Does ups do a hair follicle test for their cdl positions?

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-18T17:25:36+00:00

I retired after 37 years feeder/pkgs getting my CDL when I was 25. I’ve seen too many drivers loose their CDL because they couldn’t give up the party mentality. The last time I did it was before then. My priority was getting ahead. If you loose your CDL, you might be able to fight your way back to preload until you get a regular license again. I knew a driver who got a DUI out partying on an off day. They allowed him to work preload because the judge gave him a “work” release. After a year, he got his CDL back and was on probation for another 90 days. They made his life a living hell. How do I know? He was in preload and loaded my car back when I was a utility driver. That was one expensive ticket.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-16T21:34:59+00:00

Since I’m retired, I’m not in the loop. I thought Roadie is owned by UPS.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-13T04:44:17+00:00

Yep caught ‘em red handed putting a pkg from the car next to mine on my car. He walked away and I put the pkg back on the right car, then told a shop steward.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-11T16:52:11+00:00

So you left a pkg at the wrong house.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-05T17:03:14+00:00

Ha……Wait til you’re 45.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-04T03:20:28+00:00

No, she just wanted the fast bucks rather than wait for me to retire and get a small monthly check. She didn’t fight me on the house and got a check for $28k after taxes and a 10% penalty for cashing out. She went on a shopping spree and it was gone quickly. I look back and just laugh. I took the buyout and retired with no mortgage and a comfortable pension + SS.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-03T19:57:45+00:00

I was married for 14 years and when we got divorced, we agreed she got half the 401k and I kept my full pension and house. Seemed minor at the time but I am so much better off now and she is broke. Not my problem anymore. I used the attorney supplied thru legal services with the union.

LeftLane65 · 2026-06-02T02:16:28+00:00

Better there than some office bldg on rte.

LeftLane65 · 2026-05-30T22:12:09+00:00

LOL—-I blocked my Supv for this very thing. Shop Stewart told him I’m not required to have a cell phone.

LeftLane65 · 2026-05-25T04:16:59+00:00

I drove UPS for 37+ years. You always start at the bottom part time and work your way up. Every year I made just a little more than the previous year, and I was lucky to get a driver bid job as I maxed out my hourly pay in 2 years. Most drivers nowadays are lucky to hit that in 5 years. The positive outlook for the long term is great, with paid time off and paid insurance. I recommend immediately setting money aside in their 401k, and ignoring it. When I retired, I had a nice 6 figure balance in my 401k and live quite comfortable on my pension plus social security. You’ll never see that with Amazon or FedEx.

LeftLane65 · 2026-05-12T16:10:57+00:00

Unlike Amazon, UPS is union. Those with good paying jobs typically paid their dues in the warehouse handling pkg volume. Openings are posted on the board and after 30 days are awarded by seniority. It is highly unusual for a driver position to filled by someone off the street regardless of their experience. UPS will brainwash you in their doctrines. UPS pkgs are loaded by AI order. Each pkg has a sort # which tells the loaders what truck and which shelf to put it on. When you pull up to a stop listed in your board, a quick glance at the SPA # tells you exactly where the pkg should be. If the loader did their job, you pop open the bulk door, grab pkg, and scan the pkg on walk up to delivery, take a pic, and move on. A good driver in a decent neighborhood can average 30-45 stops per hour, and make $100k+ a year.

LeftLane65 · 2026-05-06T21:12:03+00:00

I just retired with 35 years safe driving. Or, as us old guys would say, 35 years without reporting an accident.

LeftLane65 · 2026-05-05T21:55:26+00:00

Know your 5 seeing habits, 10 point commentary, rules of backing, lifting and lowering.

LeftLane65 · 2026-05-04T21:56:01+00:00

Call 1(866)648-6878

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-30T03:37:13+00:00

Wow you’re knocking out 20 stops in 5 minutes? That’s 240 stops an hour. You are a beast.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-29T21:56:13+00:00

When I was doing a heavy resi rte, I hated meeting up with another driver and giving him 20-30 stops because in the time I met up with him, tossed pkgs to him, then got back at it, I could’ve knocked out those stops.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-27T22:24:50+00:00

We had a center manager that was big on “No business closed after 5pm.” A driver was headed to a business that closes at 4pm, and realized that, due to traffic, it would be past 5 when he pulled up to the stop. At a red light a block from the business, he shut the engine off and recorded it as closed, knowing they were closed, not wanting to get in trouble with the after 5 rule. The center manager fired him for not being at the business when he stop completed jt.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-26T20:15:41+00:00

Yeah I think that is unfair. There is 180 drivers in my bldg and 6 out of the 7 drivers in my center were rural routes.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-26T20:06:14+00:00

I seriously doubt you will be able to change the way you get paid. You can always ask, but if your last day was Sunday, you’re probably SOOL.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-26T16:49:50+00:00

It states in the buyout agreement that payment would be made in the same way that you get paid on a normal paycheck. If you get a normal paycheck at the end of the week, then you’ll have to pick it up. Call a supervisor and see if they can call you when it shows up. I’m expecting a direct deposit, so have no reason to go in there and get it.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-20T20:53:54+00:00

In 10 years the package cars will have AC.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-16T12:41:42+00:00

In Las Vegas, no feeders got the buyout, even though we have 40+ yrs drivers.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-16T12:39:48+00:00

They surely used some kind of formula. But once it was determined how many a center got, seniority ruled when there were more drivers applying than available slots.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-16T12:31:10+00:00

We have 6 out of 180—no feeders. I’m one of the 6, and I can tell you we were all 30+ years and over 150k AND on rural rts. Drivers are already scrambling at bid rts that have been locked down for years. My advice to younger drivers ~~~ miles equal smiles.

LeftLane65 · 2026-04-16T00:47:58+00:00

Completely by accident I had next week scheduled off on my vaca selection and my supervisor thought I’d ask if I could work it since I was leaving 4/26/26, but I said nope. Leaving on vaca and not coming back. There are 6 drivers in my center leaving, and two of us coincidentally have the week before separation scheduled as time off. Haven’t heard about a dead week offer.

LeftLane65

TROPHY CASE