Heat Wave Hits Northeast.... "Let's cut some routes!"

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Fedex Express Trucks have A/C here. Besides, just as effecient as the heater in the winter - keep the doors closed !
And, I agree, there should be heating and a/c in the back of the truck, too.

I do agree that having A/C would be nice but it is simply not practical.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

You survived ! Ande I bet without A/C, too. UPS is too cheap for that.

UPS is efficient! Don't you think the pkg car would have to run for an extended period of time in order to cool the rear and keep it cool? We're not driving for 2 straight hours.

No cut routes here. Everybody works, no dispatches over 8 hours unless other than pus, and on-car supes personally deliver snacks of crushed ice treats and fresh fruit to help with the heat.

LOL.

I think its funny when i see people in parts of the country that are not used to the extreme heat complain about it,cause down here in south east texas its always a heat wave from may till september.

Ditto that here in South Florida.

If I went down there in the middle of summer I would freaking die.

I dont mind the constant , cloudy, rainy gloom of the Pacific Northwest. I dont mind the snow or freezing cold of winter. But I cant stand the heat. Last year we had a record breaking heatwave in early August where it got up to 107 for three or four days in a row and I was getting physically ill with cramps and nausea. There is only so much water a person can physically force themselves to drink, and I just couldnt keep hydrated.

Fortunately, I have a new high-efficiency central AC system in my house. I like it. A lot. During the summer I keep that bad boy pegged. When I get home after a hot day in the truck, I want to see my breath fogging up in the air. I want to have to piss thru 2 inches of ice floating in my toilet. I want to be scraping the frost off of the mirror in the bathroom before I use it. I like it COLD!!

In this respect, you and I are opposites, sober.

Klein, think about if for a second---how practical would A/C in the PC be?

The exact same thing I was going to say.

It would be nice to have in the back of the truck kind a like an ice cream truck.

LOL, with a soft serve machine?

Fedex Express Trucks have A/C here. Besides, just as effecient as the heater in the winter - keep the doors closed !
And, I agree, there should be heating and a/c in the back of the truck, too.

FedEx trucks have A/C in the cab, but the driver is just as sweaty as I am, here. A/C would only be a tease and it may cause people to work slower, as they may try to remain in the cab longer.

 

[upsman68]

I'm here in Southeast Texas and it seems the hotter it gets the higher the dispatch. I guess our lovely IE guys seem we will move faster if it is hotter.

We had 9 routes cut today. It is funny because mgmt forgets about the extra pickups stops we have to do when they cut the routes and they are scrambling at the end of the day to make meets to get the pickups in to make the trailer pull.

Yesterday they had to send an extra shuttle so they had to pay a driver OT to take it.

 

[dilligaf]

This past friday I had 157 stops (no helper). It was so stinking hot and I was dying. I stopped at our local Chevron gas station (had to take an extra break or I wouldn't have made it) to get water and cool off. The mgr let me sit in the beer cooler. It was GREAT! 10 min, my ears were cold and my core temp dropped by 10 degrees at least. That makes the rest of the day (or in this case, night) look much better. It was 8pm before I clocked out.

 

[soberups]

Klein, think about if for a second---how practical would A/C in the PC be?

My understanding is that OSHA required UPS to provide AC for the drivers who deliver in Death Valley. I heard somewhere that these routes are dispatched in rental vehicles during the summer.

 

[klein]

My understanding is that OSHA required UPS to provide AC for the drivers who deliver in Death Valley. I heard somewhere that these routes are dispatched in rental vehicles during the summer.

I guarantee you, UPS vehicles, in Europe, esspecially southern Europe have a/c. Their labor laws are much more stricter then ours.
Thats why you see state of the art warehouses there, too. Totally mondernized and climatized.

 

[brett636]

I guarantee you, UPS vehicles, in Europe, esspecially southern Europe have a/c. Their labor laws are much more stricter then ours.
Thats why you see state of the art warehouses there, too. Totally mondernized and climatized.

Which is one of many reasons those same countries suffer from huge unemployment issues. Their labor laws are so strict it is just not worth employing people there unless its absolutely necessary.

Back on topic, I dunno how you guys in the south and southwest deal with the heat you get. It starts to get uncomfortable here when it breaks 90 let alone going into the hundreds with high humidity.

 

[klein]

Which is one of many reasons those same countries suffer from huge unemployment issues. Their labor laws are so strict it is just not worth employing people there unless its absolutely necessary.

.

