A United Parcel Service employee spotted tossing several boxes and packages from his parked van in Waikiki this week has been disciplined, a UPS spokeswoman said Thursday.
“It was inappropriate. … It’s not the way we train our drivers,” said Susan Rosenberg, who works at UPS’s corporate office in Atlanta. “We took corrective action with him.”
The incident, which occurred Wednesday, was recorded by someone near the scene of the tumbling parcels and later posted on YouTube.
Here are some of the responses to the video, which had tallied more than 50,000 viewings by Thursday night:
“Very sad to see that,” Charmaine Castro wrote. “We all have bad days but don’t take it out on other people’s gifts, especially when their loved ones took care into buying it or making it for them!”
T Naka wrote, “That’s grounds for termination! … You have a great job with a great company and you would do something so stupid like this!” Naka added, “My husband just made 20 yrs at UPS and he loves his job as a driver.”
Rosenberg said the company’s policy forbids naming the employee or releasing details pertaining to disciplinary action.
In another matter, UPS is acknowledging recent delays in Hawaii deliveries. Rosenberg said deliveries should be on schedule to the islands by the end of this week.
She said the firm, which serves 200 countries and territories, will have handled some 630 million parcels during the holiday season, between Black Friday and the end of December. In addition to its 435,000 permanent workers, UPS has hired 95,000 seasonal workers.
The worker caught on camera throwing and kicking packages was a permanent employee, Rosenberg said.
“It was an isolated incident,” she said. Reiterating the firm’s response, Rosenberg added, “It’s very unfortunate. We take this seriously and we took action.”
