Is working overtime bad for your health? Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School recently released what is perhaps the largest study to date on the relationship between overtime and workplace injuries, finding that those who work extra hours are 61% more likely to be injured on the job than those who do not. This study covered a wide range of jobs and analyzed data on more than 5,100 work-related injuries and illnesses.
        The researchers believe these findings support the theory that fatigue and stress caused by long working hours indirectly contribute to workplace accidents. This study and many others show that musculoskeletal conditions–most commonly back pain–are the main workplace affliction. The United States is one of only a few industrialized countries that do not have national limits on the amount of time an employee can work.

“The Tightest SLAVE Ship in the Shipping Industry”        One Of, “The Few, The Proud, The Overallowed”        
Just another day in paradise!                               Just beatin’ the big brown dead horse!
Just wackin’ big brown!                      Just holdin’ on for dear life!
Just lovin’ life!                    Just driven’ the big brown machine!
Just huggin’ boxes!                                           Just another Monday in Paradise!>>
Gettin’ down with brown!                                                  Just massagin’ cardboard!

Just livin’ the big brown life!                Must be paradise ‘cause I keep comin’ back!

Lovin’ now, hopin’ to leave soon!                 Just happy to be here!
Happy to be here, wishin’ I was somewhere else!

Getting’ by till the cows come home!

Just takin’ a big brown!

Hanging out till things get better!

Wishin’ things were better!

Hopin’ for the best, expectin’ the worst!                            Feelin’ the love!

Wackin’ brown after the sun goes down!     Just givin’ other people’s stuff away!

Countin’ visit’s!                      Hope it’s paradise!

Plannin’ my day!                          Beatin’ the big brown noodle!

Hopin’ for sensitivity!                                 Lovin’ the boss!

Just glad they care so much!

Hopin’ for an early day!                                   Just knowin’ things will be better tomorrow!

If you think it’s bad today, just wait!                               Livin’ light!

Headin’ them off at the pass!                                                                  Gettin’ motivated!

Gettin’ brown outa my ass!                         Prayen’ with the big brown god!

Motivatin’ through the day!                                 Wonderin’ about the bosses wacky terbacky!

Believin’ in the universe!                                                      Takin’ the Big Brown Dirt Nap!
Must be Purgatory!         Waggin’ the Big Brown Tail!
Stinkin’ It Up!                                                                     Just Suckin’!
Retirin’ Till I Retire!

Blank stare!
And you?
Gotta favorite greeting? Put it in our comments. We’ll add it to our list!

