"On Topic" Change... Real Change with Integrity

[Integrity]

What change is coming?

I sense employees are ready to make safety a priority, a personal value and actually do something about it.

 

[Integrity]

Integrity, I don't know who are but obviously your not a driver. So that makes you management. You want to hear it so I'll tell you. Yes, I want change. I want to change from being just a number to a human being that gets to go home to his family at a decent time. You talk about safety. From what I've seen at UPS is just that. "Talk". No actions. Actions speak louder than words and after years of hearing words with no actions I don't care about your "Safety Commitments" anymore. Real Change starts from the top down so when you guys start actually caring about your employees then maybe we'll care about your numbers. Till then I'll just my head down and get thru the daily grind and count the years till I retire.

What have you done, as a human being and not a number, to contribute to getting home to your family at a decent time?

I agree action speaks louder than words.

Have you brought this concern of yours up to anyone?

"You guys" ???? I don't understand this reference.

Change starts with you.

 

[Integrity]

At my old center, when it was time to do dok or any other "safety" type quiz, there was always a binder full of answer sheets right on the desk. We could have 3 employees at one time, each on a different computer sharing the cheat sheets. A perfect score was mandatory. Our center laughably "won" some stupid perfect score contest periodically among our area centers. Our center manager would sometimes even personally read the answers aloud for those that needed their hand held.
Then, we'd also get speeches about how important honesty and integrity, were to our company. That was always really good for a laugh. I'm sure it's not changing soon.

If you view this as dishonest and a lack of integrity then did you report it?

I suspect things like this are often not reported.

Curious to know if it wasn't reported, then what motivated you not to report it, because it obviously bothered you at least a little.

 

[Brownslave688]

I sense employees are ready to make safety a priority, a personal value and actually do something about it.

Your senses must be way off today.

 

[tacken]

I sense they will screw us everyday they can!!!

 

[PASinterference]

UPS doesn't care about safety. Only perceived safety. I could drive wide open all day on a safety ride and my sup wouldn't say one word. It's all about the perception of safety. Take Keter for instance. Keter is used to keep Osha away because Osha was holding UPS accountable for all the safety violations.

 

[Integrity]

UPS doesn't care about safety. Only perceived safety. I could drive wide open all day on a safety ride and my sup wouldn't say one word. It's all about the perception of safety. Take Keter for instance. Keter is used to keep Osha away because Osha was holding UPS accountable for all the safety violations.

UPS does care about safety.

What motivates management to take action? Opinions vary on this?

I think it is true that Keter is, in part or in whole a result of an agreement that was made in the 90's between UPS and OSHA.

What is not true is that Keter has any power to keep OSHA away.

I am sure having internal inspections does limit the random OSHA generated inspections but not employee complaint inspections.

Every worker in the USA has a right to a safe work place.

Every worker in the USA has a right to request or have a representative contact OSHA on your behalf to request an OSHA inspection of your workplace if you believe there are unsafe or unhealthy conditions.

I am not sure but it would not surprise me if the reason OSHA was holding UPS accountable as you stated it was had it's origins in employee complaints.

 

[Integrity]

What kind of safety commitments do the management teams make exactly? Give us an example and the associated metric.

I will mention 2.

1. To always put safety first.
2. To never ignore or turn the other way when someone violates SWM in front of them.

 

[km3]

UPS does care about safety.

They care about insurance premiums. They talk a lot about safety, but when an outbound trailer, boxline, or sort aisle gets blasted, suddenly "egress" is a word from a long-forgotten language. Gotta keep the belts moving at all costs, y'know. Otherwise, according to management, "we're not making any money!"

And God forbid if 9/10 of the belts you sort to shutdown, you are given a break. Hell no. Gotta keep stackin'. No room? Stack more. Boxed in? Don't worry, the belts will start running in another 45 minutes or so. We probably won't have a fire or other emergency in that time.

If you think UPS cares about safety, all I have to say is come take a walk on the hourly side of things for a change.

 

[Billy Ray]

When I was active duty and debating whether to reenlinst I was told that if you went past the 8 year mark you may as well stay for 20.

The same applies to a driver with 10-15 years experience.

When I was "active duty" the only people that signed up for a second enlistment, were lifers.

