Ah, fellow UPS'ers
I've been there a year, I started last June. I work the local sort and when I was hired, weighed a hefty 240 pounds. Thanks to the joys of unloading and the summer (heat, humidity, etc), I now weigh 171 pounds
Add to that the Slim Fast thing, dropping sodas in favor of lots of water and I'm in a lot better shape than a year ago.
I don't know how your center is, but ours has some really ancient equipment The gripe we have is the same injuries happening over and over again, and management not fixing it (or the safety committee failing to get results). We write up the same stuff all the time...unloading devices that jam where they merge with the conveyor belt, so you have to essentially unload the packages twice. And the environment...wow...I've never seen such soot-packed air filters. But, when I mentioned these concerns to the supervisor, the reply I got, no joke, was "Do you want outstanding benefits or a safe workplace?"
When I came to UPS, I was very anti-union. I know too many union folks that are lazy-do-nothings who wouldn't cut the grade in any other form of employment, yet they get away with it all because they are union. However, as I've learned, those are a very small minority (one bad apple syndrome) and based on my experiences with management, being promised promotions/new duties and having them not materialize, I've come to the conclusion that if a company has a unionized work force, they most likely deseve it.
However, I despise the Teamsters voicing up on political issues. Not all of us are Republicans and Democrats. And for some arrogant bellybutton (oops, Hoffa) to declare the Teamsters are behind this or that canidate, they really need to get a clue. We are together in how we work and the wages/benefits we deserve. We are not all little clones that are going to vote and do as the union leadership wishes. But, that's my axe to grind with the Teamsters. (I'm also ticked that when we need to speak to union leadership, they are unavailable...but my god, if our union steward is mad at management, they fly down immediately to console her.)
Anyways, pardon the rant. Since I wash 10 trucks a night, I drive a dirty car
