I have never been a fan of printed newspapers except for using them to light a fire or back in the stone ages when that was the only place to browse classifieds. In recent years, with the internet media availability so widespread, I am even more against the waste. However, I have supported my husband in what he found an easy way to make some extra money by delivering for the Daily Times. UNTIL this past week!
Sam Oradat and his boss Nikki are pushing these drivers over the edge! He was STILL calling and texting them all night long! He is very upset that some of them were not willing to risk their lives to deliver this waste! He has called my husband repeatedly and my husband clearly told him that he was not going out to deliver newspapers so guess what!?.... Sam Oradat said he is going to drop MORE newspapers off at the end of our driveway! Anyone who would like, is welcome to come get them. I have a hallway full of Sunday inserts (coupons) and stacks and stacks of newspapers from this week at the end of my long, snowed in drive. Please come get one if you want. Morris Leonard Rd.
Btw...
My husband put in his 30 days notice last week anyway (mandatory or he will lose money.)
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
that is insane! I bet sam & nikki are excited to be put on blast! which they should be put on blast!
ReplyDeletewhat a bunch of crazies.
nobody is complaining about not getting their newspapers or their trash not being removed.
we are in a state of emergency.
newspapers are not essential or emergency worthy!!!
great job sam & nikki
(((SARCASM)))
"newspapers are not essential or emergency worthy!!!"
ReplyDeleteSpeak for yourself. I live for it!
Just remember folks, we as a society, have become so concerned with the dollar that we don't care about people anymore. This doesn't cover everyone, but the majority are just plain money hungry and would step over some one dying on the sidewalk to make a buck. So just remember -- we've done it.
ReplyDeleteMam, you are awesome....I love this. I HATE the Daily Times......everything is 2-3 days old anyway....plus I'd rather read Joe's news! My complaint with them is: I have a physical disability that I was born with and cannot reach to the ground to pick up that STUPID free paper they through in my drive way (I live alone). So I have to go out there and kick it to the side of the house to stand it up so I can reach to pick it up OR use my grabber! SO, I have called many times reporting this and to please not deliver it to me & yet they CONTINUE to do it. The first few times, I was nice, the last few, I was not!
ReplyDeleteSo thanks for letting me vent Joe!
I can't believe people would be so callous and greedy! WHO CARES about getting a newspaper during a BLIZZARD when people can't even get down their driveways to begin with or don't want to walk out in knee deep snow drifts! Anyone who wants news will get it online or from tv. You should go to their website and read some of the comments their own readers are posting! Except for one asshole, they all do not expect to get a newspaper and are outraged they would even put their drivers at risk!
ReplyDeleteShame on The Daily Times, Sam, & Nikki! This is what unions are for! I would suggest their employees start looking for other jobs or form a union there!
To the reader who sent this letter to Joe, I commend you for having enough guts to voice your concerns and take a stand! I support you 100% and so does our community. Please tell your husband thank you for his service and find another employer who actually cares about their staff's safety!
ReplyDeleteTell Sam to deliver those nasty little papers himself. Good for y hubby! They never use my box anyway
ReplyDeletei think if no one is worried about getting mail, trash pickup they def. arent worried bout the daily times and after reading what a**holes run the place who would want to buy them anymore.im also sure everything in the daily times is old news.if you want the quickest,most up todate you will stick with joe on sbynews.com great job to you .but jnow that sam & nikki arent the only shelfish bastards out there ,there are alot more
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many papers this Sam and Nikki delivered?? Probably none! Maybe these delivery drivers need to file telephone harrassment charges? I would keep these texts/calls for documentation and maybe our mayor or the governor can issue them some type of fine for disobeying their orders and putting lives at risk! What part of "state of emergency" don't they understand? Day old news is hardly "essential" services!
ReplyDeleteI delivered newspapers for five years as a single parent. They do not care about anyone especially Nicki.She is ruthless and has a heart of stone. I finally made it through nursing school two years ago. I am glad I dont have to put up with their crap anymore!
ReplyDeleteSam and Nikki got a lot of freakin nerve, they weren't even in the office yesterday if they were they damn sure didn't answer the phone. Hows that for double standard, telling someone to go out during a state of emergency to deliver the paper while they sit at home keeping all toasty warm and safe. Screw you Daily Times.
