Have you ever been threatened with a 3 day ride? Of course you have, we all have. It scares the hell out of you. Suddenly, it feels like it’s you against the world and there is just way too much to remember and do. How can you possibly survive??
     Well, help is on the way. It’s not just you against the brown giant this tiime. A couple of guys out of Rochester have put together a list of “How to survive an OJS ride”.
     Read through it, memorize it, do it and everything else will fall into place.

METHODS,METHODS,METHODS

 

Ask your loader if anyone is was in the car “fluffing” the load.

 

Perform a full pre-trip.

 

Maintain speed limit and come to a complete stop at stop signs.

 

Count 1, 2, 3 before accelerating after red light to maintain space cushion.

 

Use handrail when exiting and entering vehicle. (set pkg on floor if need be)

 

Go to rear of car to cross street. (do not go out drivers side door)

 

Out of weather and out of sight dr’s. (use bags and go around back of house)

 

Indirect with a goal of 0 send agains. (indirect at neighbors house)

 

Never run. Walk at a safe, brisk pace.

 

Use hand cart whenever reasonable.

 

Get assistance with over 70’s.

 

Use the diad for all communications, not your cell phone.

 

Attempt a sales leads. We operate in the real world where customer contact is a necessity.

 

Drink water to stay hydrated.

 

Use bathrooms on route, not the back of the vehicle.

 

Fill delivery notices out completely. (Indirect at neighbors, go back and leave note)

 

All packages hand to surface. Do not “toss” any.

 

Containerize all smalls.

 

Do not drop off COD’s and pick up checks later.

 

Take your full lunch and break.

 

Stay on designated walkways. Stay on sidewalks and driveways, do not cut across lawns.

 

If supervisor opens a door, touches any package, or hurries a customer, note it.

 

Do not let them ask OJS questions while on lunch or break. Wait until PM time at bldg.

 

Do not let them ask OJS questions while driving as to focus 100% on methods.

 

Bottom line, NO SHORT CUTS.

 

If asked to review your ride, have a steward sit in and listen.

 

There is no transparent calculation for time.

 

“A fair days work for a fair days pay” is not a production standard. It is only an obligation.

 

The labor agreement does not recognize time allowances, or failure to meet them, as being a cause for disciplinary action.

 

Never sign anything the company hands you with respect to production. Article 6 of the National Master Agreement grants you a right to refuse to sign any agreement or contract whether individually or collectively that is outside the National Master Agreement. A production agreement is outside the National Master Agreement. If asked to sign such agreement, cite this article and base your grievance on this right. 

A big thank you to

Zack Ochs
Tim Barnhart
Local 118 Rochester NY

Next time…………How to survive the OJS ride review harassment.

            Misloads are a huge problem in the Commerce City building. Packages with bad spa labels and boxes just loaded into the wrong trucks have been a growing headache since the arrival of PAS. At first the problem was addressed with a shuttle car that ran around all day taking misloads from one car to another. Sometimes the shuttle car was manned by a supervisor and that resulted in a string of supervisor working grievances that padded more than a few drivers’ paychecks for the first year we were on the new system. 
          Then the company started having an hourly run the shuttle car and that resulted in some nutty steward (me) filing a grievance claiming that once that job was in existance for 30 days it became a full time job and needed to be bid. The company’s response to that was to take out the shuttle car and make everyone run their own misloads. That solution has added 30 to 45 minutes to almost everyones paid day. Only if you are sitting on a 9.5 grievance can you hope to be exempted from the misery of being told to run a misload that will turn a 9.2 day into a 10 hour day. 
          The company says that the customer shouldn’t be denied service because the loader made a mistake. “Don’t put the customer in the middle,” they love to say as they send you 50 blocks or more off area to deliver a Home Shopping Club box. “We can’t make the customer pay for our mistakes.” 
          But somebody has to pay. It’s not the loader. He’s home sleeping and the next day he does it again. His start time has probably been moved back and his hours reduced to cut costs on his shift and he’s most likely not long for that job anyway. The manager doesn’t pay, he is keeping his preload costs under control. The investor doesn’t suffer as UPS keeps it’s reputation for service and the profits keep coming. The shipper doesn’t suffer because his shipment was delivered in the guaranteed number of days.
        So who does get put in the middle? Who pays when the loads are so crappy that a driver has to spend an additional half an hour to an hour running misloads? Your family pays. UPS puts your family in the middle. The difference between a 9.2 day and a 10 hour day is huge. It’s the difference between seeing your kids at night or not seeing them. It’s the difference between being there for your family or not. Every misload is a half an hour you won’t spend with one of your kids. It means missed birthday parties, little league games, BBQ’s and more because UPS cannot fix the misload problem.
        So don’t tell me that we can’t put the customer in the middle, because that means your family will have pay the price. And when it comes down to missing a piece or missing the chance to kiss your kids goodnight, my loyalties lie with my family. I strongly resent how UPS screws my family on a daily basis by understaffing and cutting hours and then forcing us to work extra hours to correct the problems that their policies create.

     The company has put out information to all drivers at UPS “offering” a change in our health care plan. They call it the UPS Health and Welfare “Package”. They sent out a 16″ by 20″ color glossy brochure so you would be sure not to miss it. It’s amazing how many of you didn’t notice it.
      My goal here is not to discuss the details of the plan changes. They are many, and each of you can make your own choices regarding what you need. The fact you need to know is, thanks to the Teamsters Union, you have a choice. The company just wanted to make wholesale changes in your plan and make you all eat them, like it or not. Please take time to thank the Teamsters for providing you with options on such a major life decision.
     To melt it down the plan is a change to a managed care plan, sort of like Kaiser offers to it’s members. The key to the quality of the plan is the “quality of the Network” you are in. The plan saves enough money to be able to offer you the cost savings by controlling the costs and charges of the care providers you go to. If Doctor Dick, who is a member of the network, charges 180 dollars for a checkup, but the plan only allows for 110 dollars, that is all he can bill to the insurance provider. Pretty simple way to save bucks, and when everything is working, everybody is happy.
     Where the problem comes in is when the doctors suddenly feel the plan is not paying enough. There have been other managed care systems, in the past, where doctors have dropped out of the network because the plan will not pay a reasonable amount. After awhile, no one would accept the plan, forcing the members of that plan to consistently seek care outside of the network and end up paying more for there health care than they would have under the open type of plan. That is the biggest problem with this type of plan. Any of you that have read the prospectus will see that once you make the decision to go into this plan, you cannot get out of it!
     Please understand, my goal here is to get you to look closely at the plan, and ask questions. There will be meetings to discuss the plan changes, but my impression is the most common answer will be, “we gotta get back to you”. I simply want you all to read the information, and research the realities of the change. They are giving you a big sell job, and I’m sure it’s because they benefit from the changes. You need to determine if you will benefit! Don’t let someone else make the decision for you.