One of the things about working for UPS that rarely gets talked about is the backroom deals made by the guy that drives next to you, with his manager or supervisor. Many of the weaker personality types are quick to make a deal to keep themselves out of the line of fire. Every driver will talk about favoritism, or preferential treatment of the management team, towards a particular individual, and many a driver will demonstrate an unreasonable amount of push to give the company what they want. Most of these behaviors are the result of the “backdoor deals” made with management. 
     Usually the Union Steward doesn’t get involved until the deal blows up in either the driver’s face, or the company’s face. Of course rarely is the deal admitted to by either party, as if no one knows that these deals are made. 
     Deals come in many  forms. The most popular is a trade of production levels for the running of a certain area. Variations on this theme are the driver that is always called upon to “help out” in many of the trouble spots with other drivers. Usually this driver deal can be spotted when the “deal making driver“, begins to bitch about the guys around them not carrying their weight, or hosing the company. Of course the “DMD” will immediately go to management with that complaint. Management usually greets the info with a shrug, then calls in the other driver, treating them like “dirtbag”, “lazy”, “slackers”, all because of the “DMD“. 
     Often the biggest “DMD‘s”, are the long time swing drivers. They usually have some death sentence held over their head, and they run their asses off for fear that management will zero in on their weakness. Now I know that some of the swing drivers just love some of the routes they get to drive, but that is the rarety, not the norm. Watch a lot of these guys. Most will be in the office making their deals before the steward ever gets in, in the morning. They are very often in the cars early, sometimes at managements request, to check up on some other driver, checking out loads, or moving things around. Nowadays with the implementation of PAS, they can be seen snuggling up to the dispatch supervisor, advising them of what this or that driver should be able to do. Of course when they run your route, they make you look like crap because they skip their lunch, and drive like maniacs, and throw things at the gates or mailboxes, never really doing the job right. Of course they then call you a slug to management, directing managements focus on you, and away from them, allowing them to continue to hide in their weak minded little world.
     Of course the wheels usually come off when they wreck, or get hurt, or have a bunch of claims. Suddenly management has another opportunity to get the swing driver back under their thumb again, and of course these drivers will be camped out on the Steward’s ass, hoping for the steward to protect them from “evil management”. Once things quiet down, they are right back to their old games.  Meanwhile the rest of the drivers are left to fight the battle, in fear of being stabbed in the back by these “Deal Making Drivers“. 
      When management approaches you about how the “DMD”, runs your route when you are gone, your response should be simple. “I don’t want to be fired for doing things like he/she does”. Of course management will jump to the chance of getting dirt on someone and begin to quiz you about what that person is doing. Your response is simple, “I’m here to do my job, not tell on my fellow drivers!” At that point walk away and leave the manager wondering about the “DMD“, and wondering whether the manager has made a good deal or not. Of course that will deflect the manager off of your ass, and you can go have a nice day.
     Do not get caught up in the “daily deal” making with management. Do the job. Use your steward, and you will have a decent life at UPS.
                                         If you “Make a Deal”, you could be in for more trouble than it’s worth.