Manual Labor

[tiredofitall]

You know, I'm tired of drivers thinking they are so important. Yeah, you work hard -- so do roofers and brick layers. I'm tired of you saying you are the face of the company -- ok, maybe you are on this one. I'm tired of you saying that you are the backbone of the company -- you are just a truck driver, nothing more. No more important that a supervisor, clerk, technician, or custodian -- we all have a job to do.

You seem to think that no one has ever lifted a package before, or driven a truck, or sweated, or striked for having a wage of $25 an hour with benefits and a great retirement,... oh yeah, maybe you are the only one to do this.

You are manual labor -- nothing more. If UPS could train monkeys to do your job, they would buy banana farms. You work no harder than many americans, you get paid more than many americans.

If you left UPS, you have few options other than furniture delivery, bread delivery, propane delivery, warehouse work,... oh, you have plenty of options -- only, they pay nearly nothing. Then again, this is about what most manual laborers are worth.

I do think UPS drivers should share in the extreme wealth of UPS. However, I don't think you are owed it -- just that, fair is fair. You are nuts if you think that coming to work wearing clothes given to you, driving trucks that are kept in good repair for you, delivering packages that are preloaded for you, on routes that were predesigned for you, returning to a building where the package are unloaded for you suggests anything other than an employee who has a very fortunate situation is sinful.

Plant engineers keep the packages flowing, industrial engineers flow the packages, TSG keeps the engineer's flow plans running, custodians keep the hallways and pathways clear, business development keeps the business flowing. Everyone has a part. Without the rest of "unimportant" employees, your butt would be at a dollar store unloading pallets for peanuts.

Stop it with the self-importance. You are overpaid manual labor with a DOT physical. Any one of us could do your job given time to adjust to physical aspect. You seem to think you are such physical specimens. A lot of you are dumpy looking oafs. Stop it with thinking your Bruce Jenner or Carl Lewis -- you're not!!!

Many of you guys are uneducated laborers with bad attitudes. You got the best deal you'd ever get in your life and you make it miserable for the rest of us.

I don't even have sympathy for you. Because we all work together, I deluded myself into any emotional attachment to you and supported your rantings about working hard and deserving the wages you get. One day, I stopped and thought about how I would feel about you if you wore,... say, Green uniforms and worked a company calling itself Big Green! When I stripped the emotional attachment, I realized that I wouldn't give a darn about a guy making $28 an hour who drives a truck delivering relatively light packages (by transportation standards).

Stop it and deliver a box, already.

 

[moreluck]

People can argue til they're blue in the face about who's the most important part of the company.. The truth is that UPS needs drivers, supervisors, managers and all the other positions you mentioned to run smoothly.

There is no company without any one of these parts. It's just like the parts of the human body. The heart is very important, but without the brain, liver, stomach etc, nothing will work.

Drivers need mgmt. and mgmt. needs drivers.

 

[over9five]

Yeah! I agree! Damn coddled, complaining, prima donna, beeyotch drivers!

And I'd like to add to the other work options:

Trash truck driver (He makes pickups and deliveries too!).

Pizza delivery boy (Less money, but more tips!).

Over the border drug courier (More danger, but we'll give you a gun!).

Tiredofitall, you should register and stick around! You type very well, and I think you have more to add.

 

[KRAM]

"Any one of us could do your job given time to adjust to physical aspect"

Then go for it, bottom line none of the jobs listed means anything until the package gets delivered by the DRIVER. We rule...you don't!

 

[Phantom Lord]

Walk a mile in my shoes, buddy, before you talk trash.

You work no harder than many americans

I take offense to this; I have worked my fair share of jobs in my short life, and I have never, ever worked as long or as hard as I have as a driver. Most jobs don't even come close physically.

If you left UPS, you have few options other than furniture delivery, bread delivery, propane delivery, warehouse work,... oh, you have plenty of options -- only, they pay nearly nothing. Then again, this is about what most manual laborers are worth.

