Supervisors working

Thoroughbred Teamster

Well-Known Member
Had two separate but similar instances with our on-road supes where other drivers gave me a heads up they were doing hourly work. Used my network to gather as much info as possible and had a good idea what went down before I confronted them on it. Never let them know what you know. I kept questioning them, catching them in lie after lie until they admitted what they did and for how long they did it. The end result is we got a few hours paid for affected drivers. One of them was extremely upset that a driver reported him, he felt betrayed, ha. The looks on their faces when I caught them in their lies AFTER they constantly preach how we need to have good communications was priceless. It also pays to have a good relationship with the OMS to help you pull up delivery info on possible "ghost routes" (two DIADS for one driver).

Also proud we got a vigilant "Mama Bear" on preload that does a very good job of documenting info on her shift. She's earned lots of income on that. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have encouraged the part-timers to start calling supes out. We had one P/T supe bring his own work gloves to the shift, lol. He was definitely on something and just could not keep his hands off packages. He eventually got tired of her grievances and left the company.
 

Justaloader

Well-Known Member
Happens at my location daily. It's a catch 22 though. On one hand, don't want them taking union work. I get that. On the other, when things are going to hell (multiple doors jammed with packages, belts jamming up, etc), it's nice to have a sup that will jump into the trenches and help you get caught up. I know, I know - let things go to hell and force them to hire more people. That's all well and good - but not very realistic. The amount of turnover we see....I've been told our location has been understaffed for close to a year. So, the "they should hire more people" mentality doesn't do jack squat for you when packages are falling off the roller line due to the roller line being overloaded. Ironically in our building the sups seem to be more dependable (aka show up for work every day, lend a hand when needed, etc) than the folks that load the trucks (I'm in an area where we load tractor trailers every evening).
 

542thruNthru

Well-Known Member
Happens at my location daily. It's a catch 22 though. On one hand, don't want them taking union work. I get that. On the other, when things are going to hell (multiple doors jammed with packages, belts jamming up, etc), it's nice to have a sup that will jump into the trenches and help you get caught up. I know, I know - let things go to hell and force them to hire more people. That's all well and good - but not very realistic. The amount of turnover we see....I've been told our location has been understaffed for close to a year. So, the "they should hire more people" mentality doesn't do jack squat for you when packages are falling off the roller line due to the roller line being overloaded. Ironically in our building the sups seem to be more dependable (aka show up for work every day, lend a hand when needed, etc) than the folks that load the trucks (I'm in an area where we load tractor trailers every evening).

Your supes get paid more then a new hire and they don't have some 22yo A hole yelling at them and demanding them to load fast which makes it easier to deal with the job and show up.

I understand wanting to see your work place do well and everyone work together to bail each other out but the company can slow down the unload so they don't destroy you but they won't because it hurts their numbers and bonus. It's not a catch 22. You don't get anything for going down on time other then go home early. You're paid by the hour.

We've all worn the rose colored glasses at some point. The whole "team work and rah rah let's get it done." Its a motivator that the company likes to use. Its fake. The only people that benefit from it is your upper management.

Not trying to come down on you because I was there when I used to load. Looking back I can see how easily some of us were manipulated. They make you feel like a important part of the process when in reality they couldn't care less about you.
 

Justaloader

Well-Known Member
Your supes get paid more then a new hire and they don't have some 22yo A hole yelling at them and demanding them to load fast which makes it easier to deal with the job and show up.

I understand wanting to see your work place do well and everyone work together to bail each other out but the company can slow down the unload so they don't destroy you but they won't because it hurts their numbers and bonus. It's not a catch 22. You don't get anything for going down on time other then go home early. You're paid by the hour.

We've all worn the rose colored glasses at some point. The whole "team work and rah rah let's get it done." Its a motivator that the company likes to use. Its fake. The only people that benefit from it is your upper management.

Not trying to come down on you because I was there when I used to load. Looking back I can see how easily some of us were manipulated. They make you feel like a important part of the process when in reality they couldn't care less about you.

Never said I wanted to see my workplace do well. Agreed, they won't slowdown the unload. Hell, just yesterday they had us all start at 6:30 (normal start time is 6:00, or 6:15) because the volume was "light". That's a bunch of baloney - they basically shortened the window for us to work (seems they try to have us out of there by 10 pm every night, and then sups run around finishing up iregs and whatever else is left), and slammed us with boxes all night long. It was rough for the areas that don't usually have a heavy flow of packages, as they aren't used to it. As we were walking out at the end of the night - the areas that are usually done by 9-9:30 were still busy. My area closed down at 10, and everything was done (iregs loaded, etc). In my area, we're always overloaded (my PD always has the heavest workload - as everyone in the building will tell you PD5 gets crapped on all the time with workload), so for us it was business as usual.

I'm not wearing rose colored glasses. I see both sides of the argument in the sense of understanding why union people get pissed when a non-union member does work that should be being done by a union member, and likewise why sups jump in to help, and union staff don't complain. I understand the whole "taking money out of a union members pocket" side of the argument. Trust me - I'm not a high school kid.....I'm 37, with a 9-5. In case you are wondering why I'm at UPS - simple. I need additional income, they were hiring, and I don't mind physical labor. It's a mindless job, and a workout all the same, that I get paid for. I don't mind it. The politics and beaurocracy - that's annoying. I deal with that enough in my day job.

