Displaced Air Driver

[greasy1970]

I am a PT Bid Air Driver. I was hired "off the street" for this position, which consists of delivering EAMs and then NDA. Many of you are probably aware that a national panel grievance concerning this job position was settled recently. The grievance was filed because delivery of EAMs is full-time work. Just last week I was informed by my center mgr that I would have to accept an inside job because my position is to be re-bid as part of a full-time route. Depending on which inside position I go to (preload or local sort) I will have my pay cut by $9.95-10.95/hr. My local 728 union rep has been less than useless in this matter, he says I should have never been hired for this job in the first place. While he may be correct in his opinion, the fact is I was hired for this job and have been performing it for the last 5 years and the Union has been happy to accept my union dues each week. I understand that EAMs are full-time work, but my center use PT exception air drivers everyday, Mon.-Sat. and as long as this is the case I believe that I should keep the job title for which I was hired. I would like to hear from anyone else who has been affected in this way or if anyone has any helpful advice on how I can avoid taking a 50% paycut.

 

[UPSGUY72]

I am a PT Bid Air Driver. I was hired "off the street" for this position, which consists of delivering EAMs and then NDA. Many of you are probably aware that a national panel grievance concerning this job position was settled recently. The grievance was filed because delivery of EAMs is full-time work. Just last week I was informed by my center mgr that I would have to accept an inside job because my position is to be re-bid as part of a full-time route. Depending on which inside position I go to (preload or local sort) I will have my pay cut by $9.95-10.95/hr. My local 728 union rep has been less than useless in this matter, he says I should have never been hired for this job in the first place. While he may be correct in his opinion, the fact is I was hired for this job and have been performing it for the last 5 years and the Union has been happy to accept my union dues each week. I understand that EAMs are full-time work, but my center use PT exception air drivers everyday, Mon.-Sat. and as long as this is the case I believe that I should keep the job title for which I was hired. I would like to hear from anyone else who has been affected in this way or if anyone has any helpful advice on how I can avoid taking a 50% paycut.

Your where hired a PT Air driver not FT driver. If you where deliveingr FT drivers work than you should have got paid FT driver pay for those days. If they doing away with PT Air driver and changing your route to a FT position then it should go out to bid just like everyother job. With that being said you should be able to bid on that job when they post it whether you get it or not depends on your senority.

The only place you can go is to PT inside work becasue you where never a FT driver. As for your inside oay rate it should be based on as if you have been a PT inside worker all for the last 5 years probably around $14.00 hr.

 

[air_dr]

Have you actually been laid off from air driving? Being an air driver myself, this topic is of interest. I checked out your other posts, and I get the impression that as far back as last summer, you expected you were going to be laid off anytime, yet the thread you have just started implies you remained an air driver. What exactly is your situation?

As far as pay: it is my understanding that if you went into the building, your wage would be what you would be earning if you had hired on as an inside employee and remained one all this time. That is, you would have received, if my memory is right, a $.50 increase after 90 days, then another $.50 on each anniversary of you hiring for the duration of the previous contract, and then the raises that came with the new contract that we are presently under. Not knowing your hire date, I don't want to give a number, but I think your wage would be higher than the 9.95 to 10.95 you fear.

 

[JonFrum]

Greasy, your Job Title and pay rate will be whatever inside job you move to. However you are still air driver qualified so you can do air exception work and Saturday air work anytime it's available before or after your normal inside hours. This extra air work will go by seniority, but you have five years which should be enough. You'll get the air rate for all air driving hours.

To Clarify: Greasy said I will have my pay cut by $9.95-10.95/hr. Not that he would be making $9.95- 10.95/hr.

 

[Shadow999]

wWhere can I find this information on eam's being full time work?

 

[greasy1970]

wWhere can I find this information on eam's being full time work?

Article 40 Section 1-Air Drivers (a) Air driver work shall consist of delivery and pickup of air packages which, because of time and customer committments, cannot be reasonably performed by regular package drivers. Such work may include: #(8) Delivery of early AM packages.

This is from the National Master UPS Agreement contract. Basically, EAMs are only to be delivered by PT air drivers on an exception basis.

 

[siredline09]

I have been laid off since Dec 24, 2010. Alongside, 50 other air drivers in NYC. Been there done that we all moved on, UPS was not right career choice. I'm going back to school. They have us working Sat, at least I still collect Health benefits

 

[greasy1970]

Greasy, your Job Title and pay rate will be whatever inside job you move to. However you are still air driver qualified so you can do air exception work and Saturday air work anytime it's available before or after your normal inside hours. This extra air work will go by seniority, but you have five years which should be enough. You'll get the air rate for all air driving hours.

To Clarify: Greasy said I will have my pay cut by $9.95-10.95/hr. Not that he would be making $9.95- 10.95/hr.

You are correct that I will still be air qualified, but in my particular center, losing my classification as a Bid Air Driver means I will go to the bottom of the exception air driver list. My center only uses 3-4 air drivers on a given day and even with 5 years, I would be the least senior exception driver, effectively preventing me from ever performing air exception work.