Not everybody who does this job is just some dumb shmuck. On the contrary, I currently work with some pretty bright people, one of whom is a former veterinarian (which takes more than a little post-secondary education) and one of whom has a double doctorate in philosophy and english. I am currently completing my degree in business management, and am also brushing up on mental activities in preparation for the Mensa entrance exam in my free time (if you know what Mensa is you'll realize how rare that is amongst blue-collar workers.) Many manual laborers aren't worth their salt, but those are the guys you see leaning on their shovels all day on the side of the road.

You are nuts if you think that coming to work wearing clothes given to you, driving trucks that are kept in good repair for you, delivering packages that are preloaded for you, on routes that were predesigned for you...

A) Trucks are kept in less-than-good repair, at least around my center. How many times have you driven a manual over 100 miles to over 50 stops with no clutch? I have on more than one occasion.
B) You have no clue. It's not even worth explaining the entire situation to you; suffice it to say that it's a lot worse than you make it out to be.

You are overpaid manual labor with a DOT physical. Any one of us could do your job given time to adjust to physical aspect.

Then why don't you step up and show me? Why is it that so many driver wannabes don't make the cut? Why is it that so many trainees fail driving school? Oh, that's right: it's because my job is easy.

Many of you guys are uneducated laborers with bad attitudes.

And you're what? An educated laborer with a bad attitude? And that makes you better how, exactly? If you think I have it so easy, why don't you try to get my job?

who drives a truck delivering relatively light packages (by transportation standards)

LOL. You think carrying 150 pound packages, sometimes up stairs, is easy? You must be delusional. I carry 100-150 pound packages on a regular basis and I don't even find it easy. What, you think those big-rig drivers carry their pallets of cargo around? Heck no, they have pallet jacks and forklifts. ***EDIT: By the way, just for clarification, I don't use a dolly except for large numbers of packages; I really carry those 100-150 pound packages as a matter of course, not just push them around.

Granted, the operation couldn't work without all of the behind-the-scenes work that goes on, but it doesn't mean that I'm a whiny, uneducated, overpaid, underworked bum in brown. I'm not afraid to give credit where credit is due, and I have to say that my job is more physically and mentally demanding (if you don't let EDD eat your brain, anyway) than any other non-management position in UPS, and more demanding than most other blue-collar jobs out there.

From what I can see of your attitude in your writing, you're naught but a dissatisfied employee working a dead-end job that's suffering the sour grapes effect.

 

[Braveheart]

People can argue til they're blue in the face about who's the most important part of the company.. The truth is that UPS needs drivers, supervisors, managers and all the other positions you mentioned to run smoothly.

There is no company without any one of these parts. It's just like the parts of the human body. The heart is very important, but without the brain, liver, stomach etc, nothing will work.

Drivers need mgmt. and mgmt. needs drivers.

Yes we all make it happen. Part timers, clerks, porters, mechanics, air drivers, managers, oms, feeders, package drivers, etc etc I respect all the workers who work hard and in teamwork. We are the face of the company as drivers but I am only as good as my preloader who deserves better pay and a full time job too. I asked for us the last contract to get better rules and in exchange we would take smaller raises like a flat 50 cent yearly raises so the part timers could get better money and more combo full time jobs. The part I have a problem with managers who say we are overpaid! Those are the ones making horribly bad decisions and yet make more money, plus 401k matching funds, we do not get, and huge stock bonuses, we also do not get. Those managers who are fair, respectful, honest, sound decision makers deserve all the riches they make. But lets face it. Most of the people who go into management either go in because their back, knees, etc can't take it anymore or they simply don't want to do manual labor anymore because it sucks or they think it is beneath them! We have a bunch of idiots running the show where I am at with only a few good ones here and there. They are desperate for anybody to go into management. If the job is so difficult that they go into management to get away from it and it tears your body apart don't we deserve the respect we ask for?! For every driver I see make it to retirementI see 10 drivers whose careers are cut short by blown knees and backs! But hey, we can't all go into management to avoid the MANUAL LABOR!

 

[Braveheart]

Yeah! I agree! Damn coddled, complaining, prima donna, beeyotch drivers!

And I'd like to add to the other work options:

Trash truck driver (He makes pickups and deliveries too!).

