What would you do?

[sailfish]

Pros outweigh the cons to me. A 40 minute commute would melt anyway, if you load your own you know where everything is, you have the route you like, and don't have to deal with any of the usual center nonsense.

 

[scooby0048]

When we got to this part the union told the company men to go out in the hall

We as drivers decided with input from the BA we could either make it a stand alone center or still be attached to the old center
We decide to stay attached

How are they going to cover vacations? If they’re from the old center you might have an angle ( if you can get union to back you up)

See, that's why I wish we could find something in the contract or old MOUs or past practice agreements concerning this. The union and company claims it will be a standalone center. Sounds good but we will get vacation coverage from the current building as we do for the current satellite. The current satellite has the same SLIC number, same budget, vacations covered from us, mechanics from our building cover the repairs and costs for the satellite, and the volume gets delivered by a driver in this building to the satellite center and he runs his route back to the building.

The only difference is that the satellite is 60 miles away from this building we work out of now. The new satellite will combine those routes and a few more.

The joker in all of this is the lifetime bid.

I know. That really sucks for anyone wanting a route or change of scenery. Because we are a small center with less than 40 routes, most guys get a route and stay on it. There are guys who waited for routes for 10+ years. I got lucky as there was another higher seniority driver who wanted mine but due to medical issues could not return to take the bid so I won it. Now you see why I'm having this dilemma.

 

[old levi's]

See, that's why I wish we could find something in the contract or old MOUs or past practice agreements concerning this. The union and company claims it will be a standalone center. Sounds good but we will get vacation coverage from the current building as we do for the current satellite. The current satellite has the same SLIC number, same budget, vacations covered from us, mechanics from our building cover the repairs and costs for the satellite, and the volume gets delivered by a driver in this building to the satellite center and he runs his route back to the building.

The only difference is that the satellite is 60 miles away from this building we work out of now. The new satellite will combine those routes and a few more.


I know. That really sucks for anyone wanting a route or change of scenery. Because we are a small center with less than 40 routes, most guys get a route and stay on it. There are guys who waited for routes for 10+ years. I got lucky as there was another higher seniority driver who wanted mine but due to medical issues could not return to take the bid so I won it. Now you see why I'm having this dilemma.

I was 54 when I got my first bid route.

 

[scooby0048]

I was 54 when I got my first bid route.

One word...

friend*

 

[scooby0048]

I was 54 when I got my first bid route.

I thought I read somewhere on here you had 30 years or so? I can't imagine being a swing driver for that long.

 

[old levi's]

One word...

friend*

hired at 31

12 years on preload

10 years swing driving

retired at 64

now UPS and CS and the gubment pay me to go camping

it's all good!

 

[quad decade guy]

You got 40 years ?

Right....

Nope. Never. Tough guy....This for life that for life. No such thing. Tough guy.

Say shouldn't you be out saving someones job? Or I mean choosing who you help based on bias?

 

[quad decade guy]

Ask him about his retirement plan..

What about it? All in place just adding a cool million to it. Tough guy.

 

[quad decade guy]

It's a plane and a corvette.

Nope. Just toys.....

We have great healthcare. Try some counseling for that jealousy.....it's a disease ya know....a real negative.

BTW, you can't be a pilot if you take depression meds......ah heck....you couldn't afford it anyway.....try video games...or build model airplanes....at least you could make noises and pretend.

 

[barnyard]

My route moved to another building several years ago. I did not follow it. I would have had the same commute until we moved (If I followed it, we would have moved either to live on my route or to a town close to where my route moved.)

I regret not following it every day.

 

[burrheadd]

Nope. Never. Tough guy....This for life that for life. No such thing. Tough guy.

Say shouldn't you be out saving someones job? Or I mean choosing who you help based on bias?

You seem particularly wound up today

What seems to be the problem

 

[burrheadd]

What about it? All in place just adding a cool million to it. Tough guy.

Wow a few months ago you had no idea about a retirement plan

Good job I guess

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Wow a few months ago you had no idea about a retirement plan

Good job I guess

I guess all those games stopped shares he bought paid off....

 

[zubenelgenubi]

Some guys like the chaos of being a swing driver seeing a different route every day. I don't. I like to have discipline and order in my day. Boring I know but I am a creature of habit and structure. At the new satellite, I will have the highest seniority. In our building now, there are only a few bid coverage drivers the rest get thrown in and on whatever route is available. One day you might have 30 stops and 300 miles and another day you might have 300 stops and 3 miles. The guys at the other satellite center do have some friend* up days.

I second that about the routine. It can get boring sometimes, but I prefer that to the alternative. I would follow my route for sure. Not having management around all the time is a bonus.

