ironman419
New Member
I've been working for UPS for over 3 years now, and recently was given from the hub (800 employees) I worked at to a center (150-200 employees?) here out east.
Where I worked before, I had a pretty good record. CERC, safety committee, showed up everyday on time (occasional car problem or final exam being the exception). I left there with the permission of the sort manager and a number of PT sups to list as a personal reference. And I got approved for the transfer, on grounds that I understand are extremely difficult to get approved for (part-time educational).
After a few weeks at the new center, I thought it may be a good idea to put in for a promotion. They had a number of PT sup vacancies that nobody had even applied for. Turns out they'd been firing employees left and right for an issue which seemed to be a necessary issue for fire somebody over.
So I put in my promotion packet. Came back a couple weeks later, scored high (4s and 5s) on all their criteria for an average of 4.5 (3.5 being needed).
So now onto the issues and observations.
A week before I'd put in my packet, an employee in our area was promoted to PT supervisor of that same area (former PT sup was fired... as I understand was "lax" and "complacent" and not doing a good job after a few years running the same area).
What struck me first was that there was no training for this PT sup. He was an hourly on Friday, PT sup on Monday. IIRC correctly, at the hub I came from, there was intensive classroom training for new PT sups. On top of that, he went directly from being a preloader to PT sup in charge of 10 people with only the weekend in between. At the hub, there was generally a period of a few months at minimum where new PT sups are assigned the task of training new hourlys 1-on-1 before even being considered being given the responsibility of supervising an entire area. Also, in the 7 months he worked there, he apparently took off every Wed. for 5-6 months then started showing up everyday so he could get promoted.
From the first day this new PT sup was promoted, he started riding me about every conceivable minor thing one can think of.
It generally went like this:
Don't you wanna be a supervisor?
I thought you wanted to get promoted?
Man, you're never going to get promoted if you keep doing this!
Whether or not you get promoted depends on what I tell them!
This all from a guy who's days on the job could be counted on two hands. Finally, I got sick of hearing this dozens upon dozens of times and said that no, I didn't want to be a supervisor, and that I'd be quitting for a full-time job w/benefits. He said he's going to have to tell the FT about this, says, "man, that was an ignorant-ass comment, when I go and get him, just tell him you just got frustrated." I give the FTer a BS reason why I said it, but the next day, I had it with the PTer again. Asked me three times to do something that was unsafe. Namely, loading a package car that was 95% full with a very narrow aisle while he occupied just about all of it. "Just move around me", he says. I said three times, "I don't feel that's safe." PTer asks me what's with my attitude, and I'm like OK, I'll tell him what's with my attitude. FTer just happens to be coming by, and the PTer tells me to tell him what I was just about to say. Started talking about the above stuff that's italicized. PTer says "I just wanted him to load". FTer pulls PTer aside, don't know what was said, then went back to work.
There were times such as when I slipped into my old midnight trailer loader mentality and when was told to help another preloader, I loaded his package car for him (which I guess I'm not supposed to do). I'd hear stuff like this: "let me ask you something: whose the supervisor?" I say, "sorry, I just thought I'd help him, it slipped my mind, I'll stack." "No, I just asked you, whose the supervisor?" "I said I'll stack!" "Man, I just asked you a question, whose the supervisor?. I got real short.
A couple of these situations were talked about with the FTer. Not the safety issue, which got drowned out with the others. Basically what was said is "well [PT] is our supervisor for this area, I'm going to have to trust his judgment". Well, when they called me about the MAPP on Thursday, I waited an hour before the the scheduled time and told them to talk to the FTer and let them go with that. I didn't want to even bother taking it. I don't feel that I'm going to be staying there much longer in any capacity. I left the hub (which was a very well-run place) with the sort manager as a personal reference, served as CERC, safety committee member, had great attendance and work attitude, advised the PTers on how to smoothly run the area, have a B.A. on top of that, and at this center, I'm getting ridden on a daily basis by a PTer, maybe 19 or 20, who acts like a high schooler, who seems scraped from the bottom of the barrel.
