"Bid's Gone Sour"

NHDRVR

Well-Known Member
...or so I heard from an inside management person.

It seems a lot of Package drivers (and 1 Feeder driver) have bid inside jobs. And now that they've reached the bottom inside seniority people, many are now forced into driving jobs that they do not want.

Forced into driving? Remember when driving for UPS was a much coveted, hard to get job that you had to wait years for? What has happened?

And why are all these experienced drivers taking a massive pay cut to get out of driving?

What is going on?
Comments?

Makes perfect sense. The driving gig is harder now than it was 20-30 years ago. Technology has simply maxed out every route (almost) and too many drivers don't want the added pressure from that. I know I don't. The 22.3 jobs are a great alternative even with the slight paycut.

What I found frustrating during this current bid (I stayed on my run thankfully) was that I almost had to campaign to stay on my route. It was easier 4 years ago to get it and I thought it would keep getting easier. I was wrong. One guy came out of feeders but what really screwed me (almost) was one guy in particular who did everything but petition a handful of senior guys to bump me. Now I have been around long enough to know the drill but this guy was an absolute TOOL about the whole thing. The drivers he was pushing to take it are friends of mine who would ask me about it and when I broke down my day, and I was honest, they didn't want any part of it. I saw him (TOOL) at the air belt and actually apologized to him that I ended up staying on my route despite his efforts. He didn't say a word and just walked away. Friggin' coward... For the record, he has reputation in the center for 'guy voted most likely to go postal'. What ever...
 

NHDRVR

Well-Known Member
I got bumped this bid by a guy from feeders. I don't care, I found another route in PACKAGE. I don't understand how someone can come back to package from feeders? They go from driving a trailer truck around to humping and dumping packages. We are talking easy street to 190 residential stops or 500 pieces of bulk with 100 of those pieces needed to moved with the two-wheeler.

I say this because I LOATHE the two-wheeler! Is there anything worse at UPS? You have to drag it out and over packages and manuever it over the stick shift. Then you must open the toungue that never stays opens so you must already have a package ready to throw on to keep the toungue open. Next, you have to load 12 packages on this thing in an unsafe position. Then, you have to wheel the thing somewhere, scan all the packages and unload them in a tiny closet again in an unsafe(can't get the packages in your power zone) position.

Its got to be more than this. What am I missing here? Why would anyone ever come back to the ball-busting work of package if they have a class-A license?

I have never worked in feeders but I know 4-5 guys who have come out because of the hours more than anything...They had young kids and the wives were leaning on them to go back to pkg. You do what you have to...
 

hondo

promoted to mediocrity
...or so I heard from an inside management person.

It seems a lot of Package drivers (and 1 Feeder driver) have bid inside jobs. And now that they've reached the bottom inside seniority people, many are now forced into driving jobs that they do not want.

Forced into driving? Remember when driving for UPS was a much coveted, hard to get job that you had to wait years for? What has happened?

And why are all these experienced drivers taking a massive pay cut to get out of driving?

What is going on?
Comments?

I don't believe you. It's bid season.

The biennial bid has begun in Feeders! I love the bid, love all the politics and lies! You can't believe anything that anyone says during the bid.

Does anyone want to know what I'm bidding? You can ask, but don't trust the answer!!!!
 

feederdriver06

former monkey slave
the wives were leaning on them to go back to pkg
Easy for a wife who has never done package car to tell her husband to go back to package. Put her ass in the driver's seat of the package car for one day and then she would realize why her husband went to feeders in the first place.
 

brownrod

Well-Known Member
I say this because I LOATHE the two-wheeler! Is there anything worse at UPS? You have to drag it out and over packages and manuever it over the stick shift.

What is this thing you call a stick shift?


I would have never become a driver if I could have become a 22.3. Our building has less than 10 of those guys and it took much more seniority to bid those jobs than it ever would for a PT to go package. We dont' rebid jobs here. Unless vacated. And drivers are not allowed to bid new 22.3 jobs. Drivers can only bid vacated 22.3 jobs.

Our 22.3's are all easy/easy. Mostly air shuttle and small sort combo. what a joke.
 

tieguy

Banned
...or so I heard from an inside management person.

It seems a lot of Package drivers (and 1 Feeder driver) have bid inside jobs. And now that they've reached the bottom inside seniority people, many are now forced into driving jobs that they do not want.

Forced into driving? Remember when driving for UPS was a much coveted, hard to get job that you had to wait years for? What has happened?

