To continue in my theme of Telematics and unintended consequences, I felt we should look at what the future holds for the new supervisor candidate. All of you drivers know that it is the running, jumping, leaping, throwing, cheating, maniac, of a driver that ultimately gets promoted and becomes your new supervisor. Under Telematics that will be a thing of the past. Unfortunately, (or fortunately), I will not be around to see what kind of person they will promote after years on Telematics. The only guys that will survive the driving rigors will be the steady, consistent type of driver that can do the right thing at every stop, every day. Of course the guy that can do that will not necessarily be the fastest guy in town, so what kind of mentality will he or she have when it comes to management. Managers for years have taught drivers to lie, and cheat, and steal to get the job done the fastest way possible. Now what? Will they be the nerdy, careful, meticulous type of person? Soft spoken, but right to the point. Will they be a perfect physical specimen with exceptional ability to perform any task in a robot like manner, never wavering from the task at hand, spewing the 5 seeing habits in their sleep, or sitting on the pot? Will they be able to drive exactly at the posted speed limit, never wavering, never speeding, better than electronic cruise control? Will they be a social misfit that is able to go without any customer contact, yet sell the company, and fill out lead cards without using any time that would show up on Telematics? Will they have the work ethic of an Amazonian Unick, with no other purpose in life than to do the perfect job 24 hours a day? Probably! It may be the reason we are seeing the company turn to the outside for their new management people. We currently have 2 supervisors that were never drivers. How can the company make ridiculous commands, and expectations without someone that knows nothing about doing the job? Never doing the job allows them to be stupid in their demands and expectations. It is the new UPS under Telematics! Coming to a center near you!
                                               

I never thought I’d see the day where UPS has thrown the idea of Over/Under Allowed performance in the trash, but it’s happening with Telematics. Telematics is becoming a story of unintended consequences. With the company’s disdain for it’s employees, and their attitude that the drivers are all ripping off the company for time, they have come up with what they thought was a foolproof system to keeping everyone in line, and doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. What has really happened is they have taken a driver’s ability to hurry up away. The concept really never came to mind until I received a message the other day from my dispatch supervisor telling me he had dispatched me near an 8 hour day, and that I should, “be in somewhere near 8 hours”. It suddenly dawned on me that with Telematics it would take as long as it took, and that I had no control over time, space, and safety. I began to think about what Telematics doesn’t see. It doesn’t see the bunch of kids riding their bikes in a neighborhood. It doesn’t see the semi blocking the dock you need to get into to make a bulk stop. It doesn’t see the shiny road from an afternoon shower. All it can see is a bunch of numbers, and where you are at any given time. The new response from the driver to management will become
             “That’s how long it took!”
There will be no other answer. They will already have any information regarding the delivery. They will know how long you were there, (of course they won’t know why), they will know how fast you were driving, where you were before, where you went after, and how much time elapsed, but they will not know why. They will not know about the customer that is pissed about a mis-delivery, or a missing package. They will not know about the receiving clerk that has disappeared into the bathroom with a comic book while you need a signature for a hundred boxes. They will not know about the driveway you had to walk because the customer always parks in the turnaround. They will not know about the drunk going twenty in a fifty mile an hour zone or the lady on the cell phone blocking the right turn lane talking to her mother about her cheating husband. The fact is all of these things and so many others go on in a driver’s day to day life. Telematics cannot see any of these things. Of course in the “Olden’ Days” a driver could, and usually would, hurry up to make up the time these, and many more issues cost them. No longer! Hurrying up would mean driving faster, (not allowed). Hurrying up would mean running up the sidewalk instead of walking, (not allowed). Hurrying up would mean leaving the bulkhead door open for a few stops, (cardinal sin). Nowadays the driver can never look back. If they lose time, it’s lost forever. Management will see, and discipline, for any infractions that show up on Telematics. There will be no knowledge of why, just that it happened. Therefore there will be only one answer from any driver for anything!
                  “That’s how long it took!”     
 

