TForce | $10.50/hr + 4am start time + sub zero temperatures =

high turnover rate for part time dockworkers

in the past month we have had about 10 new part timers on the inbound shift...only 4 lasted until this week, 3 didnt show up today

now i know alot of people will say they should be grateful to have a job, and i agree, and i think most of them are pretty soft for not being able to work a job like anybody should

but at the same time, if management wants to stop spending all this time and money hiring and training these people they are going to have to start paying them more then $10.50 an hour and giving us some kind of benefits...all we get is paid holidays and insurance after 1 year

it sucks being part time

I thought you got a bid on the street????

when I started a long, long, time ago, on a dock far, far way it was the beginning of January. cold bitter, frigid, open dock in the north. I was getting paid 8.50 an hour, no insurance, no overtime, no union, no union breaks. just a cold electric forklift, if I was lucky, mostly a cold pallet jack. those were the days I was glad to get a 40 footer with all drums, to move by hand. or a trailer of all piece work.
yes it was cold, yes it sucked, but I was young, and made me the man I am now. suck it up kid, it could be SO much worse.
spring will be here in 24 days.
this company always has a high turnover rate in the winter.
learn, adapt, overcome

walleye said:

I thought you got a bid on the street????

Click to expand...

i did i was awarded the bid but there dickin me around making me wait

they said the bid didnt have a start date so they can wait as long as they want to start me full time

I too agree with you in regards to the wages but not because of the cold or the hours. When I started, on the dock, many moons ago, graveyard, I was making a very good wage with benefits for the time and that is why I do what I do today -drive. You get what you pay for and that is why today I unloaded from POR, a 250lb motor stacked on top of a 75lb, pallet sized box of roses. Oregon's min. wage is 8.40hr and we pay 10.50 for part time and expect quality work. Someone could go pump gas, during the day for 8hrs and come out better than working here. Also gone, are the days when one could hostle for 6mos, go get a CDL permit, ride with a driver for a couple of weeks, take the test, get actual CDL, then go out on a route. There is no incentive for a dock worker to provide anything close to quality work here. Oh, and their holiday pay is based on an average of their hours for the prior 2weeks of the hol.

We have a long way to go before we are serious contenders in this industry.

I will throw my 2 cents in on this. First off I am in total agreement in regards to UPS pays crap wages for a very demanding job. I personally would not do it. Too many other gigs out there with better working conditions and better pay. Second. I think UPS thinks that these guys are moving packages (obviously not really). I am assuming they are taking the approach as they do on the parcel side. When you start there you work crap hours, crappy pay and bust your butt. The rewards is to go into a better paying gig like delivering the packages which is where the money is at. The problem lies in they are comparing apples to oranges and expecting the same results.

If that is the thought process of UPS, then they need a reality check. I understand the lower wages due to it is an entry level position. However, there are more dangers in moving freight then there are in moving packages. So in a nutshell, yes UPS needs to look at the front line of moving freight on the docks due to you guys are the ones who really kind of make or break the company. We have lost numerous accounts up here in the ALB. Talking to a driver yesterday who runs a big pedal. He works his tail off to maintain his accounts in his area. He has worked a few of them where he actually got the company to use UPS exclusively. However, stemming back to guys moving freight on the dock and freight being damaged. We are on the verge of losing a few accounts in his area. What is he to do. He cannot do anything unless the dock area is happy and working in perfect harmony.

Maybe we need to have an episode of Undercover Boss come in and make a motivational improvement....If you have not seen that show check it out. Its on Sunday nights.

Wasn't long ago here, this time spent freezing on the dock humping 110lbs double rolls for start pay was the same as a fat bstd eating cheetoes on the couch thinking about going to work for Overnite.
Senority should be one list, your hire date.

tigerwitha88 said:

Wasn't long ago here, this time spent freezing on the dock humping 110lbs double rolls for start pay was the same as a fat bstd eating cheetoes on the couch thinking about going to work for Overnite.
Senority should be one list, your hire date.

Click to expand...

Translation please>>>>>>>.

Meaning 10.50 hr(less at my start), humping frt in freezing temperature should count for more than a person ahead of them that never did it and hired later. But it doesnt.

before UPS came in overnite payed almost $14 an hour to start

I like the undercover boss idea, then i could kick his a.. and get away with it.

I started working the dock parttime at a competitor company about 8-9 years ago, they were having an issue with turnover so they started parttimers out at thier top pay in hopes of keeping them there. Overnite also started out at well over $10.50 for parttime dock workers. UPS came in and changed things up a bit, I recall they had the college program and then had a program that gave money once you received your CDL license and were a driver for 6 months. I believe that both programs have ceased. Their is no incentive to work for those wages unless you plan on getting your CDL and waiting (hoping) that a position opens up, and they give you a chance on the streets.

Don't let the cold get to you, I remember my first winter at the other company. I wasn't ready for it at all! You learn and eventually can't wait for the hot summers...

there was one thing that i did have hope for when i was a part timer on the dock. opportuity for advancment. full time, jockey, driver, managment. at our terminal there is much dispair. we have several dock guys who got a CDL, but due to haveing to locals, and an ***** for a terminal manager. there is no possibility of movement. no hope for full time. if you do take the time to earn a CDL you can't switch unions to become a driver. or switch classifications to be a road driver.(they don't inform you untill after you take the test) UPS preeches that they hire from within. i guess they don't do it, at the UPS i work for. causeing many problems on the dock specifically. why work for a company that doesn't allow growth. you mean you want us to do the same job day in and day out without a chance to move up in the company? that makes good workers.
ups needs to get its act togather.
we did have the ceo of ups at our terminal for " under cover boss" he got fired for hitting a mis -marked viaduct on his first day.