"I'm a carrier for the Star. Just wanted to let you know from our end how bad things are for The Star.
Currently, we have District Representatives, who are in charge of about thirty carriers each, counting newspapers every morning. They get paid about forty thousand a year. They stand at the loading doors and county the newspapers for every carrier to make sure they don't take more than they are supposed to. That's how bad it is. The funny thing, they are the ones who get our paper count wrong, Then they sit around and smoke, in a building that is non-smoking, and do nothing for the rest of the night. Most nights we have about six District Reps. The Regional manager, who gets paid over sixty thousand a year, has only showed up once when the paper is delivered. He always works during the day, never the night. Most of the carriers would not recognize him if they saw him. Monday's paper has no add inserts, Tuesday's newspaper, only some of the routes get Kohl's inserts. They combined the distribution centers for the newspapers, so now there is only one for Johnson and Wyandotte counties. It is located at 106th and Pflumm in Lenexa. There are over 200 carriers in that location. Now they are going to lower our rates too. So now our paychecks will be getting less.
But they will still charge us a $1.00 for a complaint, or $5.00 for a wet paper. (Like we control mother nature.) They are using the carriers as another revenue source. I agree with you, they are not thinking at The Star."
To clarify, these carriers are independent contractors, not employees. But that shouldn't make a difference in how they are treated.
Previous:
- Kansas City Star to punish carriers for mistakes
- Reader: Mostesto Bee gives 30 day notice to hundreds of carriers
.
17 comments:
If it was that bad they would leave and find a real job.
I also find it hard to believe that they would pay someone $40k to count papers. Like an independent contractor would know. Try $25-30k at best.
The best time to find a job is while you already have one. It isn't going to get better. You're not an in the clique ideologue.
But the Star is hiring!
http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?IPath=ILKGV&ff=21&APath=2.31.0.0.0&job_did=J8A2HF5W63B8LGSPWT4
LOL, that's got to make all the people they fired feel just peachy. They shit canned them, then drop a dookie right on their heads.
Its the same thing at the paper I worked at. They gave a cush job of standing at the dock for 1 hr watching the carriers pick up the papers. Then they go home. 40 hrs a week for maybe 6 hrs of work. And yes they do make $40,000 a year.
Good Job Mcclatchy
Who cares. We made money. If these letter carriers had anything on the ball they would be reporters anyway. Forget them
If you don't like the job quit. I' m sure there will be somebody will be glad to take it.
Wow!! Cant believe how many people have said " Get a different job". First, do you know how many people are out of jobs right now, and how hard it is to find another job? Second, have none of you ever bitched about your jobs? Bitching doesnt mean you dont want your job, or appreciate having a job, does it? I am also a carrier for the Star, so I understand everything this person is saying, and there is sooo much more that needs to be said. Like that Kohls add on Tuesday. The Star is having carriers insert the add, instead of having the inserter do it. Well, my contract says I will get paid for inserting adds, but they are not paying us for them. We need our jobs, and are afraid of them pulling our contract, so we let them F*** us in the A** and they dont even use vaseline. Oh and one person said for us to get a REAL job. Excuse me, but we work 365 days a year, we miss Xmas morning with our children, never get a vacation, ever. What is your definition of a real job? We work, we pay taxes, a lot of taxes since we are self employed. What more should we be doing to qualify as working a REAL job? Thanks for letting me vent.
Sure people complain about their jobs...in private and to their loved ones.
They do not complain publicly to other people (where we do not have a vested interest in you and do not care).
As far as stuffing stuff goes, if it is your job do it. If it is in your contract, then submit the bill. If they do not pay, then take them to court in a class action suit and demand payment.
As someone mentioned above, if you are so unhappy with how you are taking it in the a$$, then move on, there will always be someone else willing to do the job for the same or less money (especially in this environment).
Wow!! Cant believe how many people have said " Get a different job". First, do you know how many people are out of jobs right now, and how hard it is to find another job?