I’ve been having some interesting conversations with drivers about the new Telematics system. It turns out that the Denver Metro South building is the first building in the Rocky Mountains to get the new system. What I find most interesting when I talk to these people is the level of fear I hear in their voices and see in their eyes. Many of these drivers have really never experienced the severe harassment the company is capable of, because they kept that, all magical production over/under number, in line. They have been able to rob, cheat , and steal, (and some just actually had a decent time study), in order to make that number. Now they live in great fear, because the boss has taken away their bag of tricks. The interesting thing is the way the company is going to implement the system. The regular center managers are not even looking at the system. It’s I.E. that goes over all of the information, then sends a packet down to the managers and says “hey, look at what your dirt bag driver is doing, clean it up!” The manager is then forced to deal with what ordinarily would not be a problem. Most drivers do their job. When they get held up by a customer, or a traffic delay, or any of the myriad of things that can happen through they day, they just automatically hurry up to get back on track for the day. Most drivers know what is expected of them, and they simply care, and do their job. Now they’ll get beat up no matter what. Not only is the company taking all of the incentive away to make up time, they intend to discipline drivers even though they maintain an acceptable level of production. They will discipline for excessive speed. They will discipline for improper backing. They will discipline for bulkhead doors being open. They will then go back and discipline for any excessive, (in their eyes), lost time that shows up on the report. Their attitude being that any lost time is a theft from the company. I have decided to adjust my Lord and Master Theory in name only. The stupidvisor, (who could never have done this job in the first place), that sits behind the computer, is now the Tyrant and Master. He or she is the guy with the whip. Back to the fear I see. I have no prediction how the new technology will play out on a day to day basis. My feeling is that it’s a new toy, that will be totally abused by the zealot management of this company to justify the cost and expense of the system, and to make a name for themselves. Eventually I feel that new people coming in will be trained in beating the system, but for now the existing driver is left to wonder what the hell the Tyrant and Master will nail them for today. I feel it is going to be the first major cause of turnover in the driver ranks I’ve seen in thirty years. People are not going to deal with the stress daily and quit. I also feel that the turnover will come from the company using the system to kill off the people that simply can’t change years of habit. Of course the most interesting thing to watch is what will happen to the already fearful, jump and run, hotdogger, who are the reason and cause of the system being implemented. The problem I see is that the union has no teeth. The system can simply be used, and the discipline given, without much intervention. What am I, (as a steward), supposed to say? It’s all right there on the paper. The new system weakens our union within UPS more than any other technology. It makes the Union obsolete. There will be nothing to discuss. My feeling is that our contract has just been reduced to a useless book. Nothing in there applies to life at UPS under Telematics. The only usable language will be the hours languages. The company has established that anyone can be disciplined under “other serious offenses”, for anything, and that is where they will go. That is where the drivers will be marched out the door. You will see the company attempt to create a 2 tiered system of pay in the next contract with their idea being that they can properly train the new driver to function under the system better than they can adjust the behavior of the current crop of drivers. That, along with a reduction in pay and benefits, will give them the incentive to clean house on the old drivers using the system. We will have Red Circle drivers, (the guys that survived somehow). Again all of this is based on todays situation. My hope is that someone smarter than me within the Union will see the writing on the wall, and be planning for the possibility of the future. My doubts come because I have continued to watch our reactionary union system, move slow as molasses, to respond to the changing technology within our industry. The corporatist that run our company are way ahead of our union with their plans for the future. Ok enough gloom and doom. My feeling about what may change all of the above is the rank and file, that will be forced into becoming solid Union people. Hopefully they will turn to the Union as their only means of protection, and that is their only hope for the future. The Union loses touch with its rank and file members unless the rank and file have an occasion to rise up, usually to counteract abuse of some form or another. Our Union (in my opinion), should be down there several times a week to let the people know where to turn. It will also educate our Union officers to the issues involved with the new Technologies. That will help when the day comes to negotiate our contracts. Their being around will also give our members a sense of safety, and will show our members who they can turn to. Whom they can count on when they are afraid. It can be one of the most important Union strengthening techniques available to our officers. It will strengthen the officers Politically within the Union, as well as strengthening the Union in the negotiating process. If the officers don’t jump on the bandwagon that is presented before them, the Union will become a footnote in history. I’ve seen them rise to the occasion before. Let us hope we see it again. 
                                                                                    It’s time.                                                
  

             South Building Drivers Contact Local 455
                      
                Everyone Else Contact your local Union and ask them for help

Our stewards received the Telematics training yesterday. There were no real surprises in what the system shows. For those of you that don’t know, the system has a series of pages, each with a specific event flagged. Say they want to check seatbelt use, they can pull up the seatbelt page, and every time you moved without putting on the seatbelt a flag goes up at the stop. Each flag shows not only the fact that you didn’t put on the seatbelt, but also shows how far you went before you put the seatbelt on, and what address you were at when you failed to use the seatbelt. The map will also show a red line along the route you took for as far as the seatbelt was not on. For the backing screen the flag shows where you backed first, and how far. They also number the order of the violations. On the side it will give the total distance backed, the total number of violations, etc. The most interesting screen was the lunch hour screen. The lunch hour screen shows the last stop you made, how far you traveled, and how long you sat there. Telematics combines with the DIAD to also keep track of when you record packages while moving. The example we saw had and incredible amount of stops sheeted while driving. I couldn’t even do that and keep the truck on the road. Of course that is a very dangerous practice.
So in case any of you had any doubts, u-Robot. You have definitely entered a new era in delivering for UPS. My predictions for the future are as follows. First the system is going to cost the company a fortune in production. The good part of that will be, if you are a guy that is getting beat up because of a bad time study, or some other fiasco on your area, we simply will redirect them to Telematics. The bad part is, if you are a sit on your ass kind of driver, then run, jump, and fly to get it done, you have a problem. They will see you sitting on your ass, and they will see you exceeding the speed limit, having your bulkhead door open, not wearing your seatbelt, etc., in order to get done on time. There will be no reason to try to make up time. If you get behind, too bad. Remember one thing as they implement this system across the country. It falls into the category of too much information. If you are a 2 hour over driver, you will hear about what you are doing on your area, but if it’s the time study’s fault, they will have no excuses, and will have to stop harassing you. The rest of you will simply have to conform to their safety expectations. That’s really not a bad thing when you think about it. Most of you have those good habits anyway. Those of you that do not will end up fired if you don’t learn them, and eventually you will go away. You all can understand what a cost injuries, and accidents are for the company. So you can see the justification in their expenditure. For the company to sell out production in the name of safety, spend the millions it cost to install, implement, train the hourlys, and management people to use the system, you can see how important these issues are to them. For all of us it’s simple, we-Robot. It’s just going to become the way of life at UPS. You can imagine the changes I’ve seen in 30 years. What does the next 30 hold? Guess we’ll see.
                                                          u-Robot!

