Job cuts are coming

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Deacon 1953

Guest
This is my first time here. Been out for a year and a half after doing 30. I still see and talk to the guys I worked with all the time. There is always going to be one constant at UPS no matter if they are still in business 50 years from now, and that is "that nothing ever changes".
I started as part-time, delivered for 28 yrs., was a union steward for 10 yrs. fighting the same battles over and over again. Those who have been there know what I'm talking about. The equipment, technology, and faces may change over the years as they have in the past, but the basic management philosophy will stay the same. Ten, twenty, or thirty years from now the same complaints of money, excessive O/T, who's got it and who doesn't, etc., etc., will all still be there - guaranteed.
UPS is what it is - good or bad. A mgmt. person told me 30 yrs. ago that his job was to get me to do 100%, and once I was there his job was to get me to do 110%, and so on. That will never change at UPS and maybe it never should, or else someone else will do it cheaper and faster. In todays world that is the bottom line. Accepting UPS for what it is doesn't mean you have to like it, but it will make doing a difficult job easier to cope with.
 

Braveheart

Well-Known Member
Typical UPS. It comes out in the press first, then they send out a vague memo with "talking points," all the while the company just swirls with rumors. Of course they are trimming jobs. They need to save up money so they can pay even more to the union members in the next negotiation. I mean, why wouldnt a high school graduate be unhappy only making $27.00 an hour. Lets make it $30! Unbelievable.
Hey smarty pants, we earn every penny of our money. We are the ones that despite poor management, old trucks, shortage of supplies, screwed up EDD and PAS get the job day after day. Hell, I have more customers call me instead of the 1-800 IDIOT number. We run the company and make the customers happy. Despite retarded dispatch we drivers call each other and fix the moronic managers dispatch with 3 guys delivering in one neighborhood that only has 5 streets. Maybe the upper managers figured out who really runs the company and have decided to cut loose the useless on roads.
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
Sorry tooner... but i bet you make more than i do by sitting on your ass filing grievences when your big mean manager actually touches a package. Waahh... union steward! As for whoever said "most drivers have degrees", if by that you mean they got a corespondence degree so they could get parolled from prison and get a job at UPS, i guess you got me. As for the name Audi, sorry ill be more like a driver and change it to "My new Ford Super Duty Diesel, boat, 4,000 s/friend house 2006" that work better for you? I want to fit it.

Wow. I am crushed. Such mean words. Actually I never filed a grievance until June 2006, with 22 yrs, until forced because I could not get paid in a timely manner for a funeral, my fathers. Guess that makes me a pity pot resident whiner. Ehh?
You are probaly the idiotic manager who chose to cause me that grief at such a bad time in my life. If so I will thank you now, since you were transferred the day I won that free money. And I never even got to say Goodbye. And thanks for making that time of bereavement so much easier.
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
I don't get why what we earn is an issue. Why wouldn't other workers be happy knowing that at least some of us can live on what we earn and are not scrapping by on lesser wages. All of you that are pissed at us who make decent living wages, you know where you can get a job that not only pays well but has the best benefits in the business. Everyone should be making money like this, not just management. And I may not agree with all the Teamsters represent and what they do, I am not that big of a fool to not understand that without a union we would not be earning what we are. Get off our backs about what we earn ,because we earn every penny of that and are why this company makes so much money!!
 

705red

Browncafe Steward
Do you think those drivers that load their trucks for free and work through their lunches will complain or suck it up if there where to be job layoffs?Im betting they would start crying to the union that they have been ignoring for so long,by making their own side deals.I almost look forward to seeing what would happen,because the drivers that do it right wont be able to do that many more stops.Where would they go with the extra work?
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
Actually I never filed a grievance until June 2006, with 22 yrs, until forced because I could not get paid in a timely manner for a funeral, my fathers.
My mistake, it was my brothers funeral, My fathers was also late, last yr, but I was too drained and uninformed that I had recourse to do anything but wait for my pay.
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
Tooner is the resident pity-pot crybaby. Fact is that most drivers today - particularly in urban areas - are lucky to have a high school diploma.

No big degree holders in the hired-help ranks, IOW.

They have big problems coming. Just watch and see.

Hey bbbbbbbbbubba,
Why do you only pick on urban drivers? When you were "earning" your big degree did you learn the difference between fact and truth? If you do not know the difference, then you did not pay close enough attention in class.

Pick on someone like me.

Rural route driver in the hired- help( i assume by hired-help you mean a lowly hourly employee) ranks that was lucky enough to be allowed to get a high school diploma. I will let Tooner defend herself.

You state we will have big problems coming our way. Bring them on. One of the benefits of graduating from the "School of Hard Knocks"(if your not familiar with that term, consult you elders) is you learn that many people are educated over their intelligence level. Knowledge is a combination of experience and learning. You seem to have very little experience.

So, the gauntlet has been thrown down. I will just wait and see if you are willing to pick it up.
 
B

brownISer

Guest
you guys are way off base...can we get back to the topic at hand, or simply freeze this topic??
 

jules23

Logic? Who needs logic?
my understanding of the cuts is this...with all the recent acquisitions UPS has made over the last couple of years...there is quite a bit of redundancy in job functions. ups wants to combine the job functions. unfortunately, yes it does mean that some people will get laid off. my understanding is it's not company wide - not every group is going to be up for combination...just certain groups related to the recent acquisitions.

i guess the words here are don't panic...just yet anyway.
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
from paragraph 6 of the Bloomberg article brownISer posted to start this thread:

The review involves jobs in hiring, accounting, engineering and information technology, and won't include the company's operating groups, UPS said.