Maybe if you knew the history of how your job came to be, and on who's back you got it from in the first place. You might understand why there is little or no sympathy for you.
I'm not saying that you personally deserve it, but it is understandable.
Anybody that dumps on a carrier is despicable. Carriers are the backbone of the newspaper industry. Without their hard work the newspaper with be nothing. They are not political just normal folks trying to make ends meet. Many have jobs during the day and have to do this to survive.
At the Sac Bee as circulation plummets the new Distributors are charging $2 per complaint and $5 for repeats to try to make up for money lost. Many if not most complaints are bogus just stolen apapers and people trying to get extra coupons, TV guide, or share with others.
No one is dumping on "carriers". They are dumping on these "individuals" crying whoa-is-me.
People need to realize that although they think they are the $hit and deserve the world, EVERY ONE is replaceable.
We ALL have options.......
First of all this guy only sees about 1% of what these district managers really do. In reality they are responsible for all circulation issues, contracting, performance reviews, collections, etc. And what happens when Mr. Contracter breaks down or doesn't show up?? Guess who comes to the rescue. It's a thankless job. Quit crying paperman! If you were capable of managing your papers properly, nobody would need to stand there and count them for you. I appreciate the job the carrier does and the fact that he works 365, but c'mon, it's 3-4 hours per day tops! I've done it, it's not that big of a trick and I've known plenty a people, good people, that delivered a full route and then went on to a full time job and never cried about it like this.
I grew up in a family with a long history of delivering the Star as Independent KC Star Carriers. There realy is nothing new here. The star has always treated the carriers like dirt. You can suck it up or find a new career cause it wont change. Anyway, from what I hear, the fishwrap star will be bankrupt soon. Good Luck!
just to clarify all of this , they are canceling all of our contracts and changing the rates for complaints , most of my complaints are bogus they are stolen papers or maybe 1 corner of the paper is wet and the customer calls in a wet paper , well now i will be charged more for wet papers and more for repeat complants(complainers) , i myself have had complaints inputed wrong by call center and been charged for it , i called customer and customer stated we was not missing a section of the paper but only a few ads , well i was charged a topping error , brought it to my d-reps attention then zone managers then his boss also the response i got was we are not charged for topping errors which is correct BUT it does go against my complaint ratio which will cost me if i lose my bonus , anyway now its $20 for a vac pack miss , we didnt have near the vac-pacs when the star gave its customers credit for papers they paid for but now we do and if we miss it we deliver papers for 5-6 months for free or acually lose money if you count time gas and bags , the way i see it with the wet bags is as follows, the contract states deliver a readable copy when i delivered the paper it was dry as a bone , after i throw it on customers property my contracual obligation is over isnt it ? it doesnt state i have to hover over paper to keep it dry until customer picks it up just that its readable , well when i threw it it was readable , as for the job the job is not the issue its the charges we are charged , we are not appreciated for what we do every day we are more dependable than the postal Service and its there moto not ours , even in the snow the past few years i have delivered every single paper and within the time alloted after adjustments for late ab arrival , i am going to start trying to retain an attorney to have these issues and charges looked into and hope i can get as many carriers as possible to just aboard Thanks
I was a KC Star carrier for 20yrs. We had to post a non-refundable deposit on the route (up to $800). I received 13cts/ppr M-S then 57¢/each Sunday copy x 1400pprs. $65/wk service bonus. They also offered cash incentives for sales & customer recommendation letters. This was back when routes were lucrative & felt like a small business. There was a collection bonus if customers pd us instead of The Star.
Yes, subscribers went down, supply cost went up, complaint charges increased w/o the option to redeliver or remedy the problem yourself, customer service calls were transferred to foreign countries. A new flocks of D-Reps became worthless lazy employee scum working against us instead of representing us to The Star.
Im so glad I quit the losing battle, contracting for an institution that is blatantly dying & sapping every carriers last drop of blood in hopes of covering their heads before it all sinks.
Post a Comment