 

[Integrity]

They care about insurance premiums. They talk a lot about safety, but when an outbound trailer, boxline, or sort aisle gets blasted, suddenly "egress" is a word from a long-forgotten language. Gotta keep the belts moving at all costs, y'know. Otherwise, according to management, "we're not making any money!"

And God forbid if 9/10 of the belts you sort to shutdown, you are given a break. Hell no. Gotta keep stackin'. No room? Stack more. Boxed in? Don't worry, the belts will start running in another 45 minutes or so. We probably won't have a fire or other emergency in that time.

If you think UPS cares about safety, all I have to say is come take a walk on the hourly side of things for a change.

Same old story.

Do you care about safety?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

When I was "active duty" the only people that signed up for a second enlistment, were lifers.

I was 6 days away from sewing on my next stripe (E-6) when I was discharged. It was not an easy decision. My ex's Dad was a lifer and she did not want our kids to bounce around the world so we decided to get out.

 

[SafetyFirst]

it's always a numbers game, realistically the people making a lot of these decisions don't know your name or what kind of person you are. so if mr. runner gunner does what he does on above average production for x amount of years even if it takes ignoring safety to accomplish this, chances are when he does tweak his back or clips some wires in a driveway that accident is less stressful to deal with because it's hopefully a single occasion than a daily lack of production. depending on the circumstances involved in the accident, it still may be overall profitable for the company to ride out the production. this is what happens with a lot of wall street firms who have been fined for all varieties of illegal activities, their fines usually don't even come close to negating the profits they made off of said activity so at the end of the day it's just a cost of doing business.

 

[Integrity]

Soooooo. @Integrity !!!
Are you going to answer the question ???
Just what is it that you do here????

Not in public forum.

 

[km3]

Same old story.

Do you care about safety?

Of course. I have no intention of getting maimed or dying at work. I didn't say I don't care about safety, I'm saying UPS doesn't care. They give it a lot of lip service, but then they demand production on a level where it's impossible to work safe AND meet their production standards. It's one or the other, and they'll always harass you more about your production when it falters than they will over safety (which only matters when the regional and district guys come in for a visit).

 

[Billy Ray]

I was 6 days away from sewing on my next stripe (E-6) when I was discharged. It was not an easy decision. My ex's Dad was a lifer and she did not want our kids to bounce around the world so we decided to get out.

In retrospect, what did you gain from that second enlistment? Nothing.

 

[3 done 3 to go]

UPS does care about safety.

What motivates management to take action? Opinions vary on this?

I think it is true that Keter is, in part or in whole a result of an agreement that was made in the 90's between UPS and OSHA.

What is not true is that Keter has any power to keep OSHA away.

I am sure having internal inspections does limit the random OSHA generated inspections but not employee complaint inspections.

Every worker in the USA has a right to a safe work place.

Every worker in the USA has a right to request or have a representative contact OSHA on your behalf to request an OSHA inspection of your workplace if you believe there are unsafe or unhealthy conditions.

I am not sure but it would not surprise me if the reason OSHA was holding UPS accountable as you stated it was had it's origins in employee complaints.

Our center is in such disrepair our safety committee will be writing a grievance this week about the dangers inside and out. Was built in 1960. Since we have outgrown it. The mechanics bay is. Not safe. Original floors are peeling up. Toilets hardly work. Too long of a list. I don't see change anytime soon

 

[Integrity]

it's always a numbers game, realistically the people making a lot of these decisions don't know your name or what kind of person you are. so if mr. runner gunner does what he does on above average production for x amount of years even if it takes ignoring safety to accomplish this, chances are when he does tweak his back or clips some wires in a driveway that accident is less stressful to deal with because it's hopefully a single occasion than a daily lack of production. depending on the circumstances involved in the accident, it still may be overall profitable for the company to ride out the production. this is what happens with a lot of wall street firms who have been fined for all varieties of illegal activities, their fines usually don't even come close to negating the profits they made off of said activity so at the end of the day it's just a cost of doing business.

What????????

 

[SafetyFirst]

i should add that in turn, safety may be ignored or overlooked when production is right, but it flips around into a tool of harassment when production is lacking or you file a legit grievance. in short, that's what safety is to UPS.

 

[PASinterference]

UPS has telematics and can easily see the runners speeding. They NEVER say a word and never will. But slow down below the speed limit in a rain storm and see what happens in my center.