CASTLE ROCK, Wash. — A dog owner has accused a UPS delivery driver of kicking his pet. The owner said the delivery driver claimed he was acting in self defense. The shepherd-lab mix in question, Merlin, has one blue eye, one brown eye and his owner says he’s a sucker for a good back scratch. “That’s his favorite thing,” said Lee Wilson, Merlin’s owner. But, a run-in with a UPS driver last Wednesday has Wilson demanding answers. According to Wilson, the driver kicked his dog in the throat after the driver said the dog lunged at him. “He did not charge after the UPS guy, nor did he charge after his truck,” Wilson said. Wilson said Merlin simply barked at the driver when he came to the door. That’s when Wilson claims the driver kicked Merlin. “No warning, no nothing. He just simply kicked Merlin in the throat. Do UPS workers really have the right to kick your animal?” said Wilson. Wilson said he wants a sincere apology from UPS and to make sure it doesn’t happen again to any other dog in the neighborhood. “I do not believe in animal abuse. The truth is, I don’t buy his [the delivery driver’s] story,” Wilson said. “I’m sorry to hear about the purported incident involving our driver and a customer’s dog,” said Dan McMackin, spokesman with UPS in an email to KGW. McMackin said he would have the local operations manager reach out to Wilson to discuss what happened. “As far as our drivers’ safety related to dog bites, we instruct our drivers to follow some common-sense but key measures when approached by dogs. One of those measures is obviously to defend themselves as best they can if being attacked, and to try to avoid an attack in the first place if possible,” McMackin added. Wilson’s neighbor, Jim Cloke, lives a few houses down and said he doesn’t blame the UPS driver one bit. “No matter who stops there the first thing that dog does when the door opens is the dog comes out and lunges at you,” Cloke said. “If I were a UPS driver, they would just have to come and pick up [their packages] and that’s all there is to it.” Other neighbors, like dog owner Rachel Crowe, said it’s a case-by-case basis. “If a dog lunged at me, of course I would defend myself, but if it didn’t lunge at me, well then, I would be mad. I would be really mad,” she said. McMackin added that UPS asks its customers to keep pets under control when drivers make deliveries to “try and avoid the situation to begin with.” On Monday night, UPS said the driver, who is also a dog owner, wants to have a meet-and-greet with Merlin so a similar incident doesn’t happen again.
SW Wash. man says UPS driver kicked his dog
by Erica Heartquist, KGW Reporter
All posts by George
High step, no power steering
In which contract did UPS agree to purchase only package cars with power steering? 
What They Don’t Show
They don’t show where the dog is, and at least she placed the packages nicely on the porch. She didn’t fling them from the street. I will admit she could have used the walk though.
Christie Land
When Corporations Own the Media
UPS Freight Teamsters Overwhelmingly Approve New National Contract
(WASHINGTON) – UPS Freight Teamsters have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new national five-year master agreement that increases wages, significantly strengthens pension benefits and takes on the issue of subcontracting.
The vote, which was 5,195 to 2,094 as of Sunday night, was held at local union halls during the weekend. Participation was 69 percent, which far exceeded the previous ratification vote last June, which was 58 percent. A handful of local unions covering less than 50 members had not reported their results as of Sunday night. Vote results can be viewed here.
“UPS Freight members told us their top concerns were pensions and protecting their work, and this new contract addresses those issues head on,” said Ken Hall, Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer and Package Division Director. “Today’s vote reflects the strength of the new agreement. It’s an industry-leading contract.”
The new five-year national contract, which covers 13,000 UPS Freight workers, improves and protects wages, benefits and working conditions at a time when most freight companies are making cuts. The contract:
• Provides $2.50 in wage increases over five years, making UPS Freight Teamsters the highest-paid in the industry;
• Improves and protects pension benefits;
• Lowers health insurance co-pays while maintaining strong benefits;
• Puts laid-off road drivers back to work;
• Provides the ability for more part-time workers to become full-time;
• Improves and protects vacation benefits of workers serving in the military; and
• Significantly lowers monthly cost for retiree health insurance.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.
This guy looks so familiar
Didn’t I have this screamer once as a center manager ??
Former Denver supe still going
From the Commerce City building to the gateway operation at DIA, Denver remembers Jill Schubert. 
Jill Schubert, president of district operations, says of the holiday season’s peak time: “It’s controlled madness or controlled chaos. But the key is that it’s controlled.”
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Wrapping it up
