UPS wouldn't do this if it didn't have an upside for them. The way I see it, they are seeding a way to reduce feeder hours to a straight 40 hour work week. I know a lot of drivers like the idea of getting 40 hours in a four day week, but if this ever caught on, say goodbye to OT after 8HRS. I see only bad in giving up our contractual right to OT after 8.
They are taking the long view on this. They have nothing to lose. The more jobs that they can convert like this would be bad news for drivers who love OT, and OT in general. A lot of you guys say you can get OT on your off day, but all they have to do is add extra drivers to the feeder department to close that hole. Then, you're stuck at 40 hours with no options. What they get out of this is the huge potential to ax overtime pay.
Where I'm at, we have over 300 feeder drivers. More than we need, really. What this does to us is it makes the majority of our routes 9.5 jobs. Way more than the drivers wish. With all of these 9.5 jobs, those of us who work 10 and 11 plus hour days, get the beatdown on everything we do. It's not hard to see how this can be a very bad thing for feeder drivers. I guess the bottom line is, be careful of what you wish for, because UPS is more than willing to let us cut our own throats.