I know that "we" loaders (or anyone that is PT really) don't matter. We're nothing but numbers to the company, and all easily replaceable (which is the downfall of a simple job....you aren't special, and are easily replaceable as anyone can do it). However, I also realize that without the loaders and rest of the PT staff, nothing gets moved....and with that, realistically, the company needs it's workers just as much as the workers need the company. The duality of it is the worker's job is try to do the least amount of work and get paid the most for it, where as the company wants you to do the most amount of work possible and pay you the least for it. It's the effort to strike some sort of balance between those two extremes - that's what I see every day, literally, at the building I work in.

Bottom line - I come in, I do the best I can, I move the boxes from here to there, and I go home. I'm reminded of the movie 8 Mile where Eminem is working at Detroit Stamping, and his older co-worker tells him "Stick with the plan, man. Come in, do your work, and shut the friend up." Truer words have never been spoken.
 

Elmo.goes.to.prom

Well-Known Member
Happens at my location daily. It's a catch 22 though. On one hand, don't want them taking union work. I get that. On the other, when things are going to hell (multiple doors jammed with packages, belts jamming up, etc), it's nice to have a sup that will jump into the trenches and help you get caught up. I know, I know - let things go to hell and force them to hire more people. That's all well and good - but not very realistic. The amount of turnover we see....I've been told our location has been understaffed for close to a year. So, the "they should hire more people" mentality doesn't do jack squat for you when packages are falling off the roller line due to the roller line being overloaded. Ironically in our building the sups seem to be more dependable (aka show up for work every day, lend a hand when needed, etc) than the folks that load the trucks (I'm in an area where we load tractor trailers every evening).

Nope. I work to the fullest extent of my ability but once the drivers are on the clock I leave. If my trucks are done they are done. If not the drivers load and charge it to preload time.

A sup doesn't need to be in my work area doing my work. I am not helping their numbers by hurting myself.
 

Justaloader

Well-Known Member
Nope. I work to the fullest extent of my ability but once the drivers are on the clock I leave. If my trucks are done they are done. If not the drivers load and charge it to preload time.

A sup doesn't need to be in my work area doing my work. I am not helping their numbers by hurting myself.
You work morning, or evening? I’m twilight shift - and again I’m loading tractor trailers, not package cars. In my area, there is no “oh, drivers are here? Sweet - I’m out!” Our work doesn’t stop until the belts stop. Usually that’s around 9:45 ish, but then there have been times where we’ve worked until almost midnight. The trailers we load aren’t due to be pulled until after midnight.
 

Elmo.goes.to.prom

Well-Known Member
You work morning, or evening? I’m twilight shift - and again I’m loading tractor trailers, not package cars. In my area, there is no “oh, drivers are here? Sweet - I’m out!” Our work doesn’t stop until the belts stop. Usually that’s around 9:45 ish, but then there have been times where we’ve worked until almost midnight. The trailers we load aren’t due to be pulled until after midnight.

I was unaware you worked twilight.
I work preload.
I never say: my drivers are here - sweet I'm out. I actually hate leaving my trucks unfinished.
At 9 I leave and do hazmat responder crap.
 

22.34life

Well-Known Member
Our building has MASS amounts of supervisors working. I'm talking 100+ hours of straight work a day. They load, unload, set up work areas, intimidate members, etc.

My steward told me it was an unwritten agreement that during "low staff months" supervisors can work. I was told not to file by 2 stewards. I was also told to not file on a supervisor that attempted to intimidate me when I asked him why he was stealing my work (I shut a belt off, he started moving packages from it), they refused to have a steward come over when I requested it.
Local 406.
if that's true then u should report those stewards to ur local president.
 

RealPerson

Well-Known Member
Happens at my location daily. It's a catch 22 though. On one hand, don't want them taking union work. I get that. On the other, when things are going to hell (multiple doors jammed with packages, belts jamming up, etc), it's nice to have a sup that will jump into the trenches and help you get caught up. I know, I know - let things go to hell and force them to hire more people. That's all well and good - but not very realistic. The amount of turnover we see....I've been told our location has been understaffed for close to a year. So, the "they should hire more people" mentality doesn't do jack squat for you when packages are falling off the roller line due to the roller line being overloaded. Ironically in our building the sups seem to be more dependable (aka show up for work every day, lend a hand when needed, etc) than the folks that load the trucks (I'm in an area where we load tractor trailers every evening).

They need to hire more people that will pay into the Pension... Do you plan on retiring from UPS??? If so, need more people working that has more being paid in by the company.

Also, you should get more hours..... If it is that bad, start times need moved up, so the packages can be processed correctly...

I know dreams, but there is truth to this, and will work if you file.
 

Justaloader

Well-Known Member
They need to hire more people that will pay into the Pension... Do you plan on retiring from UPS??? If so, need more people working that has more being paid in by the company.

Also, you should get more hours..... If it is that bad, start times need moved up, so the packages can be processed correctly...

I know dreams, but there is truth to this, and will work if you file.

Can't file - I'm not union. Do I plan on retiring? No. This is a second job - only doing it because I had an immediate need for additional income, and UPS was the only one that offered hours that allow me work there as well as my day job. I don't really have a game plan in regards to how long I'll be here....as once my debts are paid off and my rainy day fund is restored - I really have no reason to stay. I'd really like to move into the corporate side of things (I'm an insurance specialist by day, handling Auto claims. I think it's reasonable to presume with the amount of vehicles UPS has that there is a Fleet team, Insurance / Risk team, etc). If an opportunity like that presents itself, then, yes....I may retire from UPS, although I'm not sure if those corporate positions are union (I doubt it).
 
Top