allowed him to get away with it.

You brought up the freedom issues, not me. If you're going to use such things to back up your argument at least prove it's actually happening.

I get that they already have a system in place to show unusual gaps in time, unlike in the early 90's when he was getting away with it. But the GPS system is a further lock down on unscrupulous couriers. The gap report can be beaten. Quickly grab a few close by pups but only pup one. Release pkgs to show you are doing something then drop them off later while doing other nearby stops. Drive way out of your area to see someone or do personal business, releasing pkgs as you go. Drop off pkgs on break or interspersed amongst other deliveries. GPS eliminates the ability to get away with this. And most likely most of the time mgrs are too busy to be monitoring your whereabouts but who knows, maybe they'll audit from time to time, keeping everyone honest. But this whole idea that this will be used to get rid of people who are perfectly good couriers but older and better paid is highly unlikely.

 

[MAKAVELI]

You brought up the freedom issues, not me. If you're going to use such things to back up your argument at least prove it's actually happening.

I get that they already have a system in place to show unusual gaps in time, unlike in the early 90's when he was getting away with it. But the GPS system is a further lock down on unscrupulous couriers. The gap report can be beaten. Quickly grab a few close by pups but only pup one. Release pkgs to show you are doing something then drop them off later while doing other nearby stops. Drive way out of your area to see someone or do personal business, releasing pkgs as you go. Drop off pkgs on break or interspersed amongst other deliveries. GPS eliminates the ability to get away with this. And most likely most of the time mgrs are too busy to be monitoring your whereabouts but who knows, maybe they'll audit from time to time, keeping everyone honest. But this whole idea that this will be used to get rid of people who are perfectly good couriers but older and better paid is highly unlikely.

Just how many drivers do you think are doing this. It seems to me they would be spending $ millions just to catch a handful of drivers.

 

[vantexan]

Just because it doesn't harm me doesn't mean it is harmless. This isn't a political thread, so stop grasping at the one side reference i made, kplzthx!~


1) if he had so much time between P1 stops to interline P2, he should have been given check rides. If magically his times during the check rides came in at what they were supposed to be... they should have been digging deeper (see next point)
2) they could have followed him
3) current gps solution would have caught it, because you know they are pulling our GPS if something starts stinking like a missed pkg of fish from thursday that shows up on Monday.

He didn't want to give it up because he had the flexibility of a part timer while getting paid like a full-timer. Managements failure to check him allowed him to get away with it.

We rarely got check ridden at that station. His area was condensed enough that with hustle he could easily drop off P2. Should've been off by noon most days, amazing to me that they were irritated with him but never followed him or given check ride.

 

[vantexan]

Just how many drivers do you think are doing this. It seems to me they would be spending $ millions just to catch a handful of drivers.

I've been at stations all over the country. Some had very good work ethic. Others had majority trying to do the least work possible for the most money possible. Knew a lot of milkers in those stations. And if there's one thing FedEx hates above all else, it's giving employees free money. So if GPS makes for a more productive workforce, it'll pay for itself. I don't think the company will use it to get rid of people, but I do think it'll contribute to people quitting who'll get tired of the pressure to perform. When I had to justify restroom breaks to my last mgr when previous mgrs didn't care, it certainly contributed to my leaving.

 

[MAKAVELI]

I've been at stations all over the country. Some had very good work ethic. Others had majority trying to do the least work possible for the most money possible. Knew a lot of milkers in those stations. And if there's one thing FedEx hates above all else, it's giving employees free money. So if GPS makes for a more productive workforce, it'll pay for itself. I don't think the company will use it to get rid of people, but I do think it'll contribute to people quitting who'll get tired of the pressure to perform. When I had to justify restroom breaks to my last mgr when previous mgrs didn't care, it certainly contributed to my leaving.

They can only pressure someone if there is a threat to terminate. This is why the few ( my opinion ) that are extreme milkers get away with it now. You quit only because you were ready to retire and health problems made that choice even more resolute. They have GPS now so there really is no need for telematics to catch the milkers. The company doesn't care about methods, they dont teach them and that's why they don't do check rides anymore. It is purely a tool to harass and make a case to fire a driver for cause.

