Can I Refuse to Go "Help"?

Seymour Packages

Well-Known Member
There is nothing worse than having 10 or 20 stops left and then seeing the dreaded green light on the DIAD. 9 times out of 10, it's a desperate sup asking me to contact them at which point I will be told to go take some stops from someone else. I have ceased all communication via cell phone and don't answer when they call me. I normally respond with "No cell service. Please direct all communication through DIAD." If they want to talk on the phone, they can issue me one. Last night was a complete s*it show, and many of the routes were blown out. I finished around 19:20 and was told to go take a ridiculous amount of stops from a kid that just started last week. I was pissed, but proceeded to take about 30 stops, drop anchor, and deliver around 8 stops an hour. Is there any language on refusing to take on more work? If I refuse, can they get me on not working as directed?
 
There is nothing worse than having 10 or 20 stops left and then seeing the dreaded green light on the DIAD. 9 times out of 10, it's a desperate sup asking me to contact them at which point I will be told to go take some stops from someone else. I have ceased all communication via cell phone and don't answer when they call me. I normally respond with "No cell service. Please direct all communication through DIAD." If they want to talk on the phone, they can issue me one. Last night was a complete s*it show, and many of the routes were blown out. I finished around 19:20 and was told to go take a ridiculous amount of stops from a kid that just started last week. I was pissed, but proceeded to take about 30 stops, drop anchor, and deliver around 8 stops an hour. Is there any language on refusing to take on more work? If I refuse, can they get me on not working as directed?
Welcome to UPS
 

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
Hope someone comes along with an answer. This is going to be another business as usual for UPS. Are you on the 9.5 list? My neighborhood driver is and he said it doesnt make any difference.He just got another $2500 take home check from a grievance. Said he still wasnt happy about it since he wants to spend time with family.

Where's the union on this?
 
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Deleted member 83221

Guest
Maybe there should be a hard limit on how many deliveries you can do per day? Cap it out at 200.
 

Poop Head

Judge me.
There is nothing worse than having 10 or 20 stops left and then seeing the dreaded green light on the DIAD. 9 times out of 10, it's a desperate sup asking me to contact them at which point I will be told to go take some stops from someone else. I have ceased all communication via cell phone and don't answer when they call me. I normally respond with "No cell service. Please direct all communication through DIAD." If they want to talk on the phone, they can issue me one. Last night was a complete s*it show, and many of the routes were blown out. I finished around 19:20 and was told to go take a ridiculous amount of stops from a kid that just started last week. I was pissed, but proceeded to take about 30 stops, drop anchor, and deliver around 8 stops an hour. Is there any language on refusing to take on more work? If I refuse, can they get me on not working as directed?
 
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Seymour Packages

Well-Known Member
Hope someone comes along with an answer. This is going to be another business as usual for UPS. Are you on the 9.5 list? My neighborhood driver is and he said it doesnt make any difference.He just got another $2500 take home check from a grievance. Said he still wasnt happy about it since he wants to spend time with family.

Where's the union on this?
At this point, if they tell me to take stops, I will bring a majority of them back. Just like last night. Consider the 75% pkgs Missed if I go help. Not my area, I'm not using my phone for nav, it's dark, etc. They want to play games, I will follow the methods and collect OT until they realize it's an exercise in futility having me take stops and they call someone else.
 
At this point, if they tell me to take stops, I will bring a majority of them back. Just like last night. Consider the 75% pkgs Missed if I go help. Not my area, I'm not using my phone for nav, it's dark, etc. They want to play games, I will follow the methods and collect OT until they realize it's an exercise in futility having me take stops and they call someone else.
It does get old after awhile, especially with certain drivers that are cry babies.
 

JJinVA

Well-Known Member
Ive been told that you should say, "Are you asking me if I want more hours or are you telling me to take work?". If they respond with "asking", you can decline. If they respond with "telling", you can always try the old, "Im really tired and I dont feel it would be safe for me to continue working". They wont ask you to do something unsafe, but they may try to retaliate.

I just take the extra work and milk the shizz out of the clock. Gives them incentive to look for someone else next time.
 

olroadbeech

Happy Verified UPSer
At this point, if they tell me to take stops, I will bring a majority of them back. Just like last night. Consider the 75% pkgs Missed if I go help. Not my area, I'm not using my phone for nav, it's dark, etc. They want to play games, I will follow the methods and collect OT until they realize it's an exercise in futility having me take stops and they call someone else.
I never gave the company my phone number but was in feeder. At first I took all the OT I could get. After the 97 strike things got real slow and as a relief driver I was on call for a long time. 2-3 days of work a week sometimes.

So ya, I was hungry for years and took anything I could get.
After I got bid runs would still take all the OT I could get for years. After awhile our family was doing much better. The kids grew up and moved out and we were comfortable financially.

I would turn down work. Sometimes they would force and I would politely ask if they had gone thru the list .Sometimes that worked. Sometimes it was WAD or else. In that case I would do the job . Sometimes if I was really pissed off about it I would call out the next day.
They got the message and left me alone unless it was a business necessity ( which it almost always is anyways )

In my last 5-6 years I bid a 55 hour cush feeder run , just driving and exchanging trailers at a meet point in beautiful high desert country, so rarely had time to do anything else. Those were the best years of my career.
 

DriverNerd

Well-Known Member
We call it the "green overtime light". If you are told to help another driver you must work as directed. No, you never have to use your personal cell phone for work business. I answer my phone when any driver calls me or one specific supervisor, any other supervisor I let it go to voicemail. Then they will message the DIAD.

As mentioned above, you can ask if they're asking or telling you, but there's no saying 'No' when you're told you have to do something; unless it's unsafe or illegal.
 

Supraloud84

Active Member
I thought the average was 150 stops per day I figured 200 would be a fair upper limit. I do think more than that though is pushing it and its likely unsafe.
Most of our trucks go out with 200 plus regularly. Hell, I'm still in my 30 and I'm doing over 200 on my route and have been told it's been knocked down slightly while I qualify
 

JJinVA

Well-Known Member
Most of our trucks go out with 200 plus regularly. Hell, I'm still in my 30 and I'm doing over 200 on my route and have been told it's been knocked down slightly while I qualify
As always, it depends on the route. 200 stops in downtown resi's on one of the routes I cover would be done by 5 hours. 200 stops on another route would have me out til 10pm
 

DriverNerd

Well-Known Member
I thought the average was 150 stops per day I figured 200 would be a fair upper limit. I do think more than that though is pushing it and its likely unsafe.
In my hub, an average day for a utility route is 200-250 stops depending how close it is. During peak those numbers will swell to 400-500. Some of our local extended centers never go above 200 even during peak because of the amount of miles put on.
 
D

Deleted member 83221

Guest
Most of our trucks go out with 200 plus regularly. Hell, I'm still in my 30 and I'm doing over 200 on my route and have been told it's been knocked down slightly while I qualify
Interesting I plan on working to become a driver in a few years so I want to prepare myself mentally for the workload.
 

DriverNerd

Well-Known Member
Interesting I plan on working to become a driver in a few years so I want to prepare myself mentally for the workload.
I'm way more exhausted from excess hours than I am workload. Delivering 5 pound boxes for 13 hours is more tiring to me than 20 pound boxes for 8 hours. Driving takes a lot of focus. Whether you realize it or not. Plus going in and out of the truck and all the extra steps. Miles of extra walking.
 
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