New Drivers

The only way we receive these high wages is to provide a service to our customers. They paid a substantial amount of money to get their packages delivered on time and in good condition at the service level they paid for. We should never give them anything less. They, like all of us, just want what they paid for. They don't want excuses, they just want their package. That's it! That is our only job, and we need to be the best at it in order to protect all of us who depend on UPS for our livelihood.

Now that we have covered what our customers expect from us and how much we are compensated to provide that service, we need to cover our responsibilities as drivers to meet the expectations of UPS, the Union, and our fellow employees. I have found the best way to do that is to put yourself in the shoes of the next person and see things from their prospective. This is the person who will be affected by the quality of the job you do. Whether you are aware of it or not, everyday you are building a reputation with the people you work with and deliver to. Rarely does someone actually tell a person that they are not well respected among their peers, but the word does get around to everyone else about the person who is not doing their job and causing extra work and problems for others. The reputation and respect you have with your peers and customers is up to you.

We all have our own situations and lives to deal with so no driver wants to clean up problems caused by another driver. Here is some of what other drivers expect of you:

• Show up for work. Use sick days for being sick, doctors appointments or important scheduled events. When you call in sick when you could have worked you affect others. Someone might miss or be late to an important event because they had to take on more work because the route you were driving had to be cut.

• Deliver the route like it is your route and you live there. You expect delivery drivers to do things the correct way in your neighborhood so you should do the same in other peoples neighborhood.

• Be courteous to customers, respect their property and neighborhood. Don't make other drivers have to take their time to smooth things over with a customer that you made angry.

• Don't Speed or cause a lot of dust. Other drivers don't want to get yelled at because you were speeding the day before.

• Sheet packages honestly and correctly. Other drivers don't want have to deal with the customer who was home waiting for the package that you had the day before and sheeted Not in 1.

• Make an honest effort to find the stop and deliver your shags. Addresses on packages are rarely bad. Other drivers don't want to deliver your NSN package to a house that is clearly marked. The clerk doesn't want to call and hear about it from the irate customer either. If you honestly can't find the stop write "Unable to locate, need directions" and draw a small map on the box showing others what you could find.

• If you aren't sure it is the right place, leave an out notice. Other drivers don't want to have to retrieve a misdelivered package or deal with a driver follow up. Write a note on the package so the next driver and the customer knows why you had doubt and didn't leave it.

• Do your best to deliver your route on your own. Other drivers have their own route to deliver and a life outside of UPS to live. They don't want to work hard to finish their route in order to get to an important event only to be asked to go help you finish a route you should have been able to do on your own. If you were extremely over dispatched or broke down and can't finish then no problem, otherwise you should play the hand you were dealt and the rest of us will play ours.

Leave the package car how you would like to find it:

• Clean up after yourself. No one wants to clean your trash out of the package car.

• Fuel Your Package Car. No one wants to start their route by having to get fuel.

• Put the fuel card back where it belongs. Don't make others hunt it down.

• Replenish supplies. If you used the last of a supply like DR bags, replace them.

• Park in the correct spot. No one wants to move and re park your car so they can park in their spot.

• If you have to park a car outside with packages in it, tell the local sort supervisor. Don't cause chaos and missed packages because you didn't communicate.

Just like any company UPS has written a company policy that every employee is expected to follow. Along with that policy UPS and the Teamsters union have negotiated an agreement that stipulates the details of certain aspects of the employee and employer relationship. Those two documents along with California law are the rules we all must follow in our employment at UPS. We as individual employees don't get to change any of these policies, laws or contract agreements. They are part of the agreement you made when you applied for and received employment at UPS. You can examine them at anytime if you are unclear on any details of these documents.

What management expects of you:

• Show up for work, and be on time. This is an operation that relies on time commitments and deadlines. Every person needs to be at their scheduled position to fulfill them.

• Communicate. Communicate to management in a timely manner any details that will affect the operation of our business. Examples include misroutes, missed packages, customer concerns, late for work, sick calls, etc.

• Follow the appearance guidelines. Your appearance directly affects how the public views our company. The appearance standard is part of company policy. As stated above you don't get to change them.

• Do quality work, safely and efficiently. Mistakes cost money to fix. injuries are expensive, no one wants either. You may be facing a difficult work load but it is up to you to do quality work efficiently without sacrificing safety.

• Deliver every package every day. If the customer knows the package is out for delivery they expect that they will have it that day.

• Sheet packages properly. The customers track their package and they know what is going on. Don't jeopardize their trust in UPS by sheeting packages with false exceptions.

• Do a fair days work for a fair days pay. This is in Article 37 Section 1 of the contract. The union knows the brisk work pace and sense of urgency required to be a UPS driver and have negotiated our pay accordingly. We need to hold up our end of the bargain.

• Don't argue, work as instructed. Work as instructed unless it is unsafe, illegal or against company policy. If the contract is being violated then you may bring that to management's attention. If they still instruct you to do the work then work as instructed and file a grievance later. Chances are there is no other options at the moment and the work needs to be done. Our number one priority is servicing the customer, we can work out the details later.

• Treat management with respect. The following is quote in Article 37 Section 1 of the contract. "Employees will treat each other as well as the Employer with dignity and respect."

There may come a time when you will not see eye to eye with management or do something that jeopardizes your job and you will need to be represented by the Teamsters union. The first union person you will meet is your shop steward. This person should always sit in with you while you are meeting with management about disciplinary issues. The shop steward is a voluntary unpaid position, although they are on the clock when they are in your meeting with management. A shop stewards workload at UPS is not reduced because of any additional responsibilities they have taken on with the union. The next person you will encounter is your business agent. This person has a paid position with the union and is your official representative when it comes to the final resolution of issues you may have with UPS. As a shop steward the best advice I can give any employee is to "Always be Right." What this means is that if you follow company policy, follow the contract, and follow the law you should have few problems with UPS management. If by chance you do have a problem with management, and you followed the "Always be Right " advice, you should have no problems winning your grievance.

Belonging to the Teamsters union should not be viewed as a license to get away with poor behavior and flout the company rules. As union employees at UPS we are paid the best wages and benefits in our industry. We should be the highest caliber employees and the standard by which our competitors are measured. With that said here are a few things the union expects of you:

• Take the time to get familiar with the contract. If you don't have a contract ask your shop steward for one, you can also find it online.

• If you think the company is violating your contract rights then take the time to look it up for yourself and read the language. There is a saying that "Every grievance is a gripe, but not every gripe is a grievance." If it is not a contract violation, unsafe, against the law, or against company policy, then you have no grievance.

• Talk with management to try to fix the situation. Sometimes that is all it takes.

• Document the facts and keep good records. Good documentation of a contract violation is the best way to win a grievance.

• Talk with your shop steward. Get your shop stewards advice. Give them the facts and don't leave out any important details.

• Write a well documented grievance. It is up to you not your shop steward to write your grievance. In some cases there are fill in the blank forms for common issues like over 9.5 hour violations. Your shop steward will look your grievance over and submit it for you.

Hopefully you will find this advise useful in navigating your career as a driver at UPS.