I’ll start off with one of my rules of being a steward- 
            The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same!
Telematics is simply an extension of the company’s desire to maintain complete control over a drivers thoughts and actions through fear. They used to do it by having a million screaming stupidvisors harassing, and bullying you face to face, with a work report in their back pocket. They would get in your face, (usually without a steward present), and tell you what a worthless piece of crap you were, and that they were personally going to make you their project, then go home and screw your wife because you were such a piece of garbage and she would like the stupidvisor more than you. (Yes, really!) The whole idea is to induce fear among the drivers in order to get them to perform at the highest levels possible.
The more things change! Today the screaming stupidvisor has been replaced by Telematics. Remember I told you that their Technology is designed to replace management, not the driver. For most of us Telematics just represents another harassment tool. Most of us simply report to work on time, and do our jobs that we are paid to do. Ironically the biggest casualty of Telematics will be the running, jumping, freakazoid, we all have in our centers that thinks it’s OK to run the company like a paper route. Keep in mind that many of your supervisors were just such people as drivers. PAS had much the same fear factor attached to it. Mostly it is the fear of the unknown. None of you need to worry about the system. They will not be able to use it against you out of the box. You simply need to perform your job as trained. They must do direct observation in order to discipline. That doesn’t mean they won’t use it for harassment. I’m sure they already find reasons to harass you anyway, right? 
The more they stay the same! My recommendation to you all is the same recommendation I have made for 30 years as a steward. Go out and do the job you are being paid to do. Work safely, drive safely, make safe deliveries, come in when you are done. Our job is not a social event, or a time to go shopping, or a chance to get your car fixed, or a yard sale excursion. The company asks you to have contact with the customer to further sales leads etc. Other than that you need to keep your relationships to your own time. Most of you know these rules, and most of you follow them. You all know who are the real screwup drivers around you. Now with the advent of Telematics you get to watch them squirm. The rest of you can go in peace.

We all thought PAS was such a big deal when it came out. Now that we’ve been using it for a few years it doesn’t represent the big evil that everyone was afraid of. Everyone has gotten used to the idea and realized that functioning under it has made them more valuable, not less. Now we move on to Telematics. For those of you new to these pages, or relatively uninformed, Telematics is the new system installed in your package car to monitor your seatbelt usage, your bulkhead door position, your first move after start-up, and your vehicles computer functions, (ie. check engine codes etc.). My understanding is that it also contains a real-time GPS capability along the lines of your DIAD. I also understand that the system will not download any information until you reach the building and the key is shut off. It will document that time. It will not know if you are at the air dock, or unload doors, but it will provide an approximate arrival time. It is amazing to me how many drivers have approached me trying to justify their reasons for not using a seatbelt, or leaving the bulkhead door open once they heard about the system. My only response to them is, “there is no excuse”. The bulkhead door will subject you to the disciplinary procedure, and the seatbelt will get you fired for other serious offenses. The contract protects you from Telematics being used as the sole evidence against you, but it will be a simple matter for them to observe you on area, then back it up with the printouts available to them showing every infraction. The computer screen will show a flag at the stop where the infraction occurred. Did you back first? Did you move without the seatbelt in place? Was the bulkhead door open? Management will be given a 3 day class in the use of Telematics. My understanding is it will be operational in our facility sometime in the next two to three weeks. Please understand that I am not privileged to the official information or use, I just have the information based on the system installation, and where the sensors are installed, so you need to keep your eyes and ears open, and let us know if you have any differing, or new information on the system. I also have no information regarding it’s use in the more extended centers. I know the company is not installing the system in some of the older vehicles, but that isn’t an across the board statement. It’s easy to see if the system is installed as there is a big antenna glued to the ceiling, and if you have a new squealing sound in your radio, you need to look around. Please do not think you can disconnect or otherwise vandalize the system without consequences. They can tell if the system is unhooked, and will discipline you if they catch you messing with it. For those of you that do your job everyday, the system is a joke, and will mean nothing to your day. In fact they feel they can reduce management to watch you so you will likely be subject to less harassment which is a good thing. For you running, jumping, kiss ass, fireballs, that think you are running a paper route, you gotta big problem.  You are who they will nail. They will not care what you’ve done for them in the past. Remember our famous words here, “if they can nail you, they will”! Not one of you is immune, and none of you will be spared. For those of you savvy enough to be reading these pages, pass the word. Let your Teamster brethren know about the system, and about Denver Brown.