Community petition asks for job returned to Sandwich UPS driver

SANDWICH — Francis Matthews began working for UPS at age 20 when he needed a part-time job. In 1990, Frank, as he's known to his customers, became a full-time employee, thinking it was a job he would carry until retirement.

That plan was in place until December of last year, when he was terminated under what he calls false pretenses. Matthews has an arbitration meeting in April, and the community he serves has risen to support him with a petition and letter campaign.

Matthews was 20 when he first took a job with UPS in 1986 in Manchester. He already had a part-time job in retail and took the UPS job because it complemented his existing work schedule. He quickly learned a couple of things: the company was expanding its operations in New Hampshire, and working for UPS could be more than just a temporary, part-time job if he wanted.

"Benefits, pay, once you got talking to the drivers, that's what they said" about the job, he said. They told him if he was able to do the work and handle the hours, it would be a job he could take to retirement. "For someone who was part-time, 20 years old. I had no college, no ambition to go to college. ... It was kind of like a no-brainer to a 20-year-old."

The early years were a “boom” for UPS, Matthews said. The Manchester depot expanded, then the company sent him to a new location in Hudson, then another new facility in Nashua. He’s been delivering out of the Laconia depot since 1995, he said.

When a route becomes available, drivers can "bid" on it, Matthews explained, and the winning bidder is the one with the most seniority. Eight years ago, the route for Sandwich opened up after a retirement, and Matthews was the winning bidder. As he explained, his plan was to keep that route until he was eligible to file for Social Security benefits, then he would retire. Matthews is now 57.

"When I went on the Sandwich route, I said, 'I'm not going anyplace else until I retire,'" Matthews said. He took it upon himself to learn the route, and not just the roads. He learned the names of the people, including those who worked elsewhere in town, and he learned which residents wanted their parcels dropped off at their workplace instead of their home if it was in the middle of the day. He learned where, on their property, people preferred to have their parcels left. He encouraged people to flag him down if they were passing him on the road and were expecting a delivery.

“Those are the relationships you develop after eight years on the route,” Matthews said. “Once you develop those relationships, the doors open up. You help them, they help you.”

He didn’t realize how much he would need that help until Dec. 22, 2022. That’s the day Matthews was terminated from UPS. Fired on the spot, after nearly 40 years of employment, for something he said he didn’t do.

Matthews wasn't comfortable discussing the specifics of the allegation against him. He didn’t want to inadvertently jeopardize his chances during an arbitration hearing on April 5. On that date, Matthews’ side of the story will be represented by the business agent from the Teamsters Local 633 office, and UPS will present their case against him. A neutral, third-party arbitrator will decide whether the termination was justified.

Although Matthews was quiet about the specifics surrounding his termination, Keith Judge, the business agent for Local 633, said it’s a clear case of a trumped-up charge.

“They terminated him for what they are calling dishonesty,” Judge said. “They are alleging that Frank didn’t disclose two misloads, which is absolutely incorrect; he did. They brought him in and fired him.”

Judge explained that UPS employees unload parcels that are brought to Laconia on large tractor-trailer trucks, then sort them by destination and load them onto the appropriate delivery truck. A “misload,” he said, is when a parcel, say, bound for Belmont is loaded onto the truck that is heading out to Tilton.

“You need to report the misloads to UPS,” Judge said, so that the supervisors can determine the best way to handle the package. Sometimes the driver is instructed to make the delivery, other times the driver brings it back to the depot so that it can be sent out on the proper truck on the following day.

“UPS says that Frank did not properly report misloaded packages, and that when they told him to go out and deliver them, he refused,” Judge said. “Both of those are bald-faced lies.”

Judge said Matthews contacted UPS when he noticed the misloaded packages, and didn’t get a response. When he returned from his route, he again asked, and was told to deliver them. When he asked a follow-up question, he was asked to meet with the shop supervisor, who fired him on the spot.

“We have the proper documentation, the paperwork that proves that Frank did exactly what he said he did,” Judge said. He also offered an explanation for why UPS might have taken such an action. UPS is involved in a difficult negotiation with the Teamsters over their labor contract, and such aggressive tactics aimed at a senior driver could serve as a warning to younger, less experienced union members.

UPS has not responded to requests for comment on this story.

“I’m pretty confident with the facts of our case. The only gamble is that arbitration is a never certain thing, but the facts are on our side,” Judge said. “In our opinion, he shouldn’t even be out of work.”

Judge’s opinion is a popular one. Sandwich residents, led by Jack Starmer, organized a petition campaign that saw clipboards collecting signatures at Town Meeting, at the town transfer station, and even at sugar shacks during Maple Syrup Weekend. The signatories all asked UPS to put Matthews back on the job.

“Frank has delivered outstanding service to Sandwich Residents for eight years and we greatly miss him,” the petition reads. Starmer also encouraged like-minded residents to write letters to describe their feelings about the matter.

Joanne Haight, a member of the Sandwich selectboard, said she didn’t want to take a side on the conflict, but added that residents of her town have a penchant for rallying around a cause — the recent expansion of fiber internet is one example, she noted.

“Our town is really an amazing place, and so much that happens is really because of citizen action. From broadband to a UPS driver, this is a very active community. People are not just talkers, they’re doers,” Haight said. “It’s amazing what people in this town will do to help someone.”