What's left to debate? There's the focus of the cuts.
 

audi2006

Active Member
Braveheart, why is it that you deem management as "poor management?" I agree that in the end the drivers are the ones who make the customers happy, but thats because you are the one who the customer sees. Im also willing to bet that you have made a customer or two mad in your day, again, you are the face of the company good or bad in the customers eyes. However, you need to realize that you dont "run" the company. Without NUMEROUS management people, administrative people, etc, those boxes that come down that belt and go into your truck would never get there.
 

rhider

The Buddha King
This is from the ups.com site....stuff in red should ruffle some feathers!

UPS CEO Eskew: Business good, but better execution needed ATLANTA - UPS Inc. is confident its growth strategy is working amid competitive and economic challenges, but it must improve the performance of its logistics business, the chief executive of the world's largest shipping carrier said Wednesday.

"We know that we have to execute better than we have," CEO Mike Eskew told investors at a conference at the company's Atlanta headquarters.

When it released its earnings last month, UPS, also known as United Parcel Service Inc., announced that it would cut 1,200 jobs in its air freight and logistics business.

UPS has said the restructuring is meant to reduce costs and align transportation services and planning across the company.
"UPS does not aspire to be in the contract solutions business for its own sake," Eskew told investors.

Eskew said that on the whole he likes what he sees from the company's businesses and its growth opportunities internationally thanks to free trade. The company announced expanded international shipping options on Tuesday. Among other things, it is guaranteeing early morning delivery of goods to more international destinations.
"Borders are no longer the impediments to business as they once were," Eskew said.

Certain industry trends are also helping UPS, including more customers shipping goods direct to consumers instead of through warehouses and more people buying goods online.

For the third quarter, UPS reported that its profit rose 8.9 percent, beating Wall Street expectations. It also said its quarterly revenue rose 10.5 percent, and it is looking forward to a good holiday shipping season.

But success in new and growing markets, including heavy freight, will be key to UPS as it moves forward, Eskew said.

"Perhaps the single most important element here is visibility into the supply chain," the CEO said. "Today, we are more than just a delivery company."

Eskew also reiterated that UPS is still evaluating whether to cancel its Airbus A380 orders, like rival FedEx did Tuesday, over program delays.
"We're not pressed to make an immediate decision," Eskew said, echoing comments a company spokesman made a day earlier. He said UPS will be talking about the issue. "But our backs are not against the wall," Eskew said.
 

hoser

Industrial Slob
I do however ahte the way UPS announces these sorts of things then lets everybody worry, come up with stories and have to listen to unsubstantiated rumors for two months before they know what is going on. Merry Christmas Everybody! Go give em hell for Peak!

:thumbup1::thumbup1: Precisely how blue collared Fortune500 companies work...

As for whoever said "most drivers have degrees", if by that you mean they got a corespondence degree so they could get parolled from prison and get a job at UPS, i guess you got me.
This is quite arrogant. I know two drivers who have degrees in programs a lot harder than my own (Poli Sci and Urban Studies). One got his degree in Kinesiology. Despite the fact that we have a human performance lab that does tests for Adidas, KINES grads can only look forward to being a personal trainer in a gym for $12/hr, or going into blue-collared jobs like corrections or UPS. Thing is, now that they have a degree, they can move up the UPS corporate ladder with ease, and quite a few aspire to this. That's the UPS model for their future executive team.
 
A

ApexApe

Guest
Hey smarty pants, we earn every penny of our money. We are the ones that despite poor management, old trucks, shortage of supplies, screwed up EDD and PAS get the job day after day. Hell, I have more customers call me instead of the 1-800 IDIOT number. We run the company and make the customers happy. Despite retarded dispatch we drivers call each other and fix the moronic managers dispatch with 3 guys delivering in one neighborhood that only has 5 streets. Maybe the upper managers figured out who really runs the company and have decided to cut loose the useless on roads.


Earn every penny -- not really. You deliver packages -- nothing special about it. You earn your money because of a union, that is all. If not for it, you'd earn about 15 to $18 an hour.

You have no skill like a carpenter, brickmason, electrician, technician, mechanic, etc. Feel lucky, cause you are.

As soon as the new democrat administration figures how to give your jobs to illegals, you'll be washing the trucks for them. They'll work twice as hard and never complain.

Hell,... I got get me an illegal.

As for running the company -- you do. You run it into financial throes.

Audi2006 -- don't be apologetic -- while many of the drivers are really good people, they are overpaid.
 

jccuch

retired & love it !!!!!
why is management allowed in here anyhow? i tried to get into a ups retirement web page , thay said it was for MANAGEMENT ONLY, I DIDENT KNOW ,EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!MR MGT.
 

The Brown Santa

Ping Pong Ball
You have no skill like a carpenter, brickmason, electrician, technician, mechanic, etc. Feel lucky, cause you are.

LOL! Now that's the funniest thing I've heard in a while. :lol: I guess my certifications in TIG, MIG and stick welding, as well as Non Destructive Testing, Heavy Rigging and Powerplant construction make me unskilled. Maybe you should find out who you're talking to before you say something really stupid! Jackass :lol:
 
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