Why cover drivers?

S

Swinger

Guest
I guess I still don't get it. What is the purpose of cover drivers? It seems if they were really supposed to work the staggered schedules that the contract specifies then you wouldn't have three or four per center (as is the case in my hub). Shouldn't that many cover drivers equate to a FT driver? It's frustrating when these guys make so much more (I am not topped out yet) and get used just as much and for the same purpose as swings even though I have more seniority. Let them run shags and leave the FT hours for the full timers!
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
what does swings and shags mean?

sorry, iam a noob
swing or cover or utility drivers are all about the same thing. They cover a route that the regular driver is not doing. IE vacation, disability. Shags could be bulk stops that won't fit on the regular rte, or a stop that is way out and the regular driver can't get to and meet commit times.
 

PassYouBy

Unknown Acrobat
Plus, I/We are the guys/gals that take the 20-30 stops off of some drivers to "help" them out. I usually get enough stops off of 3-5 drivers to make more stops in a day than they make! Plus I don't get the convenience of running the same route EVERYDAY!

center manager to me--- "Hey when you get done with those go get 20 more stops off of "JOE" he needs help!"

I find it funny "Joe" is in 1 hr. before me and probably eating supper at home by the time I pull into the center after doing his 20 stops he gave me!

No biggie, Ill just do it again tomorrow!

Next day...."Swinger" called in AGAIN, so your going to have to run his route today!
 

Griff

Well-Known Member
Plus, I/We are the guys/gals that take the 20-30 stops off of some drivers to "help" them out. I usually get enough stops off of 3-5 drivers to make more stops in a day than they make! Plus I don't get the convenience of running the same route EVERYDAY!

center manager to me--- "Hey when you get done with those go get 20 more stops off of "JOE" he needs help!"

I find it funny "Joe" is in 1 hr. before me and probably eating supper at home by the time I pull into the center after doing his 20 stops he gave me!

No biggie, Ill just do it again tomorrow!

Next day...."Swinger" called in AGAIN, so your going to have to run his route today!

You really have a long way to go. Some people "get it" when they start driving and you clearly don't get it.
 
I guess I still don't get it. What is the purpose of cover drivers? It seems if they were really supposed to work the staggered schedules that the contract specifies then you wouldn't have three or four per center (as is the case in my hub). Shouldn't that many cover drivers equate to a FT driver? It's frustrating when these guys make so much more (I am not topped out yet) and get used just as much and for the same purpose as swings even though I have more seniority. Let them run shags and leave the FT hours for the full timers!
To begin to give you the answer I must define what a cover driver is in my neck of the woods. A cover driver is a P/Ter that has a P/T job in preload, unload etc. Originally their main function was to cover for drivers calling in for sickness and worker's comp. Not for vacation coverage, not for planned days off, just illness/injury. Then the company started fudging on the language to allow them to cover of any other reason. The reason the company wanted P/T cover drivers was to cut down on the number of friend/T "swing drivers" that they had to maintain to make sure they had enough personnel to get all the routes on the road. The P/Ter doesn't make as much per hour, their benefits are not as expensive and it is easier to move them from a route back to preload and visa versa.
The contract states how many friend/T drivers must be maintained based on how many routes are on road on average. I'm not sure as to the numbers of how they figure the average ( I'm pretty sure it's not a by day average). TIeguy or UPS Lifer could probably shed more light on that part.

I take it from your post ( I truly hate reading between the lines) that you are a new friend/T driver making less than P/T cover drivers that have been doing it longer. The full time driver trumps a P/Ter's seniority.
Hope this helps.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
trplnkl is the first to finally get this right. It used to be, a FT "Unassigned" or Swingdriver covered drivers out on vacation, injuries, and a certain number of routes. The "Cover Driver" is a PT position created around the early 90s. Originally a PT like a Preloader would be trained to run three routes to cover vacations and injured drivers. UPS saves money by paying a lesser rate of pay and not putting money into a full timer's pension fund. At the time of the '97 Strike. I was actually wondering if the FT drivers were slowly being replaced by PT Coverdrivers, we were getting so many. It has never seemed fair to me that a person is working 45-50 hours a week doing the exact same job as me and getting paid less. I bid straight out of the Hub into a Bid Route and have been on one since 1984. To me, this is another example of how bad language in the contract is abused.
 

HEFFERNAN

Huge Member
Well, Up here in the NorthEast
A cover driver is a full-time driver who isnt bid to a specific route
There are at least 10 cover drivers at each center in my building that cover vacations, sick days, personal days, and extra splits
Usually they are low seniority FT drivers or senior guys that don't like doing the same route every day
Besides air-driver, no PT delivers a package

And to answer the question, " I get It "
I've been driving for over 8 years and been an employee since '95
You can read my comments under the title "milkers"
 

Cementups

Box Monkey
Since when don't PT cover drivers get paid the same as the FT drivers. Onceyou make progression we all make the same. PT are just not gauranteed 40/week.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
A cover driver is new to our area this contract. Also breaking up the optional week into 5 option days is new. The place is already a circus, can't wait to see them plan for a potential 250 more days off a year.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
Just to make things clear....in some of the posts when someone says "cover driver" they are actually talking about "TCDs" or "Temporary Cover Driver." They are the part-timers that cover for excess vacations and call ins. The problem is that UPS started using them to as supplemental drivers and many were/are working full-time hours. A good steward and management team can have more full-time drivers added if that is going on. It happened in my area. Many of us (not just in my center but the district as a whole) were racking up 40+ hour work weeks as TCDs so allot of us have have slowly but surely been upgraded to full-time over the past 3 years. UPS will continue to use them as supplemental drivers until someone, mainly the stewards, steps up and presses the issue for more full-timers to be added. It's quite simple really...if you have part-timers averaging over 40 hours a week throughout the year then they probably should be full-time. It would seem that UPS "wants their cake and wants to eat it too."
 

Griff

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry Griff. In no way am I trying to be rude, but what is it that I don't get?:confused2:

P.S Don't want to start a war now! :)

Your plight of having to help people all the time. It's your own fault that you're labeled as the go-to-guy by your local management team. I could speculate as to why, but I think you already know why. The fact you have HEFFERNAN's attention, a supervisor turned driver who doesn't even know what a grievance form looks like, should be a major clue.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
So why doesn't our union say in the contract any cover driver working more than 3 days in a week shall immediately gain full time seniority or something to that effect?
 

PassYouBy

Unknown Acrobat
Your plight of having to help people all the time. It's your own fault that you're labeled as the go-to-guy by your local management team. I could speculate as to why, but I think you already know why. The fact you have HEFFERNAN's attention, a supervisor turned driver who doesn't even know what a grievance form looks like, should be a major clue.

Griff, I'm glad you and I go so far back that you know me that well.{Sarcasm}

For some bizarre reason you seem to think that I work hard because I want to impress my management team! (I work hard because I have a family I have to take care of.)

What is your speculation as to why I want to be the "Go-To-Guy"?

HEFFERNAN has nothing to do with this, and why would you even bring that up? Whatever happened between you and HEFFERNAN is between the both of you. (Im not going to scour around in past posts to figure out why you brought HEFFERNAN into this!)
 
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