     The last time I got bit by a dog was about 5 years ago. I had a residential stop, it was a fenced yard and I knew the people had two dogs. I secured the truck and as I exited, I whistled and yelled UPS. Opening the gate, I listened for any sounds of the dogs and hearing none, I started for the front porch. I could see that  the front door was open and just the full length glass storm door was closed. As I got up on the porch I could see people inside so I waved and put the package down. 
     The dogs started barking inside the house and I beelined it back towards the gate. But when the first dog hit the stormdoor, the door popped open and out he came. It was an overweight Black Lab and he was barking furiously. The door slammed shut but didn’t latch and out came the German Shepherd right behind him. I knew they would reach me before I got to the gate so I yelled at the homeowners who were stlll nowhere in sight.
     I turned to face the approaching dogs and held my DIAD as a shield in front of my legs. The Lab ran right up to me, still barking wildly. He had his nose right up against my leg, thank God the DIAD was between us. But the Shepherd circled around behind me. I yelled again for help. I couldn’t protect both my front and back at the same time. As I tried to walk backwards towards the street, the German Shepherd grabbed me right above the ankle.
     He pulled me as he bit and I lost my balance and fell on my right side. I remember the thought flashing through my mind, “Roll, don’t just lay there or they’ll eat you alive!”. So I rolled and got back on my feet as fast as I could. I guess the dogs must have backed off as soon as I hit the ground and the home owners came out on the front porch. My DIAD was on the driveway and I must have looked like a crazed madman, shocked and injured, too scared to run and too excited to stand still.
     The owners came up the drive and the dogs retreated. “Did he bite you?”, the wife asked. We all looked at my leg at the same time. I was already bleeding from the punctures. My leg felt like it was on fire. We went back up on the porch and they put the dogs inside. “Did Sugar bite  you?”, the lady asked again. I think I showed a lot of composure when I simply answered “Yes” and collapsed into a chair. I wanted to kill someone. Or something.
     The folks bandaged me up and I told them I was OK, even though I wasn’t so sure. I messaged in that I had been bit and got the message back, “Can you finish your route?”. Foolishly I replied that I thought I could. That night my wife made me go to the emergency room. Thank goodness she did because not only did I need antibiotics for the dog bite but it turned out I had broken a bone in my hand when I fell down. I was off for over 7 weeks and eventually retained a lawyer and sued the homeowners for lost wages abouve what Workers Comp would pay. We were asking for $5000. The lawyer said his cut would be a 30% of the settlement.     
      About a week later, the lawyer called and said that Workers Comp had called him and asked if they could just join our lawsuit to recover their costs from the homeowner’s insurance too. They  were asking for $2000. I said sure.  Why not?
We won $7000 and the lawyer took this 30% then gave Workers Comp their $2000. I was expecting $3500, or 70% of $5000. He gave me a check for $2900.
     I must have sounded like that dog coming through the screen door. I was furious. He tried to explain it this way. His fee was 30% of the settlement. That’s what our contract said. Workers Comp had not contracted with him for fees he said and he had in fact asked me if I wanted to do them a favor by letting them sign on and I had said yes. I didn’t know the favor would cost me $600. The settlement was $7000. His fee was 30%. They were entitled to $2000. That left $2900 for me.
     Now I was ready to bite. My wife was with me and we started circling, just like those dogs had done before they bit me. He started to look a little panicked, I’m sure much like I had looked on those peoples’ driveway. We were snarling out things like “unfair” and “misleading”” and the “Lawyers’ Board of Ethics”. He called for help by offering to split the difference. We only barked louder. Just as I lunged at his flesh, he conceded and forked over the rest of my money. If he hadn’t, I think I would have bit him.

     Here is another good story about a UPS driver  who had a close encounter with a dog and now is on the verge of getting bit by the legal system.  People don’t realize how dangerous this delivery job is.  Trial March 25 for UPS driver.

I’m not generally one to try to predict the future, but I can speculate based on what I see today. Obviously each of you reading our blog has the right to speculate as well and I invite your comments on the future at UPS and with the Teamsters Union. My speculation is based on today, tomorrow the economy may crash, Hoffa may leave the union, UPS may close it’s doors, the savior may return. Not being psychic I just can’t make those kind of predictions. Today we have the implementation of Telematics. The refining of PAS. The lay-offs of employees. The drop in package volume. The election of Barack Obama. The republican ability to filibuster anything that comes before the senate. A weak senate majority leader. The company’s desire to take advantage of the current economic climate to weaken the union. The attack of the right wing blow hards that hate the middle class. All of these things, and many more, present themselves to create what may happen tomorrow. My expectation is that the company will be cracking the whip on drivers for production. They will sit in their little cubicle, with their computers on, watching your every move. You will recall in articles I have written in the past about the Lord and Master running the show from his throne on high. All of the new technology fits right into that theory. Telematics is designed to allow fewer management people to control and affect more people. They do look at management as overhead, not an asset. We have made the move in our building to one sup. for every 30 drivers. That would be impossible except they can pick any driver, and watch their performance on any given day, with the click of a mouse. Their favorite management tool has always been intimidation with a large dose of harassment. Fortunately the Teamsters have kept them from directly disciplining you using the new technologies, but it is still easy for them to harass you, and ultimately catch you in other ways if you are screwing around. The managers do not realize that the Teamsters have also saved some of their jobs indirectly, because they have required direct observation, which means more supervisors. When they can discipline off of the computer screen, you will see a direct reduction in management, (along with a large outcry from the usually silent Teamster member). My prediction is the company will continue to attack contractual language that prevents them from directly using information from all technological sources for discipline. My expectation from a Teamster standpoint is that the Union will be slow to respond, and will not be overly concerned until many of you have been harassed and/or terminated. The union presence has already diminished from my viewpoint in the interest of the card check legislation, and other political desires, (a very good thing but!?), meanwhile you and I are watching the company come in the back door of the vehicle with the power to beat us up from afar. Many of our Union officials are so far detached from what it’s like to do our job in this day of technology, that we should be very afraid of what they will negotiate on our behalf. In their support, I feel their desire will be to bring us the help we need, but we will have to rise up and let them know what is happening to us out here every day. That brings me to rising up. I feel that anyone trying to rise up will be targeted by the new technologies. They now have the ability to go after you simply because you open your mouth. My feeling is that they will attack the stewards, and any of the more radical types directly. The Teamster officials will have to get militant about protecting their workhorses within the rank and file. I have watched the end results of the JAC’s in recent years, and I feel that those people have little or no connection to the rank and file steward. It has appeared to become another throne like position to hold within the Teamsters. I don’t believe it’s due to evil intentions, it’s just the way the system is, and if the Teamsters do not do something to change it, they will fall by the wayside with the rank and file. No driver in his right mind will subject himself to the intense scrutiny the company will be able to bring forth, with no backing from the Union. So here is what my prediction would be based on today. I see the Union strengthening in numbers throughout the country because of the ability to organize. I see the strength of the Union being weakened inside the workplace because of a sense of detachment and a “slow as molasses” ability to deal with changing technologies. I see the company being able to target people simply for raising their hand as a Union member. As usual I see the membership being complacent and getting their news from fat, blow hards, and having no clue what is happening to them. All of this is based on today.
                                       Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