ReplyDeleteI was apalled when I hear about the "Times" during the 1st Snow here. One of the drivers got stuck near our friends drive. He helped get her out & ask what in the world were they doing delivering the paper------she in turn told him they were told they Had To!! I cannot believe that this happened with the weather we've had around here!!!! I am so disgusted I am seriously thinking of cancelling the paper. To think they would put peoples lives in danger like this is UNBELIEVABLE !!!! They need to be horse whipped!!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe these guys. Rather than trying to force people to work for pennies and know their life is worth more, why don't they go out and deliver papers to mailboxes themselves?
ReplyDeleteIf I have to go out and push another paper delivery person's car because these jerks make these guys go out...
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy! As if the paper is good enough to risk lives for! Its a crappy paper anyway!
Unbelievable! Your husband was smart to give his notice. Not worth risking lives to deliver the paper.
ReplyDeleteSam & Nikki thought they were smart, but SBY NEWS is only at the start. They will be gone, forgotten, and will wonder why, while Joe and all of us will just wave bye-bye.
ReplyDeleteSorry your husband couldn't get a real job.
ReplyDeleteYou need to check with an employment attorney. I have never heard of thirty days notice and not being paid for work. Labor Laws say you must be paid for any work done prior to dismissal or resignation. Sounds like another shady DT practice.
ReplyDeleteI hope Niki's supervisor will read this and and inform Niki and Sam that there is something called harassment. Also State of Emergency. What about this do they not understand. I am sure that Niki did not soley make the decision for papers to be delivered but common sense must also prevail when weather conditions are such.
ReplyDeleteThat department hasn't had any real leadersip since Jason Cuhna and boy does it show! I didn't get a paper once for two weeks. I called Sam several times and never got a response. I was told that he doesn't return calls. But anyway, thanks Latasha Peters for handling my complaint!
ReplyDeleteSince it is really the drivers, haulers and carriers that make sure the papers hit the streets, maybe they should all ban together, call out and let Niki and Sam do the delivering..ha, ha! I bet Niki and Sam are home, warm and comfy while the workers are out delivering.
ReplyDeleteI spoke with a carrier today. He said the same, that the DT didn't care what the weather was like, they expected them to be out delivering. He said he asked about the State of Emergency. He was advised to deliver and break the law and told if he got stopped and ticketed they'd help him out and pay the citation. Hmm, kill yourself for a meesly paper, not to mention the wear and tear on the vehicle for what I'm sure is not a super salary.
ReplyDeletewhy do people even get that piece of nothing anyway? It is trash and those running that place are ridiculous. BTW management is suppose to step up to the place and help in times like this. What are Sam and Nicki delivering?
ReplyDeleteHas anyone been down Morris Leonard Road in the past few days? That road is horrible! It's one lane in most of the way and yesterday the drifts were so high I almost got stuck. No wonder they didn't want to go out and try to deliver elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gotten a paper since Monday. I haven't called to complain because, really, these back roads are bad and it's not the most important thing in the world. If the US postal service can suspend the delivery of mail, the Daily Times needs to get a jolt of reality.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who didn't know, they make the stores/other facilities who sell newspapers put the Sunday inserts in themselves now! That's a lot of nerve to expect their paying customers to do their work for them! I hope they lose lots more customers after this! The way they treat their carriers speaks volumes to the community!
ReplyDeleteI am shocked to hear Nikki has changed into an insensitive greedy manager after moving her way up at The Daily Times. She used to be a sweet, considerate girl. Probably is being corrupted by their mgt but it says a lot about a person's character when they treat people this way and do not stand up for what's right. If this is what it takes to move up the ladder in corporate America, I want no part of it! My integrity is more important than stepping on the little people.
ReplyDeleteThe DT drivers should go on strike. Think about it - if they make 8 cents per paper, they need to deliver at least 1000 to make it worth any effort. Even then I bet they are losing money after transportation costs. A week of no deliveries and mgmt would change their minds really fast.