Wrong ! Germany has always been the powerhouse. The largest exporter on earth, until 2009 (China just broke that).
And as far as I know, Europe has less unemployment then the US , (so does Canada), and less debt !

 

[over9five]

Re: Heat Wave Day Two

Oh yeah, more stops than yesterday....

To be clear, I am not complaining about working in a heat wave. I AM complaining about having extra work compliments of cut routes for NO reason during a heat wave.

They want us to answer safety questions in their little safety books every day. But where is safety now? Is it safe to load up the drivers with extra work during a heat wave? I say no.

Practice what you preach.

 

[screamin chicken]

I been going out with 170-200 daily sometimes with a helper and sometimes not, helpers are the 4 drivers that there route was cut for that day. Today I was bulked out 48 medical boxes going to one place , and a crap load of 100 lb. pkgs so my truck was full until 1530. Then to top it off they tell us we can only use our helpers for 2 hrs. and I had to bring my air back to the bldg while I was driving along two other drivers that where way under there 9.5 thats just my sup being a complete maroon, way to look out for his company. so it's 8:40 and I have 10 mins. of lunch so I bank some money today thanks Brown......

 

[UPSGUY72]

10 hours yesterday and today thank to cut routes.

 

[Big Babooba]

This past friday I had 157 stops (no helper). It was so stinking hot and I was dying. I stopped at our local Chevron gas station (had to take an extra break or I wouldn't have made it) to get water and cool off. The mgr let me sit in the beer cooler. It was GREAT! 10 min, my ears were cold and my core temp dropped by 10 degrees at least. That makes the rest of the day (or in this case, night) look much better. It was 8pm before I clocked out.

The manager let YOU sit in the cooler with all the BEER? That was a brain fart of the first order.

 

[hellfire]

If I went down there in the middle of summer I would freaking die.

I dont mind the constant , cloudy, rainy gloom of the Pacific Northwest. I dont mind the snow or freezing cold of winter. But I cant stand the heat. Last year we had a record breaking heatwave in early August where it got up to 107 for three or four days in a row and I was getting physically ill with cramps and nausea. There is only so much water a person can physically force themselves to drink, and I just couldnt keep hydrated.

Fortunately, I have a new high-efficiency central AC system in my house. I like it. A lot. During the summer I keep that bad boy pegged. When I get home after a hot day in the truck, I want to see my breath fogging up in the air. I want to have to piss thru 2 inches of ice floating in my toilet. I want to be scraping the frost off of the mirror in the bathroom before I use it. I like it COLD!!

its like anything,,you get used to it,, not allways easy but you do

 

[DS]

Its hot here too.Not death valley hot,but hot enough.
81 friend with 72% humidity.
It's weird,but sweating like that feels healthy to me.
Stick to water,eat some fruit,have a good lunch.
We were hotter than Florida yesterday.

 

[thessalonian13]

no cut routes here. Everybody works, no dispatches over 8 hours unless other than pus, and on-car supes personally deliver snacks of crushed ice treats and fresh fruit to help with the heat.

yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At fed ex maybe!!!!!!!!!!! They didn't even have water for us in the morning or at night.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

Its hot here too.Not death valley hot,but hot enough.
81 friend with 72% humidity.
It's weird,but sweating like that feels healthy to me.
Stick to water,eat some fruit,have a good lunch.
We were hotter than Florida yesterday.

Yesterday! BTW, you can just about double the temp to know what it's like in the back of my 1200. It's like a rainforest in there, animals and all.

 

[scratch]

its like anything,,you get used to it,, not allways easy but you do

With a name like "hellfire", I bet you get used to it! i know what you mean though, its all mind over matter. I have to make myself keep going sometimes.

I drove by a church today that had this on the sign up front: "You think its hot as Hell? Its not even close".

 

[iruhnman630]

The last few weeks have been a roller coaster...most days I've had 10+ hours, punching out near 8:00, with 2 short days (punch out around 6:00) and a lay-off day thrown in.

Today was one of the short days, but when I pulled in they were on me about not answering my phone or seeing the green message light on my diad (that whole silly thing about no distractions while driving, I guess). It seems many other routes were over-dispatched as usual, with one driver looking at 75 stops left at 6:00.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Yesterday! BTW, you can just about double the temp to know what it's like in the back of my 1200. It's like a rainforest in there, animals and all.

I thought you drove an 800?

 

[dilligaf]

The manager let YOU sit in the cooler with all the BEER? That was a brain fart of the first order.

It was AWESOME!!!!! Just smelling all that yeast made me thristy.