In my amateur opinion:
- Yes, Art.40 Sec.1(9) now applies to the PT air driver. The members/stewards/union reps missed their chance to protect that FT job by failing to grieve it in a timely manner (or it was grieved and lost).
- So, yes. Until that PT air driver vacates that job, there is ZERO chance of it being combined into combo. (FT or less than 8) job. And even when the job is vacated, it is now highly unlikely it will ever be turned into a combo. job.
This issue sticks in my proverbial craw, because nearly the exact same scenario happened in a bldg. I worked in. None of the stewards or union reps. knew about the PT air shuttle job up for bid, or didn't know that line in the contract. All I knew was I was 1 day away from winning the bid, until a 16 year PT employee signed the list. Seniority prevails, of course. In that building, that could have easily been converted to a FT air driver, or even a less-than-8 combo job. The company would have fought it, I'm sure, but the work was/is there.
At the time, I was more concerned with trying to understand the Hours of Service regulations (to see if I could work that job), getting my driver's abstract from DMV, and getting my own DOT physical (just to make sure I passed).