Women preloaders...

Pink Belt

New Member
I’ve got a management problem/ question…

I work on a preload and I’m in charge of all the bulk stops in our building. Just so we’re all on the same page bulk stops are accounts like Amazon and the GAP; accounts that sometimes fill up a trailer but are all one stop. Basically, the five people on my belt load these trailers like HUB loads.

My problem is, I was given a new hire a few months ago to replace someone who quit. The new hire is a woman and she has a very difficult time doing the job. I tried to disqualify her for not being able to do the job, but my manager said “we can’t have the turnover, make her successful.” I’ve been working with her but she still is a drag on the whole belt. I also have the added problem of the other guys on the belt getting angry at me for making them pick up her slack with Irregs and stuff.

Any suggestions? Union people, have this ever happened to you? Is there something in the contract that I can use to move her away from my area?



P.S. This is my first post!
 

Fnix

Well-Known Member
I dont see why you cant just give her to Small sort or Data Acquisition. Trade up for someone. Or just put her somewhere else after you find a new hire who can do it. What is she doing thats hindering production?


Or do the management route: Make her quit by making the job a living hell?
 

Pink Belt

New Member
I dont see why you cant just give her to Small sort or Data Acquisition. Trade up for someone. Or just put her somewhere else after you find a new hire who can do it. What is she doing thats hindering production?


Or do the management route: Make her quit by making the job a living hell?

The major problem is she works sooooo slow. And because she works slow her slides are always backed up. I have to send someone over to help her everyday. Then toward the end of the night she can't do her own bulk so someone has to do that too.

My manager is kind of a maroon the first thing he said was "we're not putting her in small sort." She had to go to my boss. My boss feels my pain, but says that in my area she'll do the least amount of damage.

Its not in my nature to make someone's life a living hell. With that being said she has already cried on me. I was telling her that she needs to put it in another gear and move faster and she cried. I felt bad, so I left and told someone to help her.
 

Mapp

Choo Choo
I don't think the issue is she is a woman, the best worker I have is a woman. Unfortunately we also have another who loads some of lightest cars but can't keep up. She should have never gained seniority, is she late? Call of sick alot? just document everything.
 

HazMatMan

Well-Known Member
I’ve got a management problem/ question…

I work on a preload and I’m in charge of all the bulk stops in our building. Just so we’re all on the same page bulk stops are accounts like Amazon and the GAP; accounts that sometimes fill up a trailer but are all one stop. Basically, the five people on my belt load these trailers like HUB loads.

My problem is, I was given a new hire a few months ago to replace someone who quit. The new hire is a woman and she has a very difficult time doing the job. I tried to disqualify her for not being able to do the job, but my manager said “we can’t have the turnover, make her successful.” I’ve been working with her but she still is a drag on the whole belt. I also have the added problem of the other guys on the belt getting angry at me for making them pick up her slack with Irregs and stuff.

Any suggestions? Union people, have this ever happened to you? Is there something in the contract that I can use to move her away from my area?



P.S. This is my first post!
Sorry, there is your 1st problem right there, she is NOT qualified to perform the job and therefore should have been let go... That's the whole purpose of the probationary period...So what was written in her training pack?? that she is doing a good job?? lies, lies....
 

UPS Lifer

Well-Known Member
Pink Belt,

There is no easy fix for this....

Ask for help from your IE rep. If your manager does not want to utilize this person's abilities properly than you have a job to do....Your job is to provide your boss with the information that will staff your belt properly.

First, I would have a sit down with the employee and tell her that the job is not going to get any easier and that the entire belt is being brought down because of it. Explain that she will have to prove herself here. She is going to be under the gun every working day. Is she up for that? Paint the picture ... this will show you how serious she is about making this job work.

You will need to work with her - document the training and do hourly piece counts to establish a PPH for her best demonstrated performance. You will probably find out at the end of the night that she will drop off dramatically in PPH because of fatigue.

Put together a presentation that shows the belt's PPH and what your expected FPH is ...get IE to help with this. The idea is to show your bosses what you need to be successful in running your belt. It sounds like you need another person because she can't cut it. You need to justify the addition of a person. You do that by showing the FPH and the PPH of the individuals in the area divide that number into the volume you get every day and that will tell you what the staffing should be for that area.

If you are not going to get the staffing than it is a plan to fail. If your bosses don't support you ask them to show you how to do it and document everything that happens from this point forward. If you don't rock the boat nothing will change.

I had an air operation and the boxes are lighter...to fill the quota of women I got more than the fair share of women that were hired. You can't put them all in the small sort. You learn to have a buddy system and pair them up with your best people. Sell your people on the right thing to do which is to help these women be successful.