Where I worked before, I had a pretty good record. CERC, safety committee, showed up everyday on time (occasional car problem or final exam being the exception). I left there with the permission of the sort manager and a number of PT sups to list as a personal reference. And I got approved for the transfer, on grounds that I understand are extremely difficult to get approved for (part-time educational).
After a few weeks at the new center, I thought it may be a good idea to put in for a promotion. They had a number of PT sup vacancies that nobody had even applied for. Turns out they'd been firing employees left and right for an issue which seemed to be a necessary issue for fire somebody over.
So I put in my promotion packet. Came back a couple weeks later, scored high (4s and 5s) on all their criteria for an average of 4.5 (3.5 being needed).
So now onto the issues and observations.
A week before I'd put in my packet, an employee in our area was promoted to PT supervisor of that same area (former PT sup was fired... as I understand was "lax" and "complacent" and not doing a good job after a few years running the same area).
What struck me first was that there was no training for this PT sup. He was an hourly on Friday, PT sup on Monday. IIRC correctly, at the hub I came from, there was intensive classroom training for new PT sups. On top of that, he went directly from being a preloader to PT sup in charge of 10 people with only the weekend in between. At the hub, there was generally a period of a few months at minimum where new PT sups are assigned the task of training new hourlys 1-on-1 before even being considered being given the responsibility of supervising an entire area. Also, in the 7 months he worked there, he apparently took off every Wed. for 5-6 months then started showing up everyday so he could get promoted.
From the first day this new PT sup was promoted, he started riding me about every conceivable minor thing one can think of.
It generally went like this:
Don't you wanna be a supervisor?
I thought you wanted to get promoted?
Man, you're never going to get promoted if you keep doing this!
Whether or not you get promoted depends on what I tell them!
This all from a guy who's days on the job could be counted on two hands. Finally, I got sick of hearing this dozens upon dozens of times and said that no, I didn't want to be a supervisor, and that I'd be quitting for a full-time job w/benefits. He said he's going to have to tell the FT about this, says, "man, that was an ignorant-ass comment, when I go and get him, just tell him you just got frustrated." I give the FTer a BS reason why I said it, but the next day, I had it with the PTer again. Asked me three times to do something that was unsafe. Namely, loading a package car that was 95% full with a very narrow aisle while he occupied just about all of it. "Just move around me", he says. I said three times, "I don't feel that's safe." PTer asks me what's with my attitude, and I'm like OK, I'll tell him what's with my attitude. FTer just happens to be coming by, and the PTer tells me to tell him what I was just about to say. Started talking about the above stuff that's italicized. PTer says "I just wanted him to load". FTer pulls PTer aside, don't know what was said, then went back to work.
There were times such as when I slipped into my old midnight trailer loader mentality and when was told to help another preloader, I loaded his package car for him (which I guess I'm not supposed to do). I'd hear stuff like this: "let me ask you something: whose the supervisor?" I say, "sorry, I just thought I'd help him, it slipped my mind, I'll stack." "No, I just asked you, whose the supervisor?" "I said I'll stack!" "Man, I just asked you a question, whose the supervisor?. I got real short.
A couple of these situations were talked about with the FTer. Not the safety issue, which got drowned out with the others. Basically what was said is "well [PT] is our supervisor for this area, I'm going to have to trust his judgment". Well, when they called me about the MAPP on Thursday, I waited an hour before the the scheduled time and told them to talk to the FTer and let them go with that. I didn't want to even bother taking it. I don't feel that I'm going to be staying there much longer in any capacity. I left the hub (which was a very well-run place) with the sort manager as a personal reference, served as CERC, safety committee member, had great attendance and work attitude, advised the PTers on how to smoothly run the area, have a B.A. on top of that, and at this center, I'm getting ridden on a daily basis by a PTer, maybe 19 or 20, who acts like a high schooler, who seems scraped from the bottom of the barrel.