Don't Fall for the Falsification Trap

UPS management is taking advantage of loopholes in the national contract to fire drivers on charges of falsification.

Protect yourself from unfair discipline by following the methods.

Thanks to Telematics and GPS, UPS can track drivers like never before. The new technology has changed how management does business—and not for the better.

Across the country, Teamsters report that the company is coming down on drivers for taking shortcuts that management used to look the other way on.

Following UPS’s methods is the best way to protect yourself.

Tell the Truth About Your Air. If your air is late, then it’s late. If you know in advance that you may not make your commitment, notify a supervisor through your DIAD and ask them what they want you to do.

Put the decisions on them. Write back that you’ll work as instructed—and do just that. Make an entry in the remarks column such as “directed by sup” so it is in your delivery records. Cell phone cameras are handy for taking pictures of unusual directives from management.

Don’t Flag Packages—and record them accurately. Record the stop at the stop even if it’s less efficient. Do it management’s way—not the fastest way.

Sheet Missed Packages as Missed. Play it straight. Don’t claim that you’ve made a delivery attempt when you haven’t. Don’t record a stop when you’re back at the building. Don’t enter a closed commercial stop as a “not in” residential stop; sheet it as missed and let your center know through the DIAD beforehand.

It’s Not the Crime; It’s the Cover Up. Drivers don’t get fired for delivering an air late or missing a package. But UPS is disciplining drivers and taking them off the payroll for “dishonesty” and “falsification of records” for flagging packages and entering the wrong information into the DIAD.

Don’t jam yourself up. Follow the methods and do the job the right way.

It may not always make sense. It may be a hassle. But it beats a trumped up discharge.

IB Image“Some of the things that management claims are “dishonesty” are downright ridiculous. But why make it easy for the company to jam you up?

“It’s better to stay out of trouble then to get into trouble. Follow the methods. Don’t take shortcuts.

“If you know a driver that management is going after, talk to them and straighten them out. That’s what being union is all about.

“Local 804 is there to protect us. But we’ve got to protect ourselves too.”

John Bohl, Steward, Nassau