                                      Contact Your Teamsters Local Today

    Should people who work off the clock be fired? Is working for free the same as stealing?  At what point should we stop protecting workers who violate the contract and start enforcing our labor agreement?
    I know that our National Contract and Regional Supplements with UPS spell out the steps and reasons for termination. They specifiy certain behaviors that the company finds unacceptable and will not tolerate. Things like stealing and being impaired by drugs or alcohol while on the job. And the Union plays the role of savior by standing up for workers who get into trouble and trying to get their jobs back.
    I know the already contract addresses the potential problem of employees working before their start times or during their breaks. It says that the company does not allow it and if the problem is grieved, the remedy will be to pay the employee for all time worked. But the company does allow it. Some people believe they even encourage it. And why shouldn’t they? Everybody likes to get something for free. And managers and supervisors are assessed on their ability to get more work done for less money, so any work they can get done for free is money in the bank.
    But what happens when an employee works off the clock? First off, he is stealing money from his coworkers. If a job needs to be done, then it’s a job the company will pay someone to do. If someone does it for free, then they have prevented someone else from getting paid to do it. That’s stealing. And theft is one of those behaviors that the company usually finds unacceptable.
    Time that is worked but is not paid and reported as income is not taxed. Social Security taxes are not paid on it and State and National taxes are not paid. Would Social Security be hurting for money today if our culture had never condoned working for free and not paying taxes. How many dollars have been denied to Social Security over the last 50 years that could have and should have been invested?
    Working off the clock gives the company a false sense of how many people it takes to get a job done. If UPS dispatches 20 drivers and half of them skip their lunch, then they get 10 hours of free work a day. That’s a whole route that is done for free. There is someone waiting in the wings for a driving job at UPS and he will never get hired (or a driver will get laid off) if the current employees do his job for free. That’s not fair when the unemployment rate is already over 7% and rising. We need to be putting people to work, not doing their work for free while they struggle.
    That employee that will never get hired is also a potential Teamster who will not be paying dues. Our dues money goes to strengthen our position at the bargaining table and is returned to us in better wages and benefits. We are doing ourselves a great disservice to keep future Teamsters off the payroll by doing their work for free and showing the company we don’t need them.
    Isn’t it time we finally addressed the issue of employees working off the clock? This is not a radical idea. Other Unions have done it. The language needs to be put in the contract that puts the burden of punishment not on the company but on the employee. And the union should step up and protect itself and the country from these workplace thieves. The Union isn’t doing itself any favors by not addressing the problem. People who work off the clock should be fired.

I don’t know who said it first, but it’s worth repeating.

The world is divided into two groups.
 
There are those who know, and those who don’t know.
Those who know, they’re no problem.

