Archives

[exit63]

In our UPS Office, the temperature was actually below 65. The complaints! Our facilities guys really took it hard, had to stay past 5. The tanning machine was down too, so the admins had little to do at lunch but eat and bitch. Times are really hard in the NJ districts.

Exit63

 

[ezrider]

Monster don't forget some good old dairy state cheese for that bratwurst.

Tooner I'm a little west of what was once "beertown" about thirty miles west of Lake Michigan and it was pretty cold for most of the week if you factor in the wind chill.The last few winters have been relatively mild here and this was sort of a wake-up call for me.The challenge for me was the drifting snow.It often can obscure where a driveway entrance meets up to a two-lane highway with no shoulder to pull over on.Not many attractive options available in that scenario.

I'll never know how people up north deal with a much longer season of that.If it weren't for the harsh winters I'd move to the Twin-Cities in a minute.It's a great community with lots to do and everyone is friendly.But a winter that lasts four months would wear me down.

 

[tomb]

Yesterday, it was -29 when we left the building. Thankfully, it wasn't windy. Just about everyone invited in to warm up (no thanks, I'm doing OK, but thank you for thinking of me!) and 4 folks said, "you guys are more than earning your money today."

At the end of the day, I felt a large degree of pride that I delivered all my packages, did all my pickups and was able to help another guy that was over-dispatched.

If ya dress for it, it's not all that bad. For in town, I usually leave my passenger door open till it gets below zero. Easier than opening and closing it all the time. I wear a micro-fleece hood thingy, turtle neck and a silk snowmobile mask (open face.) I was over-dressed for bulk stops and rurals, but just about right for in towns.

My biggest issue has been diad batteries. When it gets cold, an old battery will not last for a whole day.

Tom B

 

[over9five]

"When it gets cold, an old battery will not last for a whole day."

I got the 20% warning at 1115 one day, but it never died.

 

[browndude]

no actually i don't have any carhartt clothing it gets too hot with that thick stuff on. shorts are still fine here.

 

[muncher]

First off where do you get off GMAN saying I am stealing time? my drivers have a range of between 110-120, and 135-145 on stops, just because I put that on the low end and know what splits to move dosn't make me a theft! Don;t get mad at me because I can do a better job then the on-roads who dipatch the work! Also hate to tell you but I already am a certified cover driver for the past year, don't have to get requalified!,only 3 people in front of me so I will be full time soon, but in the mean time I will continue to give my fellow teamster drivers a fair days work for a fair days pay!!!!!!!!!!
the munch

 

[deliver_man]

If you want to assign people "a fair days work for a fair days pay", then go into management (I'm not holding my breath on that one). As an hourly employee, your job is to "work as directed" (that means you do what you're told). Your job is to load package cars and give management an accurate stop count so that they can give an accurate dispatch. If you are knowingly falsifying stop counts in order to screw up your center's dispatch, you should be fired. As a driver, I don't need my loader to lie for me, I can take care of myself. Just give me a decent load and an accurate stop count, the rest is up to me. The kind of part timer who will falsify a stop count will go on to be the kind of driver who will run up miles and pad stops. We don't need dishonest drivers any more than we need dishonest loaders. Get a clue or get out. If you were in my building I would turn you in myself.

 

[muncher]

Deleiver_man,
I also do as instructed, it seems you didn't bother to read the post I wrote, you just want to give your own one-sided opinion. If you want to turn me in so bad I work in the Lakeland hub, I am sure a brown noser like you loves to rat out fellow teamsters.

 

[wornoutupser]

I really feel sorry for you guys up in the cold.The cold down here is horrible at 30 degrees because we are not used to it at all.
Most of you have figured out that I am in Florida.
I worked unload Friday starting at 4:30 AM before I drove and I was in shorts and a T shirt! It was in the mid 50's.

 

[dannyboy]

"no point man , point men take a lot more bullets."

Tie, No guts, No glory!

d

 

[dannyboy]

While it is not that far below freezing here, the wind cuts badly. Our whole preload walked off the belt to the conference room for a break to warm up last week.

d

 

[tranham]