 

[greasy1970]

I have been laid off since Dec 24, 2010. Alongside, 50 other air drivers in NYC. Been there done that we all moved on, UPS was not right career choice. I'm going back to school. They have us working Sat, at least I still collect Health benefits

I am sorry to hear that you have been laid off. I actually think I could handle being laid off better than being bid out of my job. I say that because I am not being laid off for lack of work or because the center volume has tanked, if that were the case it would be understandable. I agree with you about the Health benefits, that is the only reason I don't quit.

 

[greasy1970]

To air_dr,
I have not been laid off. I was hired as a Bid Air Driver and for the last 5 years I have been del EAMs and NDA. At some point after I started with UPS the Union filed a grievance with the National Air Panel stating that del EAMs was full-time driver work and air drivers could del EAMs only on an exception basis. The Union finally won the grievance sometime last year and I have been told that my job is going to be re-bid as part of a full-time route. I will be reclassified and have to take an inside position along with a substantial paycut. I will still be air qualified, but I will go the bottom of the air driver list because I won't be a Bid Air Driver anymore and the other air exception drivers have more seniority than me.

 

[bellesmom]

Article 40 Section 1-Air Drivers (a) Air driver work shall consist of delivery and pickup of air packages which, because of time and customer committments, cannot be reasonably performed by regular package drivers. Such work may include: #(8) Delivery of early AM packages.

This is from the National Master UPS Agreement contract. Basically, EAMs are only to be delivered by PT air drivers on

an exception basis.

It must depend on the region for FT drivers to be doing EAMs as our building the EAM dept is ALL ptimers as they kicked the 22.3s out 2 years ago. Good luk

 

[air_dr]

To air_dr,
I have not been laid off... I will be reclassified and have to take an inside position along with a substantial paycut. I will still be air qualified, but I will go the bottom of the air driver list because I won't be a Bid Air Driver anymore and the other air exception drivers have more seniority than me.

Has this change already happened? This morning, at work, did you drive or work in the building?

Forgive my manner of questioning, but at many places, and I have certainly found this to be true at UPS sometimes, talk comes cheap. The powers that be say they will soon do this, that, or the other, and then, nothing actually happens. Or better yet, there is general discussion of doing something for months or even years, and then, before the change actually takes place, you are given very little notice, sometimes less than a day.

It must depend on the region for FT drivers to be doing EAMs as our building the EAM dept is ALL ptimers as they kicked the 22.3s out 2 years ago. Good luk

Where I work, it's basically PT's doing EAM's as well, which I find interesting, since this grievance panel decision, I would think, would affect operations throughout the whole Union.

 

[air_dr]

wWhere can I find this information on eam's being full time work?

Greasy1970 already gave a shortanswer to this question. The following, from another thread, in response to a question I asked, discusses this subject more fully. Here is the post from the other thread...

Re: *UPDATE UPS LAYS OFF ALL AIR DRIVERS IN MANHATTAN 43RD St building and Manhattan

QUESTION ASKED:
Originally Posted by air_dr
Thank you for your post.

Please help me understand this arbitration UPS lost "that allowed the full time drivers to do Early AM's." It has been my understanding that any work that an air driver may do can also be given to a FT if the company so chooses. Its only the opposite that is not permitted...right?

Your post leads right to a question I presented in another thread, but nobody chose to answer it. I'm sure the right person (perhaps you) just didn't notice it, so I will present it again.

I would like to get a contract issue clarified. Some of the posts on this thread have raised questions in my mind. Being an air driver, these issues concern me for good reason.

Here is the relevant Article 40 language for everyone's consideration:

(a) Air driver work shall consist of delivery and pickup of air packages which, because of time and customer commitments, cannot be reasonably performed by regular package drivers. Such work may include:
(1) Delivery of air packages which the regular delivery drivers cannot deliver within guaranteed time commitments.
(2) Delivery of air packages arriving at the facility after regular drivers have been dispatched.
(3) Delivery and pick up of air packages on weekends and holidays.
(4) On Call Air pickups.
(5) Pick up at air counters and drop boxes.
(6) Additional late air pickups.
(7) Air drivers may, on an exception basis, be used to make service on packages which are not air packages.
(8) Delivery of early AM Packages.
(9) Movement of air packages to airports and other locations such as service centers, UPS buildings and driver meet points. ​

Two questions I guess:​

First of all, does the the language imply that the work described in items (1) through (9), since it falls under the wording of letter (a) mean that all those nine tasks listed should preferably go to a full timer?​

Second, if the answer to the above is "yes," what is the threshold of reasonable? Other than running off excess NDAs, which in many, but not all, centers truly could not be done by FT's before the advertised commit time, all the other stuff, as I see it, (even Sat deliveries) could be done by FT's if the comapny paid certain drivers OT. Such an interpreatation of the language hardly leaves any work for air drivers!​