Pizza delivery boy (Less money, but more tips!).

Over the border drug courier (More danger, but we'll give you a gun!).

Tiredofitall, you should register and stick around! You type very well, and I think you have more to add.

Ok pizza guys deliver 2 pound pizzas and do not do pickups. They also don"t handle 500-600 boxes a day. Garbage men deserve to be paid well but many pickup dumpsters with the trucks not by hand. They also don't do deliveries dude. Whoever heard of a garbage delivery driver. Oh yeah, those are politicians. And illegal drug traffickers should be shot! And if you think we are so overly coddled then skip your lunch, load your own truck, skip your vacations, unload your own truck, and give back all those raises and pension contributions, plus pay all your medical benefits out of pocket. And ask for straight time after 8, and on holidays too. Since we are so coddled that we made the company 3.9 billion dollars last year we obviosly are just overpaid.

 

[DS]

tiredofiyall...you are so wrong .if you tried to be a ups driver you`d be crying like a little girl after 3 days.Until you can get a monkey to
do what we do every day then you should shut up .

 

[STLFeeder]

Opinons are like *******s...

I could care less what you think, I have done plenty of other jobs myself and not one of them put as much stress on myself or my family than this one. Mon-Fri, I, as many others, are married to UPS, Sat and Sun, I get to be married to the woman I love and spend time with my kids finally.

 

[Braveheart]

You know, I'm tired of drivers thinking they are so important. Yeah, you work hard -- so do roofers and brick layers. I'm tired of you saying you are the face of the company -- ok, maybe you are on this one. I'm tired of you saying that you are the backbone of the company -- you are just a truck driver, nothing more. No more important that a supervisor, clerk, technician, or custodian -- we all have a job to do.

You seem to think that no one has ever lifted a package before, or driven a truck, or sweated, or striked for having a wage of $25 an hour with benefits and a great retirement,... oh yeah, maybe you are the only one to do this.

You are manual labor -- nothing more. If UPS could train monkeys to do your job, they would buy banana farms. You work no harder than many americans, you get paid more than many americans.

If you left UPS, you have few options other than furniture delivery, bread delivery, propane delivery, warehouse work,... oh, you have plenty of options -- only, they pay nearly nothing. Then again, this is about what most manual laborers are worth.

I do think UPS drivers should share in the extreme wealth of UPS. However, I don't think you are owed it -- just that, fair is fair. You are nuts if you think that coming to work wearing clothes given to you, driving trucks that are kept in good repair for you, delivering packages that are preloaded for you, on routes that were predesigned for you, returning to a building where the package are unloaded for you suggests anything other than an employee who has a very fortunate situation is sinful.

Plant engineers keep the packages flowing, industrial engineers flow the packages, TSG keeps the engineer's flow plans running, custodians keep the hallways and pathways clear, business development keeps the business flowing. Everyone has a part. Without the rest of "unimportant" employees, your butt would be at a dollar store unloading pallets for peanuts.

Stop it with the self-importance. You are overpaid manual labor with a DOT physical. Any one of us could do your job given time to adjust to physical aspect. You seem to think you are such physical specimens. A lot of you are dumpy looking oafs. Stop it with thinking your Bruce Jenner or Carl Lewis -- you're not!!!

Many of you guys are uneducated laborers with bad attitudes. You got the best deal you'd ever get in your life and you make it miserable for the rest of us.

I don't even have sympathy for you. Because we all work together, I deluded myself into any emotional attachment to you and supported your rantings about working hard and deserving the wages you get. One day, I stopped and thought about how I would feel about you if you wore,... say, Green uniforms and worked a company calling itself Big Green! When I stripped the emotional attachment, I realized that I wouldn't give a darn about a guy making $28 an hour who drives a truck delivering relatively light packages (by transportation standards).

Stop it and deliver a box, already.

