Is driver helping worth it?

[Congee]

Hello,

I've been at ups for almost a year now. I get paid 10.10/hr to my knowledge. Would volunteering to driver help during peak be worth possibly missing overtime on local sort? Right now most days we start at 4 and end at 9. But I was told during peak it moves to like 1 pm sometimes for some days. I was also told that you can't ride with drivers until around 11am after their air deliveries. Any insight on what the best option would be for me to possibly make the most money?

 

[Turdferguson]

Hello,

I've been at ups for almost a year now. I get paid 10.10/hr to my knowledge. Would volunteering to driver help during peak be worth possibly missing overtime on local sort? Right now most days we start at 4 and end at 9. But I was told during peak it moves to like 1 pm sometimes for some days. I was also told that you can't ride with drivers until around 11am after their air deliveries. Any insight on what the best option would be for me to possibly make the most money?

To make the most money ,if possible work double sorts and the extra sorts if they are offered in your area.
Here during peak season a special Sunday sort starts up. But not knowing the size or practice of your building your best answers would come from your fellow workers in your building

 

[Shifting Contents]

If double shifting is not an option then it all depends on your goals.

Experience with the Diad?

Yes!


Good pay and dependable hours?

No!

 

[9.5er]

Do you want to become a driver in the long run or are you here just to make it through school? If you want to be a driver the experience gained from helping will make it easier when you go to driving school.

 

[Jackburton]

Hello,

I've been at ups for almost a year now. I get paid 10.10/hr to my knowledge. Would volunteering to driver help during peak be worth possibly missing overtime on local sort? Right now most days we start at 4 and end at 9. But I was told during peak it moves to like 1 pm sometimes for some days. I was also told that you can't ride with drivers until around 11am after their air deliveries. Any insight on what the best option would be for me to possibly make the most money?

I expect to go through 3 helpers, I wouldn't be my helper and I don't push my guys. The hours suck, the driveways are like delivering to Mayan temples, and you'd make more being a Whopper flopper.

So no.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I tend to abuse my helpers but those who can handle it are often rewarded with a permanent hire after Peak.

 

[burrheadd]

Abuse how??

 

[Pooter]

I say no. It's one of the most grueling grinds.

Get a side gig selling Christmas trees, retail, anything other than Dhelper.

BUT, if you are in desperate need of money then, forget about sleeping, drink a red bull and hop on board

 

[upschuck]

Depends on were you are. Double sorting would probably be your best bet, but helpers here get over $15/hr. Preload does start that early or maybe even earlier.

 

[HardknocksUPSer]

I tend to abuse my helpers but those who can handle it are often rewarded with a permanent hire after Peak.

If you have 2 delievers across from each other one on his side and one on yours will he run them both or will you grab one? Drivers who make you run off both suck ass for a helper.

 

[HardknocksUPSer]

I say no. It's one of the most grueling grinds.

Get a side gig selling Christmas trees, retail, anything other than Dhelper.

BUT, if you are in desperate need of money then, forget about sleeping, drink a red bull and hop on board

Helper isn't nearly as hard as preload, in fact helper is a cake walk compared to preload.

 

[joeboodog]

If you have 2 delievers across from each other one on his side and one on yours will he run them both or will you grab one? Drivers who make you run off both suck ass for a helper.

If it's early in the day you are running both stops. Simply put, that is your job. While you are doing that, the driver is in the back trying to make that CF of a load workable. Later in the day when the load is finally workable, then you have a point.

 

[HardknocksUPSer]

If it's early in the day you are running both stops. Simply put, that is your job. While you are doing that, the driver is in the back trying to make that CF of a load workable. Later in the day when the load is finally workable, then you have a point.

I know how it works, I've done it before. In the back working out the load? . We pile the next 5 stops in the cab and go to town lol.

 

[Box Ox]

Hello,

I've been at ups for almost a year now. I get paid 10.10/hr to my knowledge. Would volunteering to driver help during peak be worth possibly missing overtime on local sort?

I don't think driver helping affects overtime from a preload or local sort shift. Where I am, the overtime pay threshold moves from 5 to 8 hours if you air drive after a part time shift. But I'm pretty sure driver helping doesn't push it back. You might want to ask your local as management could very well accidentally give you the wrong answer.

But is driver helping worth it? Probably not. The pay sucks and management often gives drivers dumb time allowances for how long he/she can keep you on board. Might only be 2 or 3 hours some days, while you're supposed to be watching the phone for all day.

I think local sorters can sometimes run into scheduling conflicts as helpers too. Since drivers are allowed a limited number of helper hours, they won't tend to pull helpers on until late morning at the earliest when there's at least a little bit of room to move around in the back. Or so the helper doesn't have to sit around unpaid during the driver's lunch. And if it's a long helper day it can put your getting to local sort on time at risk.

As far as learning the board goes, lots of drivers just scan with the helper board themselves. Can't slow down and make sure the helper sheets correctly at every stop. Defeats the purpose of having a helper.

 

[Box Ox]

Depends on were you are. Double sorting would probably be your best bet, but helpers here get over $15/hr. Preload does start that early or maybe even earlier.

Peak preload runs up to about 10 hours at my center. Would make for a T-Rex of a double sort.

$15/hr helper pay is sweet. Think my area is more like $10/hr. And management panics and offers helper "prizes" to try to keep those remaining on board as peak season progresses. For $10/hr I'd jump ship and be with my family Christmas week too.

 

[Congee]

Thasks for all the helpful replies, way more than I had thought I would get. I will ask some workers about double shifting preload and how often they let us do it, I have double shifted before for a week when they fired two guys for coming in drunk. One was about to go to driving school as well. I loved the paycheck I had gotten from it.

 

[Wally]

Abuse how??

Hope DNA is not involed.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

Starting at 1 probably wouldn't be an everyday type of thing. It's going to be a once a week deal. Usually Monday in my center. Last year we were so desperate for helpers and local sorters we more than happily worked with people to do both.

 

[Brownslave688]

Depends on were you are. Double sorting would probably be your best bet, but helpers here get over $15/hr. Preload does start that early or maybe even earlier.

Yep same here.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If you have 2 delievers across from each other one on his side and one on yours will he run them both or will you grab one? Drivers who make you run off both suck ass for a helper.

I work just as hard as my helper.

We would each run off one stop.