With the talk of the teamster strike coming I'd like to share some UPS horror stories and see if yall have any to add? A lot of attention gets given to the extreme heat in the delivery trucks, and while yes it is bad believe me the heat in the semi trailers needing to be loaded or unloaded is a whole other level. These trailers will sit for 6 hours baking in 100°+ summer sun. Then an employee will have to load or unload the trailer with a 50/50 of a working fan which is blowing more 100° air at you. A trailer can easily have 2500 boxes and unless it is over 70lbs you're expected to load or unload it by yourself. And unloaded may do 6-8 trucks in a 6 hour shift while a loader will load 3-4 in the same amount of time. So that sets the stage, as one can imagine working at that rate in that heat for that long is a bad combo. Most “good employees” are pushing the edge of exhaustion the whole time, throwing up is all to common along with all of the other signs of heat exhaustion. I'd venture to say an ambulance is called to a large hub daily for heat exhaustion and I know UPS gets warned from local govt when this happens frequently though they dont give a fuck. So its 2 years ago and I am a newly appointed full time manager, my old colleague and now employee Will is a loader. At UPS you must work for a few years before becoming a driver and as such me and Will both where colleagues until I chose the management route. From our working together I know this kid is a hard as worker, he gives his all, drinks plenty of water, and really tries to do everything by the book and compliant with company safety standards. Well one day it is 102° 90% humidity and folks are dropping like flies, every person who has to break is creating more work for those left on the line and Will is in the last truck. Every box missed by another employee is coming Wills way, not only must he pack his 2500+ boxes going to Tampa but he also has to remove the 1000+ boxes going elsewhere that shouldn't have even made it to him. Shits a mess. Will calls over another employee to relieve him for water but not having the sweet packing and pacing skills of Will he fucks it up, Will now returns to the shit show. Dedicated to his job he speeds it way up cleaning up the mess and maintaining the flow coming into his truck. But then he doesn't, the belts are backing up first to Tampa, next Winter Garden and in 10 mins the whole hub is having to stop because of the backed up belt. With my boss saying wtf is happening I call to Wills boss on the radio,,
Me: What is going on?!
Her: Please come to my PD(work area)
Me: Get the belt up now, I'm on my way.q
Her: we can't we have an emergency, please come now
As I arrive I am confronted by the sight of Wills blood covered face, he has gashes from his left eye all the way to his ear, if you're a UFC person he looked like Cowboy Cerrone did after Tony Ferguson fight, it was rough. With garbled together concussion talk Will asserted he slipped in his sweat smashed and smashed face first into the belt. Ambulance called prior to my arriving Will is taken off and we continue the rough day dealing with the backed up belts and now bloody trailer. After work I reach out and Will tells me his Orbital is fractured, he has a concussion and will be out a few weeks. He asks if I know the protocol for injury leave and I direct him on how to begin the process.
Day 2 and I come in expecting a normal day, as I set my stuff down the Sort Manager(big boss) comes to me and asks me to his office. Expecting I fucked up something I stressfully comply and follow him to the office.
Him: Did you hear about Will filing for leave pay?
Me: Yes, he told me he broke his orbital bone has a concussion etc
(he first lectured me about texting him, even though they always want us texting folks to get them to come to work etc)
Him: I need you to file a fake write up on Will, say he walked between the rollers and that you warned him that is unsafe and may result in injury
Me: Why?
Him: If we have that documented they will deny the leave pay because he was warned prior
Me: I dont believe that is what occurred
Him: With the heat we have been paying out a lot of injuries these past months and my boss is giving me hell, do as I said.
Me: Okay
At this very point I silent quit. I did NOT file the false report on Will but my boss went to the supervisor below me and had her do it. Shocked and infuriated for Will I notified the district manager of the wrongdoing. Will did get paid. But I was buried, I became the substitute manager. If an area was out of control and had bad numbers they'd send me in with the hope I would not be able to fix it and they'd fire me. It didn't work after the 3rd time of me fucking up there plans they got me. They decided I had no option but midnight shift, midnight-5am as a manager it would be 10pm-6pm 5 days a week. As a father of 2 at the time (3 now!) This shit wasn't happening. I quit, no notice nada. I wrote my local news to no avail, I've seen small stories on the heat problem at UPS before but almost all are on the driver's not the package handlers. Before I became the evil “man” i was a teamster, I stand with you all 100%. After years being the “man” I had an epiphany, since that day I quit I have done only things that fulfill me and that I enjoy to the core. I became a farmer and my work life balance is so much better now.
Thanks to UPS trying to fuck over Will.
Anyone got any good horror stories from UPS?