 

[ManInBrown]

Let me just add this, about five years ago UPS opened a new building about 40 minutes away from the one I did package. The plan was eventually to move certain package routes from two different buildings, to this new building. It was feeder only when it first opened. So the first peak it was open they moved about ten package routes from my building, to this building. Just for peak. Eventually year round was the plan. All the drivers followed the work. They had to load their own trucks. All ten said it was the worst experience they ever had at UPS. They said it was a nightmare. The time loading the truck doesn’t count towards drive time. They were working till 11pm-midnight every night. And this was a building. Not a pop up. They had shelter, bathroom, everything. Clearly not the same situation as what the OP would be dealing with, but I would definitely find out if load time doesn’t count towards drive time. Because even if you worked till 11pm. i Don’t know how the ten hours off rule works when you’re not driving at the beginning of the shift. I’m almost 100% positive the package drivers where I am started at normal time even though they worked till 11pm. Does the ten hour rule count, if you‘re loading and not driving at the beginning of the shift? The ten hours might not kick in until you start driving.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Let me just add this, about five years ago UPS opened a new building about 40 minutes away from the one I did package. The plan was eventually to move certain package routes from two different buildings, to this new building. It was feeder only when it first opened. So the first peak it was open they moved about ten package routes from my building, to this building. Just for peak. Eventually year round was the plan. All the drivers followed the work. They had to load their own trucks. All ten said it was the worst experience they ever had at UPS. They said it was a nightmare. The time loading the truck doesn’t count towards drive time. They were working till 11pm-midnight every night. And this was a building. Not a pop up. They had shelter, bathroom, everything. Clearly not the same situation as what the OP would be dealing with, but I would definitely find out if load time doesn’t count towards drive time. Because even if you worked till 11pm. i Don’t know how the ten hours off rule works when you’re not driving at the beginning of the shift. I’m almost 100% positive the package drivers where I am started at normal time even though they worked till 11pm. Does the ten hour rule count, if you‘re loading and not driving at the beginning of the shift? The ten hours might not kick in until you start driving.

Loading still counrs towards your 60 hours

 

[zubenelgenubi]

Let me just add this, about five years ago UPS opened a new building about 40 minutes away from the one I did package. The plan was eventually to move certain package routes from two different buildings, to this new building. It was feeder only when it first opened. So the first peak it was open they moved about ten package routes from my building, to this building. Just for peak. Eventually year round was the plan. All the drivers followed the work. They had to load their own trucks. All ten said it was the worst experience they ever had at UPS. They said it was a nightmare. The time loading the truck doesn’t count towards drive time. They were working till 11pm-midnight every night. And this was a building. Not a pop up. They had shelter, bathroom, everything. Clearly not the same situation as what the OP would be dealing with, but I would definitely find out if load time doesn’t count towards drive time. Because even if you worked till 11pm. i Don’t know how the ten hours off rule works when you’re not driving at the beginning of the shift. I’m almost 100% positive the package drivers where I am started at normal time even though they worked till 11pm. Does the ten hour rule count, if you‘re loading and not driving at the beginning of the shift? The ten hours might not kick in until you start driving.

You have to have 10 hours off of work, period, before you can drive again.

 

[clean hairy]

Our building is creating a new satellite center by moving several routes to one centralized area. Some are following the work and will have to commute 30-40 minutes to the new satellite. Some are not, and staying at the current building going back into the cover / swing pool. My country route is one that is also being moved. I will also have the commute now if I keep the route. Once we go with the work, we will no longer be able to go back to the building we are in now and will not be able to bid any job here or leave our route(s) unless we terminate and start over.

Pros:
Will still have my own country route
Own truck still
Know where I will be everyday and not part of the swing pool running 300 stops or 30 stops
Won't have to deal with the BS at the current center as there will only be a few of us at the satellite
Will have the highest seniority at new satellite


Cons:
Will have to commute 30-40 minutes
Will have to load own truck
Bids are for life so no hope of getting another route
Possibly later start time
Would no longer be able to bid routes / jobs at current center

One other benefit is that you will not have a pre loader messing up the way the truck is loaded, it will be just the way you want it set up.

 

[DriverNerd]

I had a route for about seven years that moved to a new hub and I did not follow it. I didn't want the extra driving (off the clock). I became a utility driver and though I work more hours now, the extra time I spend at work I'm making money, not driving home for free. I miss my old route (the easy-ness of knowing every address in the dark) but don't regret it. It still takes me 16 minutes to get to work/home.

 

[Analbumcover]

If it was me, I wouldn’t follow the work. I’d vacate the route and hope something in the building opens up. You said you have a lot of seniority. So you’ll be close to top cover. Like someone else said you’ll be dealing with all types of BS every day. Misloads. Delays. Package car issues. No way. I’d stay at the building.

On the bright side, our satellite drivers run out of DOT hours faster than anyone else during peak. We had a guy this past peak who HAD to clock out by 1pm on a Friday since he was out of hours. We weren't running on Sundays so he got an extended weekend. They had some cover driver cover him on Saturday.