TForce | What is the point....

[BusterNite]

We might drop our lunchbox while trying to eat running from the truck to the customers.
To me the bigger question is why line-haul has to wear them....

New stainless steel coffee mugs are heavy and could cause damage if you drop it on your toe.

 

[Johnnybegood]

Your dolly is the reason Very heavy and rolls...........You also go on many docks for paperwork or other things around fork trucks..........

 

[Teamster251]

The white tractors you guys are seeing are driven UPS employees. Our own Teamster 251 is one of those drivers and I'm sure he'll be alone shortly to explain all the detalis.

CFer you are correct.
To answer your question Uniontrucka, here goes.

Sleeper teams were created in 1997 to move Air freight on the weekends. The company saw no reason to fly the freight if you could make service on a package picked up Friday and delivered with "1DAY AIR" on Monday. If they could move it with a team and still meet service they moved it on the truck. So they started teams.

Article 43 deals with this operation specifically.

Art 43
Para 1
No Feeder Driver will be laid off or displaced from the Feeder Classification as a diredt result of the implementation of a Premium Service Job ( Premium Service Job = Sleeper Team....PSST Premuim Service Sleeper Team)

Right now there are just over 300 Teams in the US.

More teams are being established with the freight coming off the rails and the creation and implementation of the "Fast Lane" service.

"Fast Lane" is a service enhancement between larger Metro areas.

New England (handled out of Providence RI) to Houston, Dallas, Columbus OH, Lousiville KY, Knoxville TN, Lenexas KS Jacksonville are all examples of enhanced service. By taking the trailers that are normally put on the railhead in Worcester Mass combining them in Providence and using Sleeper teams to move them, not only are they bettering service they have created jobs, both in the building, between the buildings, and on the street.

I am a feeder driver, hired as a feeder driver, been union for 22 years, wear the same browns as a feeder driver, get the same color check, pay the same dues, answer to the same feeder operation manager, chose jobs within the feeder dept based on seniority, use the same driver's breakroom, get my assingments from the same inbound or outbound phones that anyother Feeder Driver does.

The only difference between a feeder driver and a PSST is the fact that we are satellite equipt and our central dispatch is in Lousvillle KY with wwe call ICC Moddel.
Our trucks are equpit with QualCom instead of IVIS.

Our truck belongs to Penske for the simple reason of on-road service logistics.

Our trucks are white because after a certain time or milegae UPS wants new ones and Penske claims "white" has a better reesale or re-use value and UPS does want any "brown" tractors out in the general public that look like old (retired) UPS tractors.

Our trucks are assigned to a team. Used only by that team (unless emergency occurs).

Some buildings are having a problem parking the Sleeper units (size) space is limited and many Sleeper teams lock their units and take the keys home (local ageement).
If units are locked they must be parked where they will not have to be moved or get in the way.

Two more runs have been added to the Providence RI (Warwick) operation bringing the total to 10 runs since February.

UPS predicts by 2010, 3500 PSST will be running the system. Only 10-15% of the freight that used to go on the rails has been removed.
UPS relys heavily on the rail to move most of its freight.
UPS is very concerned with the financail heatlh, infastructure, and treatmnet it gets from the railroads and it backing away from them and at the same time increasing service and as a results is a better position to compete with FedEx Ground and AirRide (DHL) on its ground service times.

A good example of the problem UPS faces with the rail is this past two weeks with the bad rains in the Norhteast the rails were shut down stranding freight and destroying service.

Feeder Drivers and PSSTs were moving freight out of rail yards that they mormally wouldn't even think of doing.

UPS is a constantly changing and adapting company. One thing is they don't change quickly or drastically, they change systematically and in a timely fashion.

Look for teams to start pulling freight boxes in the future to balance the loads. We as PSST get paid doulble miles reguardless of a single trailer or bobtail. It has been mentioned that in the future we could be moving Freight's boxes to enhance their service too. With this said it probally a good idea to get a contract now so UPS can't steal your work. They can't take ours but right now they can take yours.


Oh ya by the way, we as PSSTs are guarneteed 40 hours a week once we sign the bid. My run to Mesquite was cut this week becuase of the Tuesday holiday and it would of meant coming back from TX empty so naturally the run didn't go but the pay check still kept coming.
Isn't life great, only 8 months on the seniority list and I get a summer vacation, 4th of July week to boot.

Go to go, Gretchen's cooking Steak and eggs out on the grill and my BloodyMary needs some ice.

Later T251



PS UPS work rules state that all PSSTs will be in uniform at all times. You will never see me out of my "browns" when in the performace of my paid duties for the company. Lately strict disiplinary actions have been taken against individuals wearing "civies" during the performance of their duties as PSSTs.
I see no differnce between a pair of brown pants and a pair of jeans or a tshirt and a button down shirt. If your clothes down fit right and are uncomfortable it not the companies problem. The only problem I see is that you have replaced them and made it right by you. UPS can get any size
Complaining the your pants are to small or your shirt don't fit right, on this site, is using the wrong aveune of approach.


Dam I need another celery stick!!!!!!!

 

[UnionTrucka]

thanks for the info T. just very curious. you cleared up alot of things.

 

[Rebel]

In the days before Union Pacific bought BigO it was nothing to take a truck home for the weekend to move furniture or help a neighbor move. I've never worked for a better company than when Cochran owned it. The railroad changed all that... with Cochran's blessing too. I think he regretted that sale, at least I hope so.

I can totally agree with that. But in reality..I don't think Mr. C had a choice in the whole matter. UP was gonna get Overnite one way or another.
During those times we also had a whole different class of people working there.
I sure miss those days!