Good Luck...
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Employees like this women always pissed me off. I don't care if it is a man or a women - if they ain't doing their fair share of the work and some other employee is forced to pick up their slack there should be away to get rid of them. Everyone can have an off day but if she is nothing but a continuous boat anchor get rid of her. If she crys easily it shouldn't be too much of a problem. :soapbox: Friggin slackers
 
W

westsideworma

Guest
“we can’t have the turnover, make her successful.”

haha I've heard our manager use that very line...must be a company canned response

I haven't had this problem yet as a supe. I've got a kid that misloads...but hes been doing much better. He hustles his butt off, just has to make sure he's putting them in the right cars as he does it. I think with time and some refining he'll make it. However in your case it doesn't sound like thats ever gonna happen. I'd suggest something but UPS Lifer suggested what is probably the best course of action already...no wonder he was a manager ;-)
 

magoo57

Well-Known Member
Pinky and the belt:
As I have done both the load as well as the preload for more years than i care to remember, let me ask you some questions:
FIRST, What is she doing wrong? Is it purely a production number? Too many misloads? Does she need help on too many 50-70 lb. packages? Let's get specific.
SECOND, What is she doing right? As the training management video states, catch the person doing something right and compliment the person on this. Your boss is showing great ethics in trying to convert this lady into a productive worker. Not all managers have such scruples and would try to pawn off mistakes. Besides, it is illegal to place all the women in one position such as small sort.
THIRD, Is she ready for work? I once had to try to train a female loader who had 2 inch long 'done' nails. She didn't last a week. Does she stretch? Does she know her numbers from the day before? Has she given you a verbal committment to improve one tiny thing in today's performance from yesterday's?
FOURTH,Are you controlling when the cavalry comes riding in to save the day?Can she stay afloat 15 more minutes today than yesterday?
Lastly,ARE YOU PREPARED TO TAKE OWNERSHIP AS HER SUPERVISOR? Are you willing to start saying"She is one of MYpeople and by God, I will stand behind her and support her---and NOT try to pawn her off to another department"?
So who am I to ask you this? I once had the belt that the DM looked up the figures and he told me-At the time I had the highest percentage of single mothers working on a belt in the entire southeast. My ladies had such high production numbers that everyone in all shifts in my state were fighting for second place. And I once had a short, frumpy, over-weight ,middle-aged lady who was my preloader and several times she wanted to quit. I never told her anything but how proud I was to have her and how she did one more thing right, that she lasted 20 more minutes before the flow wallopped her.She ended up being a monster preloader until....
she became a preload supervisor.
I don't just do sermons. Email me for specific details that might help you and her.
 

dillweed

Well-Known Member
Pink Belt,

...First, I would have a sit down with the employee and tell her that the job is not going to get any easier and that the entire belt is being brought down because of it. Explain that she will have to prove herself here. She is going to be under the gun every working day. Is she up for that? Paint the picture ... this will show you how serious she is about making this job work...

lifer, I understand that your job is to bring in the numbers and most of your post made sense but the suggestion quoted above sounds like threatening harassment. This type of management is an attempt to break people down and may just result in a sullen, grievance-happy employee. May also result in losing a potentially great employee and those are hard to come by.

This young woman was hired by human resources and they have eyes. Should have noticed that she wasn't built like a 20-year-old body builder. She deserves to be treated dignity and respect, same as all.

Pink Belt doesn't sound like a nasty person, just wants upper management off his butt. Your suggestion of using the numbers to prove you need another person is a good one. Let management deal with management and please don't trample the hourlies.

To Pink Belt - It's my understanding that there are no part time bid jobs on the preload. We have to work wherever we're told, although they try to put us where we will be most productive. We can be moved from job to job as needed so maybe you can find a more appropriate spot for her and, hopefully, get someone who can keep up. I do feel your pain. I can hear the center manager yelling at our pt sups over the radio every day. Hang in there, balance it as best you can and don't take anything at UPS to heart.
 

supercool

Well-Known Member
Some people just can't cut it at this job. It IS physically demanding, and not everyone can do it!

Magoo, complimenting her for doing something right might boost her self esteem a little, but there still is a job that has to get done. Sure, some people start off slow and blossom into great workers, but in the meantime she sounds like she's an anchor weighing down everyone else. Every few months we'll get a new hire who comes in and can't lift the 50 pound boxes, works slow, etc. It's not a pleasure for me and my coworkers to assist these people. Why should we all be getting paid the same to do more work? It sounds like Pink Belt's worker has good intentions (crying when getting talked to indicates she cares about this), but this may not be the job for her. There are other jobs in the building which would be less physically demanding for her to do. Maybe in time she can come back and try this one, but as it stands it sounds like she is a burden on her supervisor and peers and should be moved to an area where she can perform adequately. She's been at the job a few months now according to Pink Belt's post, and it seems to me that she still hasn't improved enough to justify her being there. A lot of morale problems can stem from having to pick up someone else's dead weight. If someone's really trying and showing improvement, that's one thing, but this woman sounds like she's plateaued and should probably be moved somewhere else. Is moving her to another area considered turnover?

