preload perspective

[preloader]

Yeah, ima preloader, as you could tell from the name im sure. I will soon be "celebrating" my 13th year....lucky huh, and no i have no interest in driving whatsoever. That last line has a lot of issues in it, and ive answered every question a hundred times, so ill spare the noise. Im here to reiterate just how interested I am in sups decisions to "save" money continuously.

You know how it goes. You get to work 20 mins early to see a mountain outside your truck, a belt FULL of packages, a line sup frantically rushing around to get the cars wrapped and a locked front door with no chance of getting to the cab. In the midst of the confusion is a sweat covered preloader working in 40 degree weather who says.....yep, they started us 20 minutes later ....again.

Now, assuming that theres 3-4 drivers per preloader. As well as assuming the driver makes nearly 3 times as much (all straight time), and assuming the customers NEVER want the money they spent for late service, and assume they wont go to Fed ex losing more revenue, how much does UPS save for those 20 mins?

Strange standards that i hope to figure out before i become the 1st ever part time retiree lol

 

[aspenleaf]

I ask myself that question every day! We are never wrapped on time (as a whole boxline). They must know something we don't know. We sure get yelled at if we are done by 7:45 am but the packages keep coming. Yesterday they tired to send me home at 6:40 am. I refused. Good thing since about an hour later (and tons of boxes later) they cut one of my trucks. That saved money too. . . my now empty truck was used to shuttle the stuff that didn't fit in other trucks. . .

 

[westsideworma]

I ask myself that question every day! We are never wrapped on time (as a whole boxline). They must know something we don't know. We sure get yelled at if we are done by 7:45 am but the packages keep coming. Yesterday they tired to send me home at 6:40 am. I refused. Good thing since about an hour later (and tons of boxes later) they cut one of my trucks. That saved money too. . . my now empty truck was used to shuttle the stuff that didn't fit in other trucks. . .

yeah I hear ya, we get rushed to finish (well the guys with two highest seniority, which I happen to be one of) so the supe can send everyone else home and we can cover the last of the ground and air....our line has 30 trucks...2 preloaders for 30 trucks...goodtimes. Sometimes they'll give us a third..woohoo

 

[aspenleaf]

I understand they want to save money but they should not send too many home before the end of day rush. Sometimes my empty cages come back full (not all of them but enough that I am running). We always have late air. When I do get sent home and I try to leave I find stuff in my cages so I take them out and get them on my trucks. Otherwise they end up in various places.

 

[LKLND3380]

Yeah, ima preloader, as you could tell from the name im sure. I will soon be "celebrating" my 13th year....lucky huh, and no i have no interest in driving whatsoever. That last line has a lot of issues in it, and ive answered every question a hundred times, so ill spare the noise. Im here to reiterate just how interested I am in sups decisions to "save" money continuously.

You know how it goes. You get to work 20 mins early to see a mountain outside your truck, a belt FULL of packages, a line sup frantically rushing around to get the cars wrapped and a locked front door with no chance of getting to the cab. In the midst of the confusion is a sweat covered preloader working in 40 degree weather who says.....yep, they started us 20 minutes later ....again.

Now, assuming that theres 3-4 drivers per preloader. As well as assuming the driver makes nearly 3 times as much (all straight time), and assuming the customers NEVER want the money they spent for late service, and assume they wont go to Fed ex losing more revenue, how much does UPS save for those 20 mins?

Strange standards that i hope to figure out before i become the 1st ever part time retiree lol

Sounds like our center...

20 minutes x 5 days = 1:40
1:40 x 4 weeks = 6:20
6:20 x 12 months = 76:00

So they save 76 hours per year per employee...

 

[solitarysiren]

I understand they want to save money but they should not send too many home before the end of day rush. Sometimes my empty cages come back full (not all of them but enough that I am running). We always have late air. When I do get sent home and I try to leave I find stuff in my cages so I take them out and get them on my trucks. Otherwise they end up in various places.

i'm a pt sup and nothing's more irritating than the hub manager sending *my* people home really early and then get on my case for having stuff all over the place. then they talk about sups not handling packages....but they're not going to put themselves behind the right car...

 

[preloader]

Sounds like our center...

20 minutes x 5 days = 1:40
1:40 x 4 weeks = 6:20
6:20 x 12 months = 76:00

So they save 76 hours per year per employee...

Well, maybe i went to school a lil longer than the basic UPS sup, but by MY math, you...and they.... have it all wrong. But lets start with your numbers. 76 hours per preloader per year. This is absolutely true. However, when you have 4x the number of drivers on the belt making 3x what a preloader makes, thats 12x the price of a loader in my eyes, therefore every minute spent by EACH driver on the belt COULD have paid a loader for 12 minutes. How many times have you been on the line for a half hour loading? Thats a LOT of time the preload could have spent loading. 6 Hours in fact. This does not include the fact that many businesses are going to claim for late airs, some customers may get fed up with our tardyness so much they decide to switch to the purple and orange people. All this costs our company MUCH more than a few preloaders bringing home $250 a week insted of $225. The way i figure it if you pay these guys a few more pennies, you save a whole lot of dollars in the long run.

BTW, im a 13 year senior loader, im happy to leave as soon as i can in the mornings, unlike a few we all know who like to milk that last cent out of our company. Im there to do a job, not take 30 mins to do a 5 minute task.

I just wanna see things work out better for everyone, but as the old addage goes....he who rocks the boat is usually the one to fall out.

