I do not talk to the UPS driver who comes to my door.
I learned not to try to engage with him
When my friendly comments and questions were rebuffed
With mono syllable avoidance responses.
I myself was a UPS delivery driver for 18 years.
I know what it’s like making 120 stops a day
Day after day in the rain and cold and broiling heat
Contending with customers and deadlines.
This guy is so obviously unhappy but more than that
He is afraid. I can
tell he’s been threatened by his boss.
I know about those escalating warnings that demand
Faster work pace, more deliveries, more pickups.
I used to work out of a main hub in New York City.
There were so many drivers and trucks departing every
morning
Heading out with packages going to every address in Manhattan
Arriving back in the evening loaded with afternoon pickups.
Doing the arithmetic I realized I handled a million
packages.
The trailer truck docks were on the second floor
The delivery trucks loaded and unloaded on the fourth floor
Driving down a spiral ramp to get to the street.
This was an industrial facility something to behold.
High speed conveyor belts and chutes branching out
Distributing packages by zip codes and streets
Trucks back to back against the belt for a square block.
But it was the workers who made it all work
Starting at 8:30 AM and returning at 6:30 PM or later
Figuring out each day how to get enough room opened up
To have space to fit the pickups in the afternoon.
Then going back on residential deliveries later.
I knew just about everyone on my route
Traversing 4 avenues and 7 streets
The shopkeepers and the families in the neighborhood.
We drivers worked alone but we stuck together.
We had a union and we did our best to push back
But that’s a big company that always wants more.
How well I remember the take backs and more take backs.
I know what frightens my driver.
You can be fired outright for stealing
And if you stop to talk with a customer
The bosses call that stealing time.
I had almost forgotten those words
Since I left that job 24 years ago.
Then the news surfaced about a job action
With 250 workers fired by UPS.
They walked off the job protesting a firing:
A union activist charged with stealing time.
My old local 804, the Maspeth Queens hub
They dared to risk their jobs to show solidarity.
It’s good to see the fight back.
It’s good to see the local union back them up.
It’s very good to see them win their jobs back
And feel the power of the many win this day.