As a side note, the people I respect the most at work are the women who outperform men on a daily basis. There's something almost sexy about a woman with a good work ethic.
 

magoo57

Well-Known Member
So what is Pinky's and his boss suppossed to do, Supercool? It is just as illegal to stack the small sort will nothing but women as it would be to stack it with only one ethnicity. Pinky's boss and shift will not get cooperation if the other parts of the operation think that they are getting screwed by Pink belt. And if the word gets out that Pinky is trying to push a female out the front gate, katie bar the door!
Pinky, that 'one more thing right' is not just for morale...that is ammo against your boss. A month from now you are going to called into his office and explain why the numbers are in the toilet. You are going to have to show him that you are getting some improvement from this young lady.
Now all this could go away if you ask the shop steward to greive you. It's a risky tactic, but it gets the boss' attention without your fingerprints being on the push of the girl off your belt. (It works. Ask me how I know). Other than that ,you will have to be content in small, incremental increases.
 

paidslave

Well-Known Member
I’ve got a management problem/ question…

I work on a preload and I’m in charge of all the bulk stops in our building. Just so we’re all on the same page bulk stops are accounts like Amazon and the GAP; accounts that sometimes fill up a trailer but are all one stop. Basically, the five people on my belt load these trailers like HUB loads.

My problem is, I was given a new hire a few months ago to replace someone who quit. The new hire is a woman and she has a very difficult time doing the job. I tried to disqualify her for not being able to do the job, but my manager said “we can’t have the turnover, make her successful.” I’ve been working with her but she still is a drag on the whole belt. I also have the added problem of the other guys on the belt getting angry at me for making them pick up her slack with Irregs and stuff.

Any suggestions? Union people, have this ever happened to you? Is there something in the contract that I can use to move her away from my area?



P.S. This is my first post!


She is a women....Don't you get it...Tell your manager that she is a women...A women is not as strong as a man and you don't want to disqualify her for being a women..Grow a gland and let her keep her job!

Bringing down the whole building? This is the most rediculous post I have read by a supervisor!

IE has the numbers for a man doing this job and the numbers are not adding up on your watch!

Instead of her loading 3 or 4 trucks in the am have her do 2...Not very difficult math here!

Everyones capacity is not the same....Some do less some do more......

You can't always have doing more!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have her be a quality loader..you know the ones that can read what truck the package belongs too! :biting:
 

hondo

promoted to mediocrity
....Then toward the end of the night she can't do her own bulk so someone has to do that too.....
No one should be doing their own bulk by themselves. This is an excellent opportunity for you to develop a team(work) atmosphere by having an appropriate # of employees handling over 70's, irregs, (let's minimize damages and potential for injury, please!) and have them stay on top of it throughout the preload sort.
 

paidslave

Well-Known Member
Employees like this women always pissed me off. I don't care if it is a man or a women - if they ain't doing their fair share of the work and some other employee is forced to pick up their slack there should be away to get rid of them. Everyone can have an off day but if she is nothing but a continuous boat anchor get rid of her. If she crys easily it shouldn't be too much of a problem. :soapbox: Friggin slackers

Hey Rod Was is there fair share what you say or IE?
 

supercool

Well-Known Member
So what is Pinky's and his boss suppossed to do, Supercool? It is just as illegal to stack the small sort will nothing but women as it would be to stack it with only one ethnicity. Pinky's boss and shift will not get cooperation if the other parts of the operation think that they are getting screwed by Pink belt. And if the word gets out that Pinky is trying to push a female out the front gate, katie bar the door!
Pinky, that 'one more thing right' is not just for morale...that is ammo against your boss. A month from now you are going to called into his office and explain why the numbers are in the toilet. You are going to have to show him that you are getting some improvement from this young lady.
Now all this could go away if you ask the shop steward to greive you. It's a risky tactic, but it gets the boss' attention without your fingerprints being on the push of the girl off your belt. (It works. Ask me how I know). Other than that ,you will have to be content in small, incremental increases.

If they can prove they are filling smalls/data cap/etc with women because their production isn't the same as men, then what's the issue with that? She wouldn't be moved there solely because she IS a woman. If she was performing adequately out in her trailer, this wouldn't be an issue. I've seen guys who can't do the work get moved into smalls or elsewhere as well. Had Pink Belt not specified the gender, would this be the discussion it is? Sexism works both ways. What if he said she was a black woman? A black gay woman? A black gay single mother? The list could go on. Adjectives like this are irrelevant. She isn't performing her job adequately, so management should be moving her to a place where she can perform at a level deemed as acceptable. Not everyone can grow up to be a baseball player or an astronaut.

There are metrics to measure performance at UPS, such as PPH, misload frequencies, etc. If she's not meeting the standard production metrics that are laid out, then shouldn't she be moved? Some people just aren't going to improve, and UPS has other alternative work areas in place if she can't perform a certain job. This seems like a no-brainer to me.
 

Pink Belt

New Member
Instead of her loading 3 or 4 trucks in the am have her do 2...Not very difficult math here!

Everyones capacity is not the same....Some do less some do more......

Is that really fair? Equal work, equal pay? Why should I pay her the same as the guy next to her for doing more work everyday?

My manager is already on my case for running too many hours on my belt. Its not going to help having someone load half as much as anyone else.
 
Top