Those who don’t know are also divided into two groups.
One is those who don’t know, and know they don’t know. Well, they can learn!

But then, there are those who don’t know, and don’t know they don’t know.
They become supervisors.

With the company’s policy of harrassing anyone that gets hurt, I am happy to be able to provide you with people that will help you. The company specifically targets people that are hurt on the job. Making an example out of them, in the hopes that their harrassment will scare off everyone else. Their idea is to persuade people into assuming injuries on their own dime and own time. These guys come highly reccomended by our local, and I have had the pleasure of working with them. Don’t let the company hurt you, then make you assume the financial consequences.
Help yourself!Don’t Get Screwed!

It’s been an interesting week. The company never fails to seaze on an opportunity to increase profit and production. The fun part this week was the earnings announcement. Yes we shouldn’t make assumptions about the future! Yes things could be worse tomorrow! Yes the world may end! The reality is big brown is still making tons of money. They love to keep you in a state of fear much like the Bush administration did for the last eight years. They get to control you thought process, and it makes you easier to buffalo. The big thing is the battle over nine fives. Management has been telling drivers they don’t have the right to file if they didn’t plan an 8.4 hour dispatch. Their new rule is you have to plan 8.4 and run scratch before you have the right to excersize your rights under the Union contract. Huh? When did that happen? They think we’ve forgotten that many of the areas have not been time studied since 1948. Many of our allowances do not reflect the specialized delivery requirments of today. I made a few phone calls to the union this week just to be sure we were all on the same page. All 9.5 rules remain as they were. Obviously we advocate a fair days work for a fair days pay. Do your job correctly, safely, and to the best of your ability. If you continue to be dispatched over 9.5 hours, file! For those of you that don’t mind the overtime, let them know. For those of you that do not want the overtime, let them know. Just don’t ask for one thing then do another. Don’t make your steward crazy by getting your dispatch reduced, then working over 9.5 hours anyway. Also don’t make your steward crazy by telling them you’ll work over 9.5 hours then filing after your 20th 9.5. They have made it clear that they intend to harrass anyone filing a 9.5 hour grievance. Be consistant in your work methods, (we’ve discussed that here), and know what is a reasonable dispatch for you. Be upfront about what you think is reasonable, but don’t expect something for nothing.

I got another email today from someone asking me how to keep management off their back. This is an age old problem at UPS.

Management is like the bully in the school yard. How do you keep from drawing his attention? The answer is simple. Do what he wants. Then he looks at someone else to harass.

Look at this video. This guy is makng his numbers, he’s going to look good  on paper and he thinks he’s doing what management wants since management is all about numbers. But if management can identify the driver in this video, they’ll fire him. Is he doing what management wants? Will the bully harass this guy?



Sometimes it’s hard to find the balance between using the methods and making your numbers. Most drivers believe that hitting the numbers will keep them out of the spotlight and the methods don’t matter as long as you stay out of the spotligtht. NOT. The methods are everything. The numbers are not your problem, no matter how much management tries to make you think they are your problem.

Hitting the numbers and not using the methods will get you fired. Using the methods and not hitting the nmbers will not get you fired. How tough is it to figure out which is the right path for you?

Well it’s no surprise, but here comes the war. With the falling volume, cars are being split out, areas are being expanded, and of course up go the hours. I heard the statement for the first time, “you should consider yourself lucky to be working in this economy!” The center manager blew a gasket when the driver complained about hours. He threatened the driver with having to sit with the division manager and explain himself if he filed a nine five grievance. Of course there were five more drivers complaining after this one, and of course the grievances will be filed because everyone is being dispatched with 10 to 11 hour days. The sh-t will really hit the fan when they in turn lay off the low senior drivers, and stop giving any days off. The interesting part will be to see how the Union reacts. Where they’ve been able to make the company pay double time in the past, the current economic times will allow the company to whine much louder, and I suspicion the over dispatching will go on without relief. Time will tell.

I forgot to include that 8 hour requests are also going to be under attack. They want to go back to the old days where you worked all day and half the night and liked it. Now your seeing the push by Bush to create dog like slave labor in this country. UPS is definetly on that page. We’ll find out if the Union is.