United Parcel Service, Denverbrown, DIAD, UPS/IBT Full Time Employee Pension Plan, UPS insurance, feeders, preload, DPS, PAS, EDD, DOL, PDA, PCM, package car, pretrip, hub, 9.5 day, 8 hour request, warning letter, paid for time, option days, option week, on car supervisor, loss or damage, over 70, the methods, panels, WOR, JAC, TAW, OJS, bid sheets, missed scans, driver release, driver followup, bump, Article 5, Article 40, FMLA, OSHA, IBT, Joint Council, James Hoffa, Union hall, business agent, steward, solidarity, lunch breaks, part time work, grievances, work to rules, strike, picket line, Central States Pension Fund, Western States Pension Fund, seniority, discipline, termination
Home Again
Lawsuit Update
We all know that a large number of UPS retail store owners are upset with the deal they got when Corporate changed the stores over to UPS Stores. A bunch of them got together and filed a lawsuit. That suit has finally gone to trial in Los Angeles. Over 1000 UPS Stores have petitioned the Court to be allowed to watch the trial on Courtroom View Network. You can keep abreast of the proceedings by searching the industry trade website, the blue maumau
"If you ain't makin' waves,
you ain't kickin hard enough."
Where I Think You Should Go
On the Air
UPS Advice
Cheat Sheet
Progressive Talk
Strongmiddleclass.gov
UPS Survival Guide
Joe Biden Video
Lowdown
Hell
Affirmations
There are time when this job is just overwhelming. The pressure to perform, the time comittments, the customer's expectiations, the traffic....it's all just too much. Sometimes, I think I'm going to explode.
Do you get that way? That's when you need a postive affirmation. Something you can stop and say to yourself that pulls you back to reality. Something that reminds you of who you are and why your doing this.
- I assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else's fault.
- I no longer need to punish, deceive, or compromise myself, unless I want to stay employed.
- I honor my personality flaws for without them I would have no personality at all.
- I am grateful that I am not as judgmental as all the self-righteous bastards around me.
- I need not suffer in silence while I can still moan, whimper and complain.
- As I learn to trust the universe, I no longer need to carry a gun.
- All of me is beautiful, even the ugly, stupid, and disgusting parts.
- I honor and express all facets of my being, regardless of state and local laws.
- A good scapegoat is almost as good as a solution.
- I am willing to make the mistakes if someone else is willing to learn from them.
Friends
Safety@Work
A short film
"One measure of your success will be the degree to which you build up others who work with you. While building up others, you will build up yourself."
Jim Casey
I've been at UPS a long time and you know what...things have changed. They've changed a lot. Sometimes things just happen and when they happen, UPS reacts differently today then they did back when I started. Here are a couple of examples:
Yes things have changed over the years at UPS. I'm sure you have a few examples too. Labeling its drivers as independent contractors has proven to be an effective strategy for FedEx Ground. Lowering its labor costs by avoiding payroll taxes and benefits gives the company an unfair and unethical advantage over competitors such as UPS and DHL, who classify their drivers as employees, many of which have union representation. An Orlando Sentinel article compared the benefits of a FedEx Ground driver (a so-called independent contractor) and a union-represented UPS driver (an employee). Although the jobs are nearly identical, the comparison reveals how a little label makes a huge difference:
Now and Then
I completed my 30 days probation, when do I reach full pay?
1980 3 months
2009 30 months I hooked a mirror on a tree branch and cracked it.
1980 Was told to write it up tonight.
2009 I meet the safety manager at the exact spot in half an hour, he takes pictures, I'm given a warning letter for an accident. I had a COD for $5000 cash only.
1980 I will carry $5000 cash in my pocket all day and turn it in tonight.
2009 I will carry ten $500 cashiers check in my pocket all day. A customer called in on me and claimed I was rude.
1980 My manager called them back and told them to use another carrier next time. (There were no other carriers.)
2009 I was written up, my job was threatened, the company believed the customer more than they believed me. My truck didn't get washed last night.
1980 Take it through the car wash, we never put a dirty truck out on the street.
2009 We don't wash the trucks every night, shut up and drive. 
I forgot to run a call tag.
1980 Do it tomorrow.
2009 I get written up. I asked if I could bring my family in to tour the building.
1980 My boss said it was OK, be careful, have fun.
2009 Don't even think about it, too risky, someone may get hurt or besides, my family could be a security threat.
I swing home for lunch for my son's birthday party.
1980 My boss doesn't care as long as I get my route done.
2009 I get fired.
I bring back 20 stops because I was overdispathed.
