[Rad_Hazard]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Worked that job for several years in my younger days. Surprised I never got hurt very seriously. Used to work both the weak and strong sides of the pick-off sorting packages into large trailer trucks.

Working the "weak" side meant you had to help out loading trucks, and when the strong side pick-off got busy he'd call for help and you had to jump out of your truck, run across the floor, run to a ladder and scurry about 25 feet straight up to your pick-off perch, directly across from the strong side pick.

Couldn't count the times I "almost" fell off the ladder, or was "almost" smashed by a package falling from the 25 foot high belt onto the floor below. Don't even think I even registered what I was doing was even the slightest bit dangerous at the time.

Ah, to be young a dumb again.

Ironically, my very last day there was as a delivery driver years later and much more worn down, and it was one of those heavies on the belt that you mentioned in your post. Wrenched my back getting it in my truck on Christmas Eve morning. Went out and delivered the route with a wrecked back, came back in around 9pm that night, went to the walk-in clinic the day after Christmas when it didn't get any better, and decided I needed to find something else to do with my life, otherwise this was going to be a regular occurrence for me.

Oh yes! I'm sure we could exchange war stories from our UPS days. I worked as a loader and pick off for a year or so then got promoted to morning supervisor, then got my tech degree and never looked back. I did see a lot of drivers (and several other positions) go through some insane stuff over the years. It was good for me at that time since I was young and overweight, but it would destroy me now and not in a good way.