how hard is it for a part-time supervisor to become a full-time driver?

anafit

Member
I've talked to my hub manager and my FT sup about it and they act like they don't really *********about me and they tell me it's hard to become a driver and they can't do anything about it. Who should i talk to about becoming a driver?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
As a PT supervisor you would be considered an outsider for promotion to FT driver purposes. This may vary from region to region but here they will promote 6 inside employees before they will promote 1 outsider, for a 6:1 ratio. It may actually be easier for you to achieve your goal if you were to become an inside PT union employee.

You did not express any desire to become a FT supervisor. Is there a reason for this?

I would advise you to continue as a PT supervisor and either finish your degree or begin to look for FT opportunities within UPS or elsewhere where you could take advantage of your degree. UPS driver is not the end all, be all, and with the retirement age extension you may have to work 35-40 years in order to be eligible for a full pension. Take advantage of your education.

In case you are curious, I just started my 21st year as a FT driver and will be eligible for full retirement in 2019. At this point I am working on reducing debt so that I can have the option of a reduced retirement when I reach the 25 year point with the knowledge that I would have to work somewhere.

The role of the driver has changed dramatically and I would be hard pressed to recommend this job to anyone due to these changes.
 

anafit

Member
my plan is to become a driver and then go into feeders. A part time sup shouldn't be stressed, so i can only imagine what the full timers go through.

I just want to know how do I go about getting my name on a list or apply for the driving job?
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Talk to your center manager after Peak. Tell him what your goals are and ask him for his help in achieving them. If he is uncooperative go to his boss.

You need to also be realistic. The economy sucks and will only slowly get better. Layoffs will continue and may worsen early 2010. This may not be a goal that you will be able to achieve any time soon.
 

HEFFERNAN

Huge Member
UPSTATE is right

Kiss ass and tell your upper management what your goals are. I was in the same situation and they were the only ones that can get it done for you. It may not be possible but you will never know until you tell them the truth.
 

j13501

Well-Known Member
You need to also be realistic. The economy sucks and will only slowly get better. Layoffs will continue and may worsen early 2010. This may not be a goal that you will be able to achieve any time soon.

This is very good advice. With a poor economy, we are not adding many drivers now and as Upstate stated, the contract requires 6 drivers be hired from inside part-time employees for every 1 driver hired from the outside (or from the part time supervisor ranks).

That means the competition for that 1 driving job will be intense. In the past when I had the opportunity to move a part-time supervisor to a drivers job, we selected the top performing part time supervisor who had the best potential to be a full time on-car supervisor. In today's world, where there are on-car supervisors that have never done the driver's job, it's important to use that 1 outside hire slot to give delivery experience to as many future Full Time supervisors as possible.
 

anafit

Member
i just feel a little ripped off. I should have stayed hourly instead of becoming a sup. At the time, before my promotion my FT told me it's easy for sups to become drivers and that he'd hook me up. He then "resigned" maybe 5 months after i became a sup and now i have no one to go to.
 

ups1990

Well-Known Member
Was this the same manager that would say to a driver going out cold on a route, "I'll meet you out there". Then never showing.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
i just feel a little ripped off. I should have stayed hourly instead of becoming a sup. At the time, before my promotion my FT told me it's easy for sups to become drivers and that he'd hook me up. He then "resigned" maybe 5 months after i became a sup and now i have no one to go to.


I get the feeeling if you asked 1,000 part time sups 999 would say the same thing:wink2:
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
I've talked to my hub manager and my FT sup about it and they act like they don't really *********about me and they tell me it's hard to become a driver and they can't do anything about it. Who should i talk to about becoming a driver?

my plan is to become a driver and then go into feeders. A part time sup shouldn't be stressed, so i can only imagine what the full timers go through.

I just want to know how do I go about getting my name on a list or apply for the driving job?

i just feel a little ripped off. I should have stayed hourly instead of becoming a sup. At the time, before my promotion my FT told me it's easy for sups to become drivers and that he'd hook me up. He then "resigned" maybe 5 months after i became a sup and now i have no one to go to.

Dear anafit,

I recommend that you go to your District Employee Relations Manager.

If you respectfully and professionally share what you have shared here you should get your questions and concerns answered and addressed.

Please let me know how you make out if you choose this path.

I also recommend that you keep a bound marble notebook as a running UPS journal and record all things significant to you daily as they happen.

I also recommend that for all UPS employees reading this.


Sincerely,
I
 

Harley Rider

34 yrs & done!
Good luck to you in your endeavors. In my 25 years at UPS, I have seen quite a few PT sups come and go. Even before the 6:1 promotion ratio, the effort was not made to get PT sups into driving positions. After you learn your part time job, management did not want to have to take the time to hire and train another PT supervisor to take your place. I was pretty good friends with several of the guys that told me about their experiences. They would keep hanging onto promises for years until it finally became evident that the chance would never come.

We have two drivers in our center that were promoted from PT supervision. One of them has been driving over 30 years now. That should tell you how many actually make the transition.
 

Dustyroads

Well-Known Member
We've had two PT sups that became full time drivers in our center in the last five years. Both were working on the belts as preload supervisors, and it's amazing how differently they looked at their loads and the job of the driver when they moved to the other side of the catwalk.
 

UPSF Peeon

Well-Known Member
here they wont let a supervisor or even part time supervisor or any member of management ever hold a union job after they have been in management

and that actually became the rule when UPS bought us
 

Kraetos

Preload, Loader
i just feel a little ripped off. I should have stayed hourly instead of becoming a sup. At the time, before my promotion my FT told me it's easy for sups to become drivers and that he'd hook me up. He then "resigned" maybe 5 months after i became a sup and now i have no one to go to.

I learned from just reading BC every week to not accept the promotion to part-time sup, that's why when they asked I flat out said NO!!!!!
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
I learned from just reading BC every week to not accept the promotion to part-time sup, that's why when they asked I flat out said NO!!!!!

Dear Kraetos,

A wise decision for now,

Part-time supervision at UPS is the worst job I have ever witnessed. It is such a shame. My heart goes out to them!

That will not always be the case!

Change is coming!

Sincerely,

I
 

Hedley_Lamarr

Well-Known Member
I've talked to my hub manager and my FT sup about it and they act like they don't really *********about me and they tell me it's hard to become a driver and they can't do anything about it. Who should i talk to about becoming a driver?
We have a guy in our center that was a P/T sup and tried to be a driver. He did his thirty days driving before freeze, and for whatever reason they didn't let him in the union. I don't understand how they got away with that. Worse off, after peak they are telling him that he's going back to P/T pre-load sup. It's a shame, he's a real nice guy...
 
Top