1980 The manager says to keep quiet about it and do them tomorrow.
2009 Upper management is aware of it before the rooster crows and I'm fired. I ask my manager for advice on a company related problem.
1980 We go in the office and have a heart to heart.
2009 He can't give me any advice until he checks with his boss who has to check with his boss also.
I go help the driver beside me because he asked me to before we left the building.
1980 We operate as a team.
2009 I'm disciplined for helping without it being managements' idea.
I joined the 401 (k).
1980 UPS has a Thrift Plan for all employees and matches my contribution and puts in a percentage of the profits at the end of the year.
2009 UPS does not match hourly employee contributions to the 401(k).
Could They Be Lying??
There are some things about UPS that just don't make sense. I try not to let these things bother me, but since PAS has made my job so easy, I have nothing else to do but drive around all day thinking about some of these things.
One thing that has really got me to thinking lately is the way UPS attacks the 9.5 issue. A driver with a 9.5 problem usually has a variety of things that need to be addressed such as start time, load quality, looping, add/cuts and performance. But the company only addresses one of these; performance. We recently had every manager and the division manager out on car on the same day with drivers who had complained about their hours.
When drivers show an improvement in their numbers on the day of an OJS ride, UPS wants to write those numbers on a stone tablet and hold them up in front of the driver forever. Usually these numbers are somewhat skewed as in our case last month when the preload had been tipped off and the load quality was well above par. The drivers received no OCA's during the day, they had no meet points, they didn't have a last minute add/cut. They weren't held in the building waiting for late air or any of the things that happen to us on a daily basis that have a negative effect on our on-road-stops-per-hour.
Many times the manager riding along will make a promise to work on the load or the looping or anything else that the driver says he is having problems with. But unfortunately that promise is not written on the stone tablet and is soon forgotten. The driver comes away feeling threatened and somewhat cheated. Management gloats about the improved numbers. I heard that one manager in our building has even been ridiculed because he didn't get improved numbers. Makes you wonder what the real purpose of the ride was.
When management does performance rides like this, they always seem to pick a pretty good day when there are a lot of stops but not a lot of bulk. I've brought this up to management and they always act innocent saying they can't predict a good day to ride. I wonder is that's true. With all their technology, they should be able to predict what's coming down the pike. If they can't, then either the technology isn't as good as they say it is or they aren't smart enough to use it to their advantage. I don't that either of those statements are true. That only leaves one other reason they would say they can't predict the volume.
FedEx Begins Campaign Against Labor Bill FedEx Corp. is starting what it describes as a multimillion-dollar campaign to derail proposed federal legislation that would make it easier for the company's workers to unionize.
FedEx contends approval of the legislation would increase customer costs by as much as 30%.
The effort targets chief rival United Parcel Service Inc. in particular, reiterating FedEx's recent criticism of the bill as a federal bailout for UPS.
Among other things, FedEx refers to the bill as "a Brown bailout" in its new campaign, a play on UPS's high-profile "Brown" marketing slogan.
UPS has applauded the bill, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last month.
FedEx spokesman Maury Lane characterized his company's effort as a full-court press to defeat the legislation, saying the effort will include a Web site -- BrownBailout.com, scheduled to go live Tuesday, as well as television and radio spots.
UPS spokesman Norman Black said the FedEx argument is based upon faulty logic.
"It would appear that FedEx is preparing to spend millions of dollars trying to convince Congress that a FedEx driver delivering a package is different somehow than a UPS driver delivering a package," Mr. Black said in a prepared statement.
If the bill becomes law, it would remove FedEx Express drivers from the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act and put them under jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act. The change would allow FedEx drivers to organize on a location-by-location basis, rather than be required to hold a national election.
UPS already is governed by the National Labor Relations Act and is heavily unionized.
Wall Street Journal
Paper OJS Ride "Looks like we need to come out," my manager used to threaten, "Looks like you need an OJS ride." The 3-day OJS ride has always been the number one intimidation tool used by management to harass a driver into going faster. "We're gonna come out there and nail down some numbers and you aren't gonna like it." But we always knew they didn't have the manpower to do a 3-day ride anymore and the threat became hollow. But now it's back and they don't need to come out. They can do it right from their office chair. It's the Paper OJS Ride.
The Paper OJS Ride is like the Sparks report. It lists every stop you do in order, and shows the time you spent at the stop and the time in between stops. But the Paper OJS takes it a step further. It assigns the time allowance to each function and keeps a running total of your over and under minute by minute.