And why are all these experienced drivers taking a massive pay cut to get out of driving?

What is going on?
Comments?

i think its a reflection on todays workforce. many don't want to work that hard anymore.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
i think its a reflection on todays workforce. many don't want to work that hard anymore.
I had to chuckle at your comment Tie. That can be taken a couple of different ways. It is a reflection of todays work force but you should probably specify which work force. LOL

The younger generations are, generally, not taught about work ethics. They pretty much want everything handed to them on a silver platter. I think alot of this comes from being 'latchkey'. The parents were to busy working to teach.

Our generation (I think I can safely include myself, although on the bottom edge) learned the value of working and have put in the time and earned the right to not work as hard (not necessarily speaking strictly in the UPS sense).

 

tieguy

Banned
I had to chuckle at your comment Tie. That can be taken a couple of different ways. It is a reflection of todays work force but you should probably specify which work force. LOL

The younger generations are, generally, not taught about work ethics. They pretty much want everything handed to them on a silver platter. I think alot of this comes from being 'latchkey'. The parents were to busy working to teach.

Our generation (I think I can safely include myself, although on the bottom edge) learned the value of working and have put in the time and earned the right to not work as hard (not necessarily speaking strictly in the UPS sense).


A little chuckle may have been been in the back of my mind. No one with any sense really wants to work any harder then they have to, to get the job done. :happy2:

the societal changes you mention are certainly a factor. Many of us old timers were raised by parents who were born and raised during post depression and post world war II times. We learned the blue collar work ethic from them. We may not have done a good job of passing that work ethic on to our kids. I know I preached academic results to my kids as a way to avoid the hard work a ups type company offers.
 

browniehound

Well-Known Member
To me it seems that 22.3s are worse than package car driving. Those jobs are getting eliminated and "moved" like crazy. Why would anyone in their right mind move to a job like that?

I have to agreee with 'big arrow' here. The 22.3's suck in more than one way. First, there is no OT (this could be a plus or minus depending on the individual). I was one of the firsts to hold a 22.3 at the begining of the century and was working 11+ hours everyday. I could have work 12 but I asked to leave every day at 330 AM. This was back when the economy was good and Fed-Ex wasn't stealing our packages.

Second, your inside for half the shift AT LEAST. I hate this, but again some people prefer it. Third, unless you have an 'inside-inside' job you have a different pay rate at different hours. How messed up is that? 22.3's sound like something I would want to do in my 60's to earn extra pension credit.

I hear a ton of whining on this message board about the package-car driving job. I agree that its physically demanding, the hours are long, and we keep getting more work added to our routes with the expectation it to be completed in the same amount of time.

Other than these and some other simple matters (please add them here), I like the job. There is nothing else I would rather be doing (seriously). I think about this everyday. Other than being a gangster (Al Capone style) or a 4 star general, I want to drive for UPS.

No, I'm not on drugs. Look at all the other jobs out there. I don't want to be a mechanic, roofer, landscaper, plumber, carpenter, cop, fireman (well maybe fireman), shipper, reciever, iron-worker, welder, etc.

I like getting my package car and emptying it and then filling it back up for $30 an hour. I like being outside. I like the physical activity. I like being away from the boss 99% of the day. I like my customers. I like meeting new people on the road. I like just being out there in the nice weather and listening to my radio. I like watching the women in the summer.

Its really a good job in my opinion. Why do you think 99% of drivers don't quit after they make seniority?

I know, I'm going to hear it now, lol.
 

blue efficacy

Well-Known Member
I had to chuckle at your comment Tie. That can be taken a couple of different ways. It is a reflection of todays work force but you should probably specify which work force. LOL

The younger generations are, generally, not taught about work ethics. They pretty much want everything handed to them on a silver platter. I think alot of this comes from being 'latchkey'. The parents were to busy working to teach.

Our generation (I think I can safely include myself, although on the bottom edge) learned the value of working and have put in the time and earned the right to not work as hard (not necessarily speaking strictly in the UPS sense).

No I think people are just starting to wise up and realize "intrinsic" benefits of hard work are bogus, and it only serves to make stockholders more money and workers less money.

