NextGen Teamster
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When are we going to learn?
Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"
I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.
Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."
Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.
Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!
"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.
A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."
I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?
If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?
Ever since I started as a city driver for ABF, I've had pressure from my Teamster brothers to milk the clock. My first or second week, while working the forklift on the dock, and trying to get things done quickly without damaging anything, someone says, "There's no need to hurry - we're paid by the hour." Some weeks later someone said, "slow down, we're on overtime.... don't you like overtime?"
I get hints almost every day that I need to slow down, because I'm making others look bad. More recently I covered for a morning shift guy and did his usual 1st stop sorting and segregating. When I came back to the terminal, a couple guys tell me that I'm back too early. "____ never gets back this early". I got these comments a few times that week. They say if i get back too early, ABF will expect ____ to get back earlier as well.
Another guy runs a certain load sometimes near the end of his graveyard shift. When I did that same run for the first time, and when I got back he tells me, "Man you're really making me look bad. I need to teach you where the cafeteria is over there. They have really good eggs."
Another guy worked a certain bid til it was time to rebid for the next year. I got the same bid next. One of the first days I worked it, and I came back much earlier than expected, my boss looked at me with big eyes and a worried look and asked, "What are you doing here?" Of course he wasn't wanting me to slow down, he had thought I must've walked out in the middle of my shift and quit. I was done WAY earlier than the previous guy. A few different guys at different times told me I was getting back too early.
Most recently I covered for the UE driver's vacation. A couple guys there DEMANDED that I not take any breaks anywhere around the terminal. I had to chuckle to myself that they thought I was a spy. So one day I get to the UE terminal real early - 45 minutes earlier than the other guys get there. I don't believe in milking the clock, and we don't start working there for another 45 minutes, so I took my 10 minute break and my Half Hour break. This caused an UPROAR of epic proportions among several UE drivers!
"You can't take your breaks until you're on your way home," a few of them demanded. "We all take One Hour break on our way home, isn't that right?" The others all nodded in confirmation. Almost everyone, one at a time, throughout our time together comes up to me and repeats, "We take an hour break on the way home - not here." They say it's important that we're all on the same page.
A short time later one of them corners me and says I'm "upsetting the flow" by taking my break before we start. When I asked him to explain exactly how I'm upsetting the flow, he said "_____ never takes his break before we start - you're gonna make him look bad."
I simply don't believe in milking the clock. Why can't you old-school Teamsters accept this? I don't EVER skip any of my breaks, and yet I get things done faster than most. Why is this not OK?
If you agree with me, do me a favor and do not reply promptly on this thread. If you do, the old-schoolers will find a way to pick you apart and insult you in order to avoid answering the original questions. I want to hear from ABFer, Canary, vongrimmenstein, and especially any old-school city drivers. Please explain what I am doing that is so wrong and why?
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