ups and united way

[trickpony1]

ups79,
I looked at your profile also. It says you are a driver.
It's only a matter of time before something happens to you..... a knee, a hip, a shoulder, a neck or perhaps the same thing that happened to me.

Of course you probably "get along" so well with management that they will create a job for you when you are unable do your current job. People who kiss management's "rear-end" make it difficult for those of us who simply want to do the job and make it to retirement.

Oh, and by the way, I started in January of '78 so maybe I have been around a little longer and have seen a little more than you?



(Message edited by trickpony1 on August 06, 2005)

 

[tieguy]

Interesting point. I wonder if its possible to have a good working relationship with this "management" person without being accused of kissing his but.

I wonder if this reference to management is perhaps similar to the caste system employed in India. Does the reference to kissing managemnets but also insinuate that managements but has not been washed as well as perhaps a drivers but.

Ah so many issues to ponder as I sit back on my managment but and break out another cold coors.

 

[over9five]

"...and break out another cold coors."

And finally we've hit the highpoint of this thread. I say we redirect to this important issue.

I am going to break out a Sam Adams! (Boston Lager if we need to be specific)

 

[ok2bclever]

Uhh, loaddoor, dawg is in management so he is not eligible for the grievance procedure.

You do make a good point though that the workforce is the union.

Too many think because they pay union dues the Teamster BA downtown is supposed to do everything for them like a butler or something.

The workforce is the union, the Teamster organization is just the official tool.

For all the bitchin' about what the Teamsters don't do for us, the truly significant failure of the Teamster organization in my opinion is not having regular educational seminars on how to use/apply the contract correctly and most effectively as a unified workforce.

Of course, probably hardly anyone would actually attend as they have sooo many other more important things to do in their lives . . .

Which is why all those saying our union sucks are right, even if they aren't meaning it that way.

 

[feederdude]

That load door has absolutely no lights on.....
Fdude

 

[8up]

give, because it feels good.
give, because it is the right thing to do.
give, to the United Way thru work because it a good thing to do, and it makes us all look good to the communities we live and work in.
give, to your church, if you don't have one, get one.
give, to those who are working to help others while too many folks are mainly working to help themselves.
give up time spent in here to go out and help others.
give up all the whining.
give until it hurts
rather than hurting to give.

 

[dannyboy]

First off, let me share some facts.

The United way does not help folks, they are a clearing house for funds that are donated to them to be passed to those agencies that do help people. Their major effort is fundraising. Period.

Now that fundraising was origially targeted at the great majority that does not give all that much to charities. More than 1/2 of Americans give nothing to charity even to this day. So the United way was created to give those people and others a vehicle by which to donate to worthy charities and be able to take a tax writeoff.

As time has progressed more and more business have gotten involved in fundraising efforts, including lending managment to the effort for long periods of time. It is all a worthy cause.

Now to some of the realities. Any where from 12-18% of the money raised goes to raise more money. So if you donated $10 grand, 1200-1800 comes off the top, and the charities get the rest. Still not bad for the people that do work one on one with the people in need.

The problem I have is why give it to the united way? Why not give it to the people that are where the action is directly. All the ones in our area have their own tax numbers and you still get the full write off on taxes. And they get the full 10 grand, and not the 82-88%.

Then there is the "I want to have a say into where my money goes" .

IT is very simple, Say the rescue squad is budgeted to get 100,000 from the united way. that means that 112,000 to 118,000 had been donated to cover that gift. Now I pledge my gift to them exclusively. Does that mean they will get 108,000 and change? Nope, they will get only the 100,000, but your personal "10,000" will be part of what they get. ITs a shell game.

Now to beat the shell game, you would need to donate the 10 grand directly to the squad. That way they will recieve the 100,000 from the united way, and the full 10,000 that you donated.

This is why I dont give to the united way. For those others that do not donate directly, the United way is a great way to help others in the area. But it is not for everyone.

As for those of you wanting to use the United way as a personal platform for what ever personal reason, shame on you. There are other means available to you to address the issues. Like calling the center saying you are heading in with missed stops.

But punishing the United way for what UPS is doing is like beating the hell out of your dog because your wife is cheating on you. It might make you feel better, but the world is not a better place for it. Focus on solving the problem.

And the United Way is not kicking back to UPS in any way, to the contrary, UPS kicks in millions of dollars to help in fund raising efforts each year. Shame on you for taking the rage felt towards management out on someone that cant do a thing about it.

As for the drivers in need and not helped by the United way, they should have sent you to the agency that could and would help, not just shove you to the side in an uncaring way. But then I am sure they too have uncaring employees there also at times.