I see that this has, once again, degraded into a stupid thread. Still while we are on the subject, I will vent a bit. I got a FT job after 14 years last year in Whites Creek, Tennessee. My pay went from 47K as a cover driver to 34K for a combo. Yeehaw! Better yet, who knows how long it will take to be a full time driver and I'm sure they won't let me keep my old cover driver rate when I do start. Still this is all old news as most of you know. Here is what gets me. Yesterday my boss tells me that the Franklin hub (30 mins away) needs drivers bad. So bad that they are disregarding the 1 yr rule (must work for UPS one year to be a driver). So it's ok to break that rule, but for Gods sake don't let people transfer over? Listen up Atlanta, if you treat people equally you will find they work harder and respect you more, even with a contract that rewards mediocrity thru entitlements. All you have here at Whites Creek is disgruntled employees. I challenge you, in Atlanta, to do more. Give up your 1:6 off the street hire here at Whites Creek. Let us transfer to other hubs. There is no excuse for the level of unevenness between 2 hubs 30 mins apart.
Robert Nitsche

 

[local804]

Tranham,
Transfering employee`s are listed in our suppliments.I really like your post. There is alot of all talk no action on this board and your not one of them.The best part is that you challenged and them signed your name. Good luck.

 

[tieguy]

"Deleiver_man,
I also do as instructed, it seems you didn't bother to read the post I wrote, you just want to give your own one-sided opinion. If you want to turn me in so bad I work in the Lakeland hub, I am sure a brown noser like you loves to rat out fellow teamsters"

Ahhh yes and now he calls people who tell him to do his job a rat. Yessir your a fine example of a stif.

 

[deliver_man]

I am sure a brown noser like you loves to rat out fellow teamsters.

Great, just what the company and the union need, another guy who will lie and cheat for his own benefit and then, when he gets caught, cry about union solidarity and accuse anyone who doesn't support him of being a "brown noser". What a joke. I pity the center that will have to put up with this loser, and the drivers that will have to work next to him. At least he will keep the shop stewards busy.

 

[tieguy]

Yea I agree. But it looked like he needed the comfort of a crowd.

 

[parttimejon]

i've been in the 401k plan for about three years now. i'm looking for suggestions on how to grow my money. i contribute 40% to s&p 500, 40% to Magellan Fund, and 20% to bright horizon 2035.

p.s. i am also looking to get into the stock program. any advise?

 

[my2cents]

For starters you can max out your contributions to your 401(k), which is now 25%, as of this year. As far as a general rule of thumb for your portfolio, subtract your age from 100 to get your stock to bond allocation. A 30 year old, for example, has 70% in stocks and the remainder in bonds or interest bearing instruments. The standard portfolio is 60/40. At any rate, how much risk to take is an individual decision after evaluating current market conditions. A younger person can take more risks in building wealth, whereas, a person who is nearing retirement may be looking for wealth preservation strategies.

Speaking for myself, I've been trying to find Morningstar reports for the fund choices in the 401(k). The Magellan Fund is the only one I have been able to find, however, because it is a public fund. It would be neat to be able to have reports available for the rest of State Street's 401(k) offerings. I would be most interested in how Morningstar would rate them. If such reports were available, I would purchase copies of them. BTW, you can find information on the Moringstar site about 401(k) strategies, although you will have to register as a member to take advantage of this service.

The Discounted Employee Stock Purchase Plan is a great way to gradually accumulate shares, something you really couldn't do with a typical brokerage account. You are able to purchase the shares at a 10% discount and now you can also take advantage of the just rolled out Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP), where the dividends that are paid out on your shares are used as cash to purchase more shares, instead of drawing a dividend check.

Learning is an ongoing process where mistakes can be make, although I believe the best advice to give is to think for yourself. Ultimately, nobody cares more about your money than you do.

 

[deliver_man]

Magellan basically tracks the S&P500, it just has higher fees. IMHO, a better spread would be S&P500, S&P400, and the Russell2000. Covers all your bases. The Russell has grown the most this year as small caps and tech stocks have bounced back, and the midcap400 has outperformed the S&P500 pretty consistently over the last 5 years. The bright horizon funds are stock/bond blends that convert mostly to bonds as you approach retirement age, under the theory that bonds are safer, but since you can, at any time, log into your account and transfer some or all of your money into a bond fun with no fees or penalties, I don't see the point. In addition, the Bright horizon funds are managed, like Magellan, and carry higher fees than the index funds. Getting into the stock program is a great idea, but not until you have maxed out your 401k contributions (17% pretax, 5% post), because a tax free investment carries a guaranteed return no matter how the market performs(reduction in your taxable income = reduction in your tax bill), while the stock program has no such guarantee. As always, past performance is no guarantee of future returns, and the above is simply my opinion.

 

[over9five]

Yes! Immediately start the DESPP (stock program). You will be buying your stock at a 10% discount. Great deal!
Im sure you've been to the 401k website, but did you know you can see (on the site) how each fund has performed over time? Its a decision you have to make, I wouldnt advise you what to pick anyhow.
Smart move thinking about your future, tho!