First I think you are one of those holier than though types who is above us with your fancy education or your like phantom lord said stuck in a dead end job and jealous of our money and benes. Step up to the plate and show me how easy it is or shut the heck up. If manual labor is so lowly and cheap then why do houses cost $300,000 and more? Oh yeah, thats because roofers, brick layers, masons, carpenters, and electricians are doing manual labor coupled with special skills and they too deserve to be paid well. Managers are not the only ones who deserve to make a good living. I think both the Dr and the nurses should get paid well. I think the pilot and the stewardess deserve to be paid well. I read a study that delivery drivers like us have one of the most stressful jobs in the country! Oh and monkeys can't do our job. They already fill two jobs, UPS managers and your dates! The other people you describe get paid to do there jobs just like we do but I agree the part timers deserve better pay for sure. And maybe you didn't know this but we help design the routes but the manager gets the bonus. And for the truck, building, clothes provided thing, yeah most companies provide those as they should or we would be called subcontracters. My truck is filthy since they never clean out the inside. I think all the workers are important from the clerks and porters, to the preloaders and shifters, to the reloaders and feeder drivers, to the OMS and air drivers! And many of us have post high school educations sparky. Our own company calls us industrial athletes. The company is the one who makes it miserable. They overdispatch, deny days off, screw up checks, mess up raises, harass us, switch our trucks, cut runs, play favorites, hand pick their buddies for promotions, give us 10 hours instead of the 8 we requested, nit pick us to death while acting like they are perfect. We do have a DOT physical which is one test many can't pass. We also have to have a clean criminal background and a clean driving record too. Sadly there many who do not have those things! We also have to drive a stick which sadly some people can not master. We have to be good with maps and directions which we all know there are some who can not do that either. We have to do the manual labor in all the seasons freezing winters and 100 degree summers and most refuse to do that! We drive larger than normal trucks and judging by the number of people disqualified in the first 30 days, most can't do it. We lift 500 to 600 boxes a day to an average of 120 to 140 stops including pickups depending on the route. We drive 60, 80, 100 miles or more a day. In the rain, heat, cold, humidity, sick, tired, hungry, stressed out, snow, sleet, wind, tropical storms, drouts, all in over crowded roads with crazy drivers, stray dogs, children in the streets, and carrying five or ten thousand dollars of product in the back with rising crime too. We have to deliver, pick up, collect COD's, do address corrections, drive safe, work safe, provide customer service, do claim follow ups, deal with damages, leaking and hazardous packages, with no a/c, in poorly ventilated trucks, that are dirty, with the backs getting over 115 degrees, climb stairs, handle up to 150 pound boxes, deal with dog bites, wasps, mosquitos, sun burns, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, muscle pulls, strains, and pains knowing we are one injury away from ending our careers. All this while trying to keep at a never ending, overly demanding pace which causes accidents and injuries. Do the math buddy. WE deliver 1 stop every 3 to 5 minutes, with some stops having 50 boxes and some 1 box. Let us see you come do that week after week year after year. And you think anybody can do what we do. We work harder than most jobs have to. I have seen rookie after rookie quit, saying it is just too hard and too demanding. If you have bad knees or a bad back don't apply. If you have certain disabilities don't apply. If you are weak or fragile don't apply. If you are a holier than though like youself, don't apply. This job is for honest, hard working, fast paced people who don't think they are above anyone. Thay also don't think they are beneath anyone as well!

 

[scratch]

Great post, Braveheart! Not everyone can do this job, it is difficult, that is why we are paid well. Most of us are not dummies, we like what we do for the most part. A lot of us have degrees, I went to school myself for computer design back in the late 70's.

 

[Braveheart]

Thanks but I do apologize for the length.

 

[Ruralbrownman]

1 As I sit here trying to figure out if tiredofitall was serious about this post or not I cant help wonder what job he has. It sounds like he works at UPS - but then its hard to tell.

Yes there are plenty of other jobs at UPS where people work hard and each one is important , but nobody gets dumped on more then the package car drivers. Yes we do make a good wage and have good benefits , but do you think anybody would do this job for minimun wage or even $15/per hour , I think not! And I only wish the working conditions were as good as you make them out to be.