If you take 20 minutes to pre-trip and leave the building and the allowance is only 17, then you are 3 minutes overallowed as you pull out. If you take 5 minutes longer than allowed to get to your first stop and scan a package, then you are 8 minutes over coming out of your first stop. And it goes on like this all day long.
Of course, the paper OJS only sees functions you record in the DIAD. So things you may be doing that there is no time allowance for should be halted. Shuttling, sorry, not in my allowance. Cleaning a letter box, no time for that. Sorting, nope. Meet point to exchange misloads, not allowed. Going to the bathroom, sorry can't be documented. Drinking water, can't you do that on your own time? Sales lead, sorry. The paper OJS only sees things that are recorded in the DIAD. If it isn't recorded in the board, don't do it.
The people who should really be scared by the Paper OJS are the supes and managers. More and more, their jobs are being done by computers. I'm not worried because the computer can't drive the truck or deliver a package, but it can do an OJS ride. The question that needs to be asked is; "Why do we even pay supervisors and managers anymore?" With fuel so high and the stock so low, isn't it time to thin the ranks again? Independent Contractor vs. Employee
American Rights at Work
FedEx Ground Driver
UPS Driver
Annual earnings
Roughly $50,000-60,000, paid per delivery
$70,000, includes $29.17/hour wage plus overtime
Job-related expenses
Fuel, maintenance, other supplies; cost of route/truck: $30,000
None specified
Health care
Driver can opt into plan with some contribution from FedEx Ground
UPS covers full cost of family-covered health insurance
Retirement
Driver can opt into plan with some contribution from FedEx Ground
UPS pays into a defined benefit pension plan
Leave
Unpaid time off, based on availability of replacement
up to 6 weeks paid vacation, 1 week paid for personal or sick leave
Job security
FedEx Ground can terminate driver’s contract at any time
Union contract mandates UPS demonstrates “just cause” for dismissal
Our UPS Family
Here are some examples of patterns that frequently occur in dysfunctional families. See if any of these sound familiar in your relationship with UPS.
Parents have addictions or compulsions such as overworking, that have strong influences on family members. 
Parents use threats as the primary means of control. 
Parents exploit the children and treat them as possessions whose primary purpose is to fill needs of parents. 
Parents threaten to withdraw financial support. 
Parents exert a strong authoritarian control, often rigidly adhering to a particular belief. 
Compliance with role expectations and with rules is expected without any flexibility.
Since we are treated like children in this family, we all suffer some common problems. Some of us may often:
Experience "reality shifting" in which what is said contradicts what is actually happening.
Have excessive structure and demands placed on our time and behavior.
Be restricted from full and direct communication with other family members.
Be ignored, discounted, or criticized for our feelings and thoughts.
Experience rejection or preferential treatment.
Dysfunctional families often foster children who question their self worth and are unable to trust their own judgements. Not surprisingly, they may experience problems in their work.
Members of dysfunctional families often struggle to interpret their situation as "normal." But the more they have to accommodate to make their situation seem normal, the more bizarre their world becomes. Do you feel that life at UPS is bizarre?
Is your UPS family the ideal family?
UPS CEO Stumps for Free Trade
UPS CEO Scott Davis told a gathering of the US Chamber of Commerce in Wash. DC in
Feb. that free trade is good for America. He said it creates jobs, using UPS as an example of
a US company that has benefited from the global economy.
Do you feel that free trade has been good for America? Has it put more people to work and
created more jobs? I can see how it's created jobs in international transportation, thus benefiting
UPS. But to me, the term 'good American jobs' has always meant good manufacturing jobs
because those are the jobs that pay well with benefits.
Has free trade been good for American manufacturing? Many UPSers are conflicted on
whether free trade has been a boon or a debacle for the US. It's been good for UPS because
somebody has to carry back to the US the goods that are made abroad.