Bottom line, give because it is the right thing to do. Give because there is a need and God has given you blessings to share. How, to whom, and how much you give is no ones business but your own.

end of rant.

d

 

[toonertoo]

Dannyboy, excellent post.
I also felt that using the United Way as a bargaining tool for dispatching problems, was pretty low on the effective scale. I give a measly 2 bucks a week, and hope it does someone some good, and keeps the mgmt off your back as far as giving. They just need you to donate, to reach their goal, it doesnt matter how much. And then when I want to I give to those who need it. Like to the Cancer Society, a clothing drive, or someone in need. I like to shop for kids so at Christmas I get the name of a needy family, and splurge on them. Guess that is just selfish, but I like to know I made a difference.

 

[dannyboy]

Hey one of the best Christmases was when we got a bunch of donations together and delivered them on christmas day out of a P700. Several new bikes and much other stuff. Pulled right up into the drive and fat ole santa and Co. did their thing.

That big ole cruel management even paid for the fuel.

They have allowed me to do many things in the past, like entering a float in the funfest parade, Ill have to find the photos of that and post later.

When you have management that wants to work with drivers, and drivers that respond, there is no end to what positive things can happen.

d

 

[bamboonga]

"I am going to break out a Sam Adams! (Boston Lager if we need to be specific)"

I'll have a Samuel Jackson

 

[bamboonga]

Forgive my ignorance...I'm a little low on the seniority scale...so perhaps I missed it - what does United Way have to do with being treated poorly by management? I got treated poorly sometimes but I don't think I ever correlated the two...

 

[ok2bclever]

You haven't truly faced management pressure until you tell them you won't contribute to the United Way through their payroll.

 

[toonertoo]

Oh yeah, I have told them I wouldnt give and I had to go in the office and talk one on one why I didnt want to give. I gave up, he made me feel small. And gave 2 bucks, sometimes we are helping our own charity so much, that we just dont see the point. But I caved, and I am ashamed. They played on my emotions, a place they need to visit as they have none. Being a woman, it worked.

 

[over9five]

I didn't give to United Way for my first 12 years at UPS. I was always disgusted by the intimidation and pressure they used to extort money from us. I've had those one on one meetings too.

But the last few years I have. Why? Things in general at UPS had gotten a lot better. Right now we have a top notch, professional center management team. Not only that, I actually like them!

Now, though, things are going downhill, I think. The center teams the same... but the orders come from above. ORDERS..Not to be questioned or altered.

I feel upper management is losing perspective. Someone quoted Jim Casey as saying (loosely quoted) "To be a big man, first you must be a little man". I don't think the people at the top of UPS have been little men. I don't think they've dealt with customers, or have ever had relationships with customers.

Bean counters, someone said. I guess thats what I see too. We're looking too hard at the numbers now, and not seeing the customer.

 

[ups_gal_710]

Well I guess I will get called in on the carpet again this year. UPS will not pressure or intimidate me into giving to United Way. So I will have the same speech as last year. "When UPS starts giving to the organization I'm involved with then I will give to UW."

So it looks like I will be in the HOT seat for a few days but, it shall pass in time.

 

[pd109]

Here in Canada ups kicks in 15 cents for every dollar,and we get to choose what community our money is used in.I give,but to be honest,I dont completley trust the united way.I wonder what percentage the people who really need help are getting after the UW execs cover the cost of thier leased lexus`s,and thier homes in Rosedale.

 

[bamboonga]

If you guys want to give to a charity that helps families of deployed soldiers (no I can't benefit, as I have no family), check out Operation Homefront. I don't know if the charity will end when the war does, but I regularly volunteered for a lot of their events and took donations from people...

Basically if a the family of a deployed military member has some kind of financial issue or their car breaks down or their house burns down or something like that, they either find a current volunteer who can help them (like a mechanic for the broken car or a person with a larger-than-average house for the burned house), otherwise they find a way to fix it with donation money...

Okay, this concludes my shameless military plug -- NO WAIT...BUY WAR BONDS!!!

 

[fredly00]

So what are we signing, when we say we aren't donating through UPS? Why sign?

 

[proups]

First, I think some of you need to go to the United Way website and learn what they actually do.

UPS chooses the United Way due to it's overall community impact, and the low overhead. The 12%-18% mentioned in an earlier post was right on the mark - and that is low overhead for a charity.

Choosing not to contribute, as has been posted earlier, because you are mad at UPS is stupid. You hurt people that need your help.

Choosing to contribute, though not through UPS, is your right. I personally don't agree with it, since I want the company to be seen by the public as a company that cares about the communities that it serves.

Thinking the United Way is bad because they could not help in certain situations is wrong. They have a mission statement just like every other charity, and certain things don't meet their mission. Other charities can help with things the United Way can't. You just have to find them. How many of you could tell a customer what to do if that customer wanted to ship ocean freight through UPS? Would you have to get someone else from UPS involved - like a BD person?

I give to the United Way through UPS each year - and everyone involved appreciated it.

 

[trickpony1]

Good for you!
The next time the Good Ship Lollipop pulls into port....you need to disembark.