 

[!Retired!]

I don't.

I understand the balance between wanting to know where your assets as and making sure that you're not getting taken by somebody who's milking it. But all it takes is one overzealous manager that really wants you gone because you wear your hat the wrong way to make you wish that you never supported this thing. That's what I'm afraid of. unlike UPS we don't have a union to protect our ass when mgmt gets a hard on for harassing us for whatever reason.

Because all it takes is 3 keystrokes and DRA is now saying that you have a gap at every stop. Or you're overloaded every single day and 'DRA would neeeeeever overload a courier. You must be doing something wrong.'.


One way to look at it it is like our constant erosion of rights in the United States. Since 9/11 a lot of our freedoms have gone away and it's just continuing to happen. Even though people sit and cry and whine and moan they're not willing to fight for them because 'omg terrorirismmmm'.

It just happens little by little. First we got dra to start giving them a reason to harass us. Now they have GPS to Keep tabs on us but they didn't have it in real time. Now they're going to have real-time where they can harass us further.

Now don't get me wrong. Deep down I just want them to use this as a tool to protect their assets and get rid of the people who are absolutely useless dead weight. Like "Mr. Minimum 3 minute gaps"... But I don't see that scope w this mgmnt.

GPS takes away your rights?

I knew about the powerpad GPS. Another courier told me they're going to install turn by turn GPS system

I was told our DM told us the next generation of powerpads will have turn by turn (I wasn't there). I would have asked 2 questions:
1. Most couriers don't follow DRA. Would this force a courier to do so?
2. Wouldn't having this go against company policy of using/not using electronic devices while driving?

This is suppose to cut back hours and miles on road but i think it will get worse before it gets better. Too many couriers have bad habits which will have to be broken. If you scan a bad address more than .3 of a mile your supposed to get a manager feed back. Maybe this gps can phase out couriers who insist on driving on their break and making deliveries.

I've scanned bad addresses (no apartment, no suite number) while still in the station. NEVER had anyone question it.

I've never been in a station where the numbers fell because methods were strictly enforced.

How do you know they were 'strictly enforced'? There's NO WAY you could know what every courier does on the road every day. It's easy to follow CBP for a day while having a checkride.

 

[MassWineGuy]

Folks, managers can already track you via Powerpad. My manager can tell me what streets I took and where I turned.

 

[Star B]

GPS takes away your rights?

Okay, maybe I wasn't clear enough. I was using that as a reference point. Little by little, more surveillance and control. Get them used to it, then add more. tighten the screws a little tighter. Don't drop all the changes at once or they actually might *gasp* organize!

Folks, managers can already track you via Powerpad. My manager can tell me what streets I took and where I turned.

Yes, they can, the next day. They want to make it where they can dispatch you and say "So, why have you been at 100 main st for 7 minutes??? MOVE FASTER!!!"

 

[OrioN]

"So, why have you been at 100 main st for 7 minutes??? MOVE FASTER!!!"

My reply, "SMD, manager X"

main street or broad street is usually a congested area, with no parking spots to secure the package car.

I had to park around the corner, to not block traffic, and walk it in.

Oops, ground or HD doesn't care, as long as it's delivered.

 

[MAKAVELI]

Okay, maybe I wasn't clear enough. I was using that as a reference point. Little by little, more surveillance and control. Get them used to it, then add more. tighten the screws a little tighter. Don't drop all the changes at once or they actually might *gasp* organize!


Yes, they can, the next day. They want to make it where they can dispatch you and say "So, why have you been at 100 main st for 7 minutes??? MOVE FASTER!!!"

I don't think they will use it in real time to harass. But like UPS they will use it the next day to harass a driver they think is underperforming.

 

[Nolimitz]

OMG time to hit the Mnt cabin, go off grid, raise chickens and goats.
must not forget my foil hat and booties. If I was harassed for 1/2 the chit on here, I would quit tomorrow. in one ear and out the other. haven't followed DRA since day one. friend'em