Of course, this is not an interpretation I am advocating. I like my air driver job. I just want to know how senior management and union officials understand this language.​

ANSWER GIVEN:
Great questions , I'm not an expert but any delivery work is full time drivers work first , I'll try to explain what the language means ( i hope ) 15 years ago UPS stopped drivers from del Eam because drivers were dispatched at around 8-8:15 am , so since the routes were ready to go out at that time , if drivers went to del Eam there routes would sit there for almost an hour until they got back , delaying the routes from going out , and we were told by 804 at the time we lost that fight. (total BS , I felt that there was nothing wrong with the routes sitting waiting for the drivers to come back maybe then all the packages would be loaded correctly ) but now drivers are leaving the buildings like 9am plenty of time for drivers to del Eam's and be back by 9am. So when you read this because of time and customer commitments, cannot be reasonably performed by regular package drivers. yes all 9 tasks should go to the drivers but some of it can't be reasonably performed , thats why it also says Such work MAY include.. To answer your second Q ,, you are right the drivers could do most of that work but that would mean putting on a lot of more full timers and paying the drivers a lot more overtime plus Saturday may not be 8 hours work but drivers guarantee is 8 hours. Where the fight always comes into play is that to the union reasonably performed means having the time to do it and still do ones route. to UPS reasonably performed means how much will it cost to get it done. I feel that Local 804 didn't care about what was going on because all the drivers were getting over 8 hours , so the idea of putting on 300 - 500 p/t air drivers in metro NY 15 years ago meant more union dues coming into the union so why fight for 100 new driver jobs. I do think it was good to get those p/t jobs at the time but now UPS is only looking at being productive on paper not the cost.

So now all the p/t air drivers that went out of there way to make sure the airs got delivered on-time for years and years and helped build this company are being told by UPS friend-U we don't need you any more, good old UPS....TIME FOR EVER COSTUMER TO GET THERE MONEY BACK ON A LATE AIR.

hope this helped......


​

 

[greasy1970]

It must depend on the region for FT drivers to be doing EAMs as our building the EAM dept is ALL ptimers as they kicked the 22.3s out 2 years ago. Good luk

According to the information I have been given from my local union rep (take that for what it is worth) this issue was brought about when a full-time driver in California originally filed a grievance about PT delivering EAM and was eventually settled at a national level and the resulting judgement (EAMs are full-time work) will prevail in all instances. Hopefully, for the PT in your building, a full-time driver won't file a grievance. By the way, whenever I have a question for my local union rep about an issue, his answer always involves some driver in California who filed a grievance, never any other state, why is that?

 

[greasy1970]

Has this change already happened? This morning, at work, did you drive or work in the building?

Forgive my manner of questioning, but at many places, and I have certainly found this to be true at UPS sometimes, talk comes cheap. The powers that be say they will soon do this, that, or the other, and then, nothing actually happens. Or better yet, there is general discussion of doing something for months or even years, and then, before the change actually takes place, you are given very little notice, sometimes less than a day.
Where I work, it's basically PT's doing EAM's as well, which I find interesting, since this grievance panel decision, I would think, would affect operations throughout the whole Union.

As of now, I am still del EAM and NDA. They just posted the bid sheets this week and will have to go through that whole process before I am forced to move to an inside job. I read on one of your other posts that in the past you have had to perform other jobs w/UPS when you were not needed as an air driver, was your hourly rate adjusted to correspond with whatever job you were doing, or did you keep you air driver rate?

 

[air_dr]

Answer to the above question: I kept my air driver rate.

Other potentially relevant information: I was displaced from air driving in 2005 for like two months and in 2006 for a bunch of Mondays. At the time in 2005, I had not yet made top scale as an air driver, so the pay difference was quite small in my particular case - like a dollar or two. In 2006, I was at top scale, but on those couple of Mondays I worked in the hub (air driving Tu - Fr afternoons, and probably doing Sat mornings - can't remember for sure now) I was paid my air driver wage for working in the building.

 

[JonFrum]

Answer to the above question: I kept my air driver rate.

Other potentially relevant information: I was displaced from air driving in 2005 for like two months and in 2006 for a bunch of Mondays. At the time in 2005, I had not yet made top scale as an air driver, so the pay difference was quite small in my particular case - like a dollar or two. In 2006, I was at top scale, but on those couple of Mondays I worked in the hub (air driving Tu - Fr afternoons, and probably doing Sat mornings - can't remember for sure now) I was paid my air driver wage for working in the building.

If the wrong guy in management figures out you have been getting the higher air rate for working inside, instead of the lower inside rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he put a stop to it, and even tried to recover past overpayments.

He'll claim to be kind though. He'll let you pay it back a little each week. Not all at once. That would be so mean.

 

[air_dr]

I'm not too worried about that...its been so long and the dollar amount that would be question is small. I have been steadily air driving for well over 4 years now and am confident UPS has bigger fish to fry.