One of the very first rules I learned to live by when I went to work in the Denver Hub, was to keep my hands by my side. One of the favorite tricks there was to thrust some unwanted, troublesome package into your hands, then walk away. Once you had that package in your hands, it was yours to deal with.
     Of course the natural reaction for most people is to take the package, and see if it’s something you could help with, of course assuming that if you could not do anything with it, the person handing it to you would then take it away. Not at UPS. You touched it, it’s yours.
     When the end of the sort came, you could count on the Supervisor running the primary to kick all of the trash, open boxes, damages, etc. onto the belts, sending them to the outlying belts for those people to deal with. Happened every night. Probably still happens.
     That’s the wonderful thing about UPS. Pass off the problems to someone else. The hope is that, if you are slippery enough, you won’t get stuck with it. It happens in every aspect of the company. Drivers dump on the drivers next to them. Supervisors dump on the drivers. Managers dump on the supervisors. Division managers dump on the center managers. The “Lord and Master” dumps on everybody.
     To keep out of the fight, just remember one thing. Keep your hands by your side!