Here is what Scott Davis said. How do you feel about free trade?
|
United Parcel Service CEO Scott Davis on Thursday told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. that the United States and its trading partners would be making a huge mistake if they responded to the recession by adopting protectionist measures to restrict free trade. “The need to support global trade grows more urgent by the day,” Davis said. “Global trade is one of the most important tools we have to help lift us out of the financial crisis. No argument against free trade can justify the negative impact to economic and human development.” Davis said perception and reality often are at odds in the global trade debate. He sees a need to take on long-standing arguments surrounding the impact of global trade on U.S. jobs. While there is a growing perception, especially in the United States, that globalization and free trade are siphoning jobs to other countries, Davis said government statistics indicate otherwise. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that in the case of layoffs of 50 or more people between 1996 and 2004, fewer than 3 percent were attributable to import competition or overseas relocation. And according to the U.S. Treasury Department, as many as 57 million Americans now work for companies engaged in global commerce. Davis also noted the United States remained the world’s leading manufacturer in 2008, representing nearly one-quarter of all global manufacturing output. U.S. exports hit $1.8 trillion last year, he said. Davis argued that global trade can actually create U.S. jobs. “In my own company, trade is clearly creating American jobs,” he said. “Each time we add 40 new international packages in the United States -- in other words, 40 packages imported or exported by our customers -- we create another new U.S. job somewhere in our system.” UPS was founded in Seattle in 1907 by James E. Casey. In 1919, it officially became "United Parcel Service" and moved its headquarters to Atlanta in 1994. |
"UPS puts a premium on safe driving methods and training and these drivers reflect that commitment."
You can’t talk about UPS without talking about the Teamster Union. The Union brings much needed work and safety rules, job description, and the grievance procedure to the workplace as well as good wages and benefits.
Welcome
My name is George Kieffer and I'm a UPS survivor. I drove a package car for the crazy brown giant for over 30 years before hanging up my browns last September. I've watched my 401(k) roar downhill like an avalanche and I'm paying for my health insurance for the first time in my life, but I'm happy to be out.
In all my years of driving, I’ve never seen a workplace quite like UPS. It’s hard to remain neutral when you talk about UPS, most people either love it or hate it. It’s truly the good, the bad and ugly.
And you can’t talk about the workplace today without talking about politics. It affects every aspect of our jobs. Laws passed in Washington today will determine our pay and benefits tomorrow. Your health insurance, your pension, your Social Security and even your rights on the job are being discussed and dissected right now by your elected officials.
Some people say politics is just a game. But it's the most important game in town. For our own future and our children’s futures, we’ve got to play the game and we’ve got to play to win.
This website will be similar to the old Denverbrown but with one important difference. The Blog. The Blog page will be the page I update most frequently and I encourage you to use it also. Speak your mind, it feels good. What's it like where you are? The Blog page will be where we can all tell our stories; the good, tha bad and the ugly.
Thinking About Quitting Your Job??
These 4 minutes may just change your mind Here is a movie to remind us why it's better to have a job than to not have a job. Let this little gem play past the first set of credits, it ain't over til it's over.
I'm Stressed Out!!!
People who burn out develop negative self-concepts and job attitudes, while becoming detached, apathetic, angry or hostile. Jobs that promote burnout include ones in which workers do repetitive or routine tasks, never get much positive feedback or have a lot of responsibility but very little control. Employees who are suffering from burnout feel they are answerable for everything that happens. They feel they receive very little understanding from management, and they personally feel powerless to change things. These feelings tend to make them assume a martyr-like position, become resigned and apathetic, and focus on the worst aspects of the job.
Does this sound all too familiar?
Many people learn to deal with job-related stress. Those who burn out don't. Often, the types of people who burn out are those who show the most promise at the beginning of their careers. They are perfectionists, idealists and workaholics. They start out enthusiastic about their work, dedicated and committed to doing their jobs. They typically have high energy levels, positive attitudes and are high achievers.
Over time, stress and the inability to cope with it lead to pessimism and job dissatisfaction. Workers in the early stages of burnout feel fatigued, frustrated, disillusioned and bored. As burnout progresses, work habits begin to deteriorate. Productivity drops. They become increasingly angry, hostile and depressed.
Burnout doesn't happen overnight, and it can be reversed with the right steps. UPS, if they really cared about their workers, could help by:
- Involving employees in decision-making and allowing them to use their skills and abilities. Employees need to feel needed and important.
- Giving positive feedback and recognizing achievement. Praise and encouragement are vital to job satisfaction.
- Developing a supportive management style. The most stressful management styles are: intimidating; overly ambitious; cold and arrogant; or demanding and unfair.
Does this sound like UPS?
If you want to contact me, send me an email.
I'll try to reply ASAP.
george@denverbrown.com
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by United Parcel Service or the International Brotherhood of Teamsters or any of their affiliates in any way, shape or form. All views expressed on this site are my own, except as noted. Any errors of fact or copyright infringements are unintentional and will be corrected if brought to my attention. All rights reserved. For legal questions or problems, please contact me at this address. george@denverbrown.com
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Copyright George Kieffer Denverbrown 2003-2009