 

[LKLND3380]

Well, maybe i went to school a lil longer than the basic UPS sup, but by MY math, you...and they.... have it all wrong. But lets start with your numbers. 76 hours per preloader per year. This is absolutely true. However, when you have 4x the number of drivers on the belt making 3x what a preloader makes, thats 12x the price of a loader in my eyes, therefore every minute spent by EACH driver on the belt COULD have paid a loader for 12 minutes. How many times have you been on the line for a half hour loading? Thats a LOT of time the preload could have spent loading. 6 Hours in fact. This does not include the fact that many businesses are going to claim for late airs, some customers may get fed up with our tardyness so much they decide to switch to the purple and orange people. All this costs our company MUCH more than a few preloaders bringing home $250 a week insted of $225. The way i figure it if you pay these guys a few more pennies, you save a whole lot of dollars in the long run.

BTW, im a 13 year senior loader, im happy to leave as soon as i can in the mornings, unlike a few we all know who like to milk that last cent out of our company. Im there to do a job, not take 30 mins to do a 5 minute task.

I just wanna see things work out better for everyone, but as the old addage goes....he who rocks the boat is usually the one to fall out.

You are right about drivers being paid more and there are more of them... BUT what management looks at is START TIMES...

So if the drivers are on the clock because their start time is 8:30 the only way to bring labor costs down is to cut the pre loaders... OR they can send the drivers home... They can not tell a driver to start later than the start time because the driver can file a grievence...

 

[toonertoo]

What about the drivers who are on the belt before their start times? That also takes alot away from you. They would not keep pushing your start times back if the drivers wouldnt be there working for free every day. Its one thing to not be wrapped, it happens, its another to have a driver stealing your work and cutting YOUR hours because of it. Im not a math major, but in the beginning it would be rough, if its a problem on your belt, in the end it would be better and less stressful for all. Tell your driver to go away, if he is there before his time. Answer a ? or two while hes putting his crap in the truck, no problem. Loading, and unloading, big problem. Its a pet peeve of mine. I understand why they want to do it but if every one gets the "big Picture" its plain wrong.

 

[LKLND3380]

What about the drivers who are on the belt before their start times? That also takes alot away from you. They would not keep pushing your start times back if the drivers wouldnt be there working for free every day. Its one thing to not be wrapped, it happens, its another to have a driver stealing your work and cutting YOUR hours because of it. Im not a math major, but in the beginning it would be rough, if its a problem on your belt, in the end it would be better and less stressful for all. Tell your driver to go away, if he is there before his time. Answer a ? or two while hes putting his crap in the truck, no problem. Loading, and unloading, big problem. Its a pet peeve of mine. I understand why they want to do it but if every one gets the "big Picture" its plain wrong.

IF drivers are working on the belt and working FREE...
IF your supervisor/center manager send you home because the driver is working free...

YOU CAN FILE A GRIEVENCE and be paid for the time... You can also doccument other drivers working off the clock as well as preloaders setting up trucks BEFORE START TIME and get paid for that as well...

Now if a driver is inside the care re-arranging his stops to make his day better I would let that slide... If the driver is on the belt pulling and loading packages that is different...

Also tell the supervisor "the driver is off the clock and the driver start time is _:__ unless you are approving extra hours charged against preload at drivers pay?"

If this is a problem with certain drivers going "above and beyond" contact a Union steward and voice your concern so they can talk to the driver. BUT FIRST YOU SHOULD DOCCUMENT HOW MUCH TIME for a one week period. Now it is in the hands of the Union steward but continue to doccument the times for one month and FOR YOUR BELT...

The file a grievence after you have collected the time for a period, one month? two months? You decide... wait long get a bigger check!!

REMEMBER:
UPS Preloader Gets $1500 From Grieving Supervisors Doing Our Work
Forest Tucker is an Addison preloader. He has been working for UPS for fifteen years.
Last December Forest Tuckers’ rights were violated under article 3.7 (supervisors working). Forest kept accurate records and then had his steward file a grievance.
Represented at panel by his agent Ken Emanuelson, Forest’s grievance was upheld. Forest was awarded fifty hours at time and one half.

 

[westsideworma]

IF drivers are working on the belt and working FREE...
IF your supervisor/center manager send you home because the driver is working free...

YOU CAN FILE A GRIEVENCE and be paid for the time... You can also doccument other drivers working off the clock as well as preloaders setting up trucks BEFORE START TIME and get paid for that as well...

Now if a driver is inside the care re-arranging his stops to make his day better I would let that slide... If the driver is on the belt pulling and loading packages that is different...

Also tell the supervisor "the driver is off the clock and the driver start time is _:__ unless you are approving extra hours charged against preload at drivers pay?"

If this is a problem with certain drivers going "above and beyond" contact a Union steward and voice your concern so they can talk to the driver. BUT FIRST YOU SHOULD DOCCUMENT HOW MUCH TIME for a one week period. Now it is in the hands of the Union steward but continue to doccument the times for one month and FOR YOUR BELT...

The file a grievence after you have collected the time for a period, one month? two months? You decide... wait long get a bigger check!!

REMEMBER:
UPS Preloader Gets $1500 From Grieving Supervisors Doing Our Work
Forest Tucker is an Addison preloader. He has been working for UPS for fifteen years.
Last December Forest Tuckers’ rights were violated under article 3.7 (supervisors working). Forest kept accurate records and then had his steward file a grievance.
Represented at panel by his agent Ken Emanuelson, Forest’s grievance was upheld. Forest was awarded fifty hours at time and one half.

our drivers don't really do that. least none that I've had. Only one because he has an early start time but he waits for me to grab his last airs while he arranges his truck a little. Other than that most drivers just hang out at the end of the line. However sometimes we need the help so they'll clock in and come give us a hand.