 

[Backlasher]

Yea, What He Said.
My longest run for my previous employer was a rush delivery from Cleveland, Ohio. to Avery, Massachusetts.
1,300 miles round trip.
9.M.rush start time
drop off was at 6:30A.M.
back 5.M.
non stop except for the drop-off.
My 20 hr. run ended in rush hr. time slot. What a way to end a long run.
Stayed up till 11P.M. to be with my wife and kids. I was one wipped puppy. It was a long 9-5'er LoL.
Glad to be starting with UpS. Won't miss those 24/7 on call expidited rush deliveries. It sucks to walk in the door for dinner just to get called out on a long haul rush before you even let your family know your home.
(drivers in any Co. deserve more respect then we get not just about the $$$-
we put up with alot).

 

[over9five]

"Ok pizza guys deliver 2 pound pizzas and do not do pickups. They also don"t handle 500-600 boxes a day. Garbage men deserve to be paid well but many pickup dumpsters with the trucks not by hand. They also don't do deliveries dude. Whoever heard of a garbage delivery driver. Oh yeah, those are politicians. And illegal drug traffickers should be shot! And if you think we are so overly coddled then skip your lunch, load your own truck, skip your vacations, unload your own truck, and give back all those raises and pension contributions, plus pay all your medical benefits out of pocket. And ask for straight time after 8, and on holidays too. Since we are so coddled that we made the company 3.9 billion dollars last year we obviosly are just overpaid."

Jeesh, Braveheart, I was being sarcastic!

(Also, what do you think happens with all the trash they pick up? They don't leave it in the truck. They DELIVER it to the landfill!)

 

[30andout]

Just recently had a driver trainee who had been in construction. He told me he never realized how hard our jos was. He lasted only about a week and a half and quit. Thats gotta tell you something.

 

[over9five]

It's amazing how many new drivers we've had quit before they're done the first week alone.

For $28 an hour two years down the road, don't you expect the job to be hard?

 

[Pip]

There is no (I) in TEAM. yes an old addage, but it is so true to the company of UPS. it takes a team effort to be able to provide a service as we do.

And in the even bigger picture, I feel that we are an important part of commerce. From the the customer that orders a product to the company that provides the product. we provide the link between the two.

I challenge you to sit down and think for a moment what all goes into getting from point A to point Z. How many hands are actually involved. It is mind boggling to say the least. This is a long and complex chain of events that has to happen.

Just as an example. Take a moment and look around you while your sitting here in front of the computer and pick something out. It doesn't even have to be complex. Think for a moment what all had to happen for that item to be sitting there in front of you.

One job is not any more or less important that another, but every task had to be performed in order to get to the next task and the next task and so on. With that being said, each job depends on the job before it. Is the CEO of a company more important then the person that has the (mcjob) or any job in between? maybe, maybe not, that will always be the debate for the test of time.

Alll I am saying is that no job is any more important that the job/task before. Each job/task depends on the each other. It's a team effort from top to bottom.

 

[aspenleaf]

It's amazing how many new drivers we've had quit before they're done the first week alone.

For $28 an hour two years down the road, don't you expect the job to be hard?

So the newbies (drivers) who start at 14 something an hour will make 28 an hour in 2 years? That is great and well worth sticking it out for 2 years to get that kind of pay. I think you drivers are worth every penny you have earned. Sure we all make up a great team but you won't see preloaders making deliveries (unless they are a combo worker perhaps). Drivers are the ones who interact with the community and they are the ones who are hauling heavy packages up the stairs to the 5th floor only to find out the customer is not home.

Manual labor workers out here are paid very well if you are legal to work in this country. Most of them are also in their own unions. We (my city) also have the manual day labor workers who work for next to nothing and I am sure they work extremely hard.

I have not met any drivers who thought they were better than anyone else. The guys I load for are down to earth and just want to make it to retirement. The drivers I see out in the community are too busy working to look down on anyone and seem very humble to me. It takes time and training to be a driver but with PAS you can take a person off the street and train them to load in a day (they may not be that great but most of the packages will get on the right truck).

 

[loserupser]

I think tirededofitall, significant other never let him speak before and he snuck out and vented!!!