ReplyDeleteMgmt doesn't care about drivers and carriers. They only care about business. They don't have to deliver or do any real physical work so they have no idea. Mgmt doesn't even care about the letter on this blog, it's a joke to them. The public needs to stick together and boycott the paper until they realize that we are a community that cares about how people are treated. I would like to know how the editor is going to address Niki and Sam about their insensitiveness to hard working employees during a time of dangerous conditions.
ReplyDeleteummm.....Labor board?
ReplyDeleteCarriers are considered independent contractors and that is why they treat them like crap. They pay them 8 cents per (daily)paper and 24 cents for Sunday because of the inserts. They hold them responsible for picking up money from the stores that sell the papers and they charge them for the plastic bags and rubber bands to put on the papers.
ReplyDeleteWhen gas prices shot up and every delivery business in the country was getting a fuel surcharge the Daily Times offered a $10 gas card as an incentive IF they sold subscriptions along their route. They even tried screwing us out of those. They never did pay us a fuel surcharge. They screw up our pay checks every pay period. Not one pay period goes by that someone hasn't had money missing from their checks.
As for Sam he is now a district manager that sits on his a$$ thinking he is important. He knows if the carriers call out deliver HE HAS TO DO IT. Don't be fooled by Nikki she has always been just what she is now. Smile in your face, promise you the world and do nothing but look out for herself.
For the most part the delivery drivers are supplementing their income because they need to not because they want to. They certainly are not making a living wage when you consider gas, mileage, wear and tear, tires, bags, rubber bands and the many trips up to their office just to get what is owed to you straight.
I could write a book about the things that go on at the Daily Times.
Well...my husband dropped off all those papers from the end of our driveway and told Sam he is done. Sam said per their contract that he will not get paid for what he has already done and that there will be fees for someone else delivering that route. I don't understand how this could go on. Thank goodness my husband has a real full time job and this was only a part time thing but I feel really bad for those that may use this as their main income!
ReplyDeleteOne lady is so stressed out that she is scared she might even lose her route because she didn't go out during the state of emergency!
I hope something is done about these people at Daily Times!
The Daily Times and affiliates are struggling to keep their home delivery subscribers. Therefore, they (management (Sam, Nikki, etc.) push the contractual drivers to keep up deliveries and service so THEY (management) can continue to receive THEIR bonuses. And the few people that are still there (massive layoffs in plant and office) see that if home and stores sells continue to go down, THEY will lose their jobs. Yes the independent contractual contract does state that you must give at least a 30 day notice, this gives the district manager (Sam etc.) to find another driver and to also see what they can take away from your pay before you go. They (management) also know that if they can find a way to get a new driver before your 30 days, they will fire you; just another way for the Daily Times to keep your bond money. Bond money for those that don't know is for carrier collects, that is carriers collect from their customers and is part of the contract you sign. It was neccessary for carriers that collected money directly from their customers; which is hardly done anymore because the Times wants all their customers to pay in advance,to get rid of the carriers collecting money. Even if your route(s) do not have any carrier collects, the Times still takes money out of everyone's pay for bond money. The bond money you are lucky to get back when you leave does not include interest, also stated in your contract. The Daily times keeps the interest YOUR money creates! This is just another way of the Times to control and screw carriers out of monies due them. I do not believe that any of the carriers should have been delivering any newspapers during the last two weeks. If weather is bad, they should stay home. The BIG problem is the carriers are told they will lose their jobs if they don't deliver, and don't be late, you will be charged for that too! I know that quite a few carriers have quit because of the bad weather and were unable to deliver and were told they would be fired; so they quit. Where is the common sense when it comes to management at the Times? I believe safety first for everyone. Cudos to all carriers, even the ones who have quit. OH, BTW SAM ORADAT IS A MINISTER OF A SMALL CHURCH IN MARDELA! Makes you wonder doesn't it??
ReplyDeleteYes I pastor at Mardela Wesleyan Church. Our Sunday morning services are at 11 AM. We are located at 501 Railroad Ave at the corner of Bacon St. I hope to see all of you there.
ReplyDeletePS I prayed that God will bless all of you today.
Pastor Sam Oradat
Sam. That was Lame. You didn't admit or own up to anything. You invited people to your church. Great way to avoid the questions at hand.
ReplyDelete