Sups working during peak season?

[Justaperson]

I'm a sorter on the midnight shift at my local hub going on 6 years early next year. This peak season I've encountered a problem and need some advice. For some reason most of our seasonal hires for peak season have been promoted to part time sups literally days after gaining seniority. This has created a situation where we do not have adequate staffing and instead have 7 or so part time sups for a 4 section sort aisle that normally only has 2 part time sups. We also are not getting many people to double because of absurdly early start times for the twilight shift, so those very same newly promoted part time sups are being used as sorters. I try my best to ignore it but when you're working side by side with not one, not two, but THREE supervisors, its unbearable. I've talked to a shop steward about it and because of the insufficient staffing and the number of doublers we're not getting during peak season, the full time sups hands are tied and the steward is skiddish about fighting it. I don't buy that explanation, because this is a problem of UPS's own making and I don't think the rules about sups working is suspended just because it is peak season. Can I file on these working sups?

 

[PiedmontSteward]

The company has a contractual obligation to exhaust all reasonable remedies for staffing with bargaining unit members (hiring seasonals, working people for an hour or two into the next shift, double shifting, etc.). If every part-timer is being offered this work either verbally or through the doubles/extra work list and it's being turned down, UPS can use supervisors.

 

[RealPerson]

I Blame UPS AND the Union.
You see several centers saying the same thing. People Wont Double shift, and can't hire enough people.
My Building I see several Tours a week, but what we do not know, is are they Not hiring these people, or the people saying Get Lost...
It is a Built in way to work the Supervisors.
We have several Sups working this entire week, because of staffing. They work well below the Min amount of people, hire a few for Peak, but most are layed off except a couple days of the week. Why would you keep working there. Then Bang this week we need them all.
I blame the Union -- This New Starting Wage is just pathetic. People were out in the Street today wanting $15 an hour for making a Burger. Lots of the new Sporting Stores where I live start at $9-$10 an hour.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Do you think the sups really want to work? No, they would much rather be doing what they were hired to do, but the work needs to get done and if there is insufficient staffing, for whatever reason, the sups need to step in and help get the work done. You need to focus on your own work.

You are right in that the starting wage needs to be addressed.

 

[upschuck]

Nothing different here....there is never enough staffing, hence sups work

 

[Nimnim]

At least this week on my shift my sorts PT sups aren't working on my shift, but we're working all the doubles we can. It can be hard to get enough people to work a double from the shift before mine when they started at 3 pm and my shift is starting at 10:40, so after exhausting the pters who want to double they ask the pt sups from the shift before if they want to work for extra money. It's the same with the shift before me, there's sups working there but they're calling every hourly they can to come work and if they need more the sups do it. The volume this year is higher than I figured it'd be, but I've seen increased new hires consistently for the past 2 months so management is hiring, but if people don't show up to work and they can't get enough doubles they've done their due diligence to comply with the contract.

 

[oldngray]

Nothing different here....there is never enough staffing, hence sups work

That is the plan. UPS won't hire as many people as they need so use that as an excuse to work sups. Happens every year.

 

[ul7r05]

It sounds like this has been an on-going, pointless issue for years. File the grieveance and get it over with. By reading your situation, you already talk to a Union Steward about it. I mean it's clear you don't like what's going on, thus taking the initial steps on fighting it. By the way, your Union Steward is a horrible representative. Anybody who is "skiddish" about anything shouldn't be representing a Union. You need a representative who is understanding, yet a realist. Information and support should not be of question/doubt with a Union Steward. If it is, (which in this case it's obvious he doens't know what to do) then his/her integrity must be questioned as well.

 

[8Keys]

What is the harm here? Every union employee is working probably more hours than he wants. If someone isn't getting the chance to double shift that is another story. Hypothetically if the company could get more seasonal hires, what benefit is that to the union or to you personally? Those would be people who would be abused for a few weeks at $8.50 and then laid off. They would never be union employees. Supervisors can be coerced into double shifting because they don't have the rights and protections of the union, hence they are available to work. Seems like they should be the upset ones instead of us.

 

[Bubblehead]

Supervisors aren't to forward packages or preform bargaining unit work, period.
If it is happening daily, then they are understaffed.
The harm is that whether seasonal or seniority, these workers pay dues, while supervisors do not.
Secondly, it's a mindset that these supervisors get into when they are allowed to do our work.
They are understaffed by design to manufacture artificial numbers to make themselves look better on paper.
If it goes unchecked, it will never end and nobody will be hired on permanently.
Grieve this practice every day and it will shoot a hole in the "we exhausted every resource" argument and they will be forced to hire more employees as well as you will win some extra money in a grievance settlements.

 

[Bubblehead]

Do you think the sups really want to work? No, they would much rather be doing what they were hired to do, but the work needs to get done and if there is insufficient staffing, for whatever reason, the sups need to step in and help get the work done. You need to focus on your own work.

You are right in that the starting wage needs to be addressed.

Who are you to tell people what to worry about?

 

[oldngray]

The PT sups don't WANT to do all of that work but are forced to do it by higher ups in management. They are just slave labor/pond scum in the corporate eye but their own fault for putting that tie on.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

The PT sups don't WANT to do all of that work but are forced to do it by higher ups in management. They are just slave labor/pond scum in the corporate eye but their own fault for putting that tie on.

In this area, no one in "ties" is getting their hands dirty. It's the polo-wearing , unthinking zombie kids who run around the building, trying to be heroes.

 

[Catatonic]

In this area, no one in "ties" is getting their hands dirty. It's the polo-wearing , unthinking zombie kids who run around the building, trying to be heroes.

Management wears ties?

 

[Ouch]

Another example. In our building we would have a on car sup running air that was left in the bldg. That happened a little while till we figured it out. I filed on it for about a week. They ended up putting another air driver on. If you dont stop them their will never be advancement for the part time loaders or unloaders wanting the extra money or hours.

 

[Future]

What is the harm here? Every union employee is working probably more hours than he wants. If someone isn't getting the chance to double shift that is another story. Hypothetically if the company could get more seasonal hires, what benefit is that to the union or to you personally? Those would be people who would be abused for a few weeks at $8.50 and then laid off. They would never be union employees. Supervisors can be coerced into double shifting because they don't have the rights and protections of the union, hence they are available to work. Seems like they should be the upset ones instead of us.

Hmmmmmm..... let me have another beer and i will think about this statement.

 

[BMWMC]

The company has a contractual obligation to exhaust all reasonable remedies for staffing with bargaining unit members (hiring seasonals, working people for an hour or two into the next shift, double shifting, etc.). If every part-timer is being offered this work either verbally or through the doubles/extra work list and it's being turned down, UPS can use supervisors.

Some of us on the call in list are getting passed over for supervisors. They want us out delivering package not working preload. I rather do preload/drive.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Some of us on the call in list are getting passed over for supervisors. They want us out delivering package not working preload. I rather do preload/drive.

If you work the preload for 6 hour you would only be able to drive for 6. It makes much more sense to have you available for 12 hours of driving.

 

[PT Car Washer]

You still have your obligation to your preload job. More importantly to your preload manager. Unless the center manager and preload manager come to an agreement on your job priorities. Easy for me as my car washer manager is also the Center Manager.

 

[Bubblehead]

Come on people, keep your eye on the ball!!!
We are talking about part time supervisors, sorting regularly on the Midnight Sort.
Aside from isolated incidences, it is unacceptable.