Generally speaking in America, workers are more in need of money than stockholders.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
I predict the day will come when UPS finally realizes its dream. That dream being that everyone on their payroll hasn't worked long enough to get benefits or full scale pay. It won't matter what the contract says you will advance to- nobody will be able to stand working for UPS long enough to get there. The majority of the younger generation hasn't grown up to accept the "Give All for the Company " attitude of the past generations. There is no loyalty anymore and people change or quit jobs in a heartbeat. Unless UPS changes its micromanagement, piss off every employee (except a few brown nosers) attitude I predict maybe at the most the company will last 20 more years. I hope I'm wrong.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
No I think people are just starting to wise up and realize "intrinsic" benefits of hard work are bogus, and it only serves to make stockholders more money and workers less money.

Generally speaking in America, workers are more in need of money than stockholders.
1st off, I was not talking about shareholders or UPS specifically. I was talking about a generation that has not been taught the value of working for what they get. And 2nd, your right..................................... they're lazy.
 

upsgrunt

Well-Known Member
1st off, I was not talking about shareholders or UPS specifically. I was talking about a generation that has not been taught the value of working for what they get. And 2nd, your right..................................... they're lazy.


This is exactly why I think UPS will prosper in the future-people are basically lazy and will mail order dog food and toilet paper to be delivered to their house.
 

SWORDFISH

Well-Known Member
Our 22.3's are being eliminated. My sup is scrambling to figure out how to get our air back to the ctr so it can go out. Right now the plan is to lighten up one rte so that the air can be brought in. Unfortunately this means the other rtes get dumped on.

Thats how we do it. Except management got to pick wich route did it rather than it being a big position like it should be. It went to arbitration and UPS won over the guy that was most senior that had been doing it for years. He switched routes to a route that they didnt want that run to be on and they won(sad).
 

SWORDFISH

Well-Known Member
When our 22.3 air driver has the day off or is on vacation my preloader fills in for him.

I can certainly understand a senior driver who will retire before the next bid sheets are posted bidding a 22.3 to finish out his career but I wonder what impact, if any, it would have on his pension. I understand that the company continues to make the same contribution to his H/W fund but I always thought that our monthly pension amount was based upon our earnings during the last 5 years. Someone please correct me on this if I am wrong.

I dont know if that one is area specific or not but by my contract you get your pension based on a 40hr work week w/out all the over time wich our 22.3s get so there pension isnt affected. Thats why people like it so much.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
This is exactly why I think UPS will prosper in the future-people are basically lazy and will mail order dog food and toilet paper to be delivered to their house.
Will????? Darlin, I deliver dog food, vet supplies, toilet paper, depends, diapers, rx's, ensure for the oldtimers and the list goes on. That is called job security.
 

SWORDFISH

Well-Known Member
Makes perfect sense. The driving gig is harder now than it was 20-30 years ago. Technology has simply maxed out every route (almost) and too many drivers don't want the added pressure from that. I know I don't. The 22.3 jobs are a great alternative even with the slight paycut.

What I found frustrating during this current bid (I stayed on my run thankfully) was that I almost had to campaign to stay on my route. It was easier 4 years ago to get it and I thought it would keep getting easier. I was wrong. One guy came out of feeders but what really screwed me (almost) was one guy in particular who did everything but petition a handful of senior guys to bump me. Now I have been around long enough to know the drill but this guy was an absolute TOOL about the whole thing. The drivers he was pushing to take it are friends of mine who would ask me about it and when I broke down my day, and I was honest, they didn't want any part of it. I saw him (TOOL) at the air belt and actually apologized to him that I ended up staying on my route despite his efforts. He didn't say a word and just walked away. Friggin' coward... For the record, he has reputation in the center for 'guy voted most likely to go postal'. What ever...

HMMM.. How can you get bumped from your bid route. You must have different rules in your area than mine. If our top feed driver changed to pkg driver he would be the top cover driver. He cannot bump people from routes except if hes going to get laid off then he gets the bottom route.
 

upsgrunt

Well-Known Member
Will????? Darlin, I deliver dog food, vet supplies, toilet paper, depends, diapers, rx's, ensure for the oldtimers and the list goes on. That is called job security.


Agreed- my point is that it can't be cheaper to put a 50 pound bag of dog food in a box and then pay to have it shipped to your house than it is to get it at the store. It is just so much easier for us to lug it to the house and throw it in the garage for them.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
Agreed- my point is that it can't be cheaper to put a 50 pound bag of dog food in a box and then pay to have it shipped to your house than it is to get it at the store. It is just so much easier for us to lug it to the house and throw it in the garage for them.
You are right on that account. It's funny how there are certain addresses that just make one cringe when seeing them in edd.
 
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