Payraise question

[Johnny815]

Hello. I've been working at UPS for just over 4 years now. My seniority date is July 21, 2008.
Every year, on my seniority date, I have received a 50 cent raise. However, two weeks ago, when I hit my 4th year, I recieved a 99 cent raise.
I asked the guys around my building, and they all say they receive two raises a year.

My question is: Should I have been entitled to two raises a year as well?
If that's the case, then I've been missing quite a bit of money on my paychecks. I talked to my union steward, and he told me I should be receiving 2 raises a year, and to ask my full-time sup to check my paystubs to see if there was a problem in my payraise.

I'm worried that if they find out I'm really under the new contract, they might take away my extra 49 cent raise, and say there was a fluke in the pay-raise system... this is why I'm asking for advice here.

Thanks

 

[Loufan]

My seniority date is about 6 months before yours and i get 2 raises each year, but i'm pretty sure i started right before the new contract, and i don't know anything about the new contract, anyway good luck.

 

[SnowCitizen]

It is fairly complicated but it is explained in the contract. I am going to assume your start date was June 9, 2008 since you didn't say. This is not terribly important, the key information is that you had seniority on July 21, 2008. Your pay rate should have been as follows. If you are a sorter add $1.

Jun 9, 2008 // 8.50
Aug 1, 2008 // 8.85 (You had seniority as of this date so you are entitled to contract raises)
Sep 9, 2008// 9.50 (You are entitled to the newly enacted progression for new hires)
Feb 1, 2009// 9.85
Jul 21, 2009// 10.00 (another small bump because of the new hire progression change)
Aug 1, 2009// 10.38
Feb 1, 2010// 10.75
Aug 1, 2010// 11.13
Feb 1, 2011// 11.50
Aug 1, 2011// 12.05 (also a $.12 COLA here)
Feb 1, 2012// 12.47
Aug 1, 2012// 12.95

Like a said, add $1 if you get skilled pay. Make sure you know your seniority date is accurate.

Good luck.

 

[Johnny815]

Thanks for your replies. My employee badge says: Date of hire July 21, 2008. I do have skilled pay and my current payrate is now $12.99

 

[iowa boy]

If your date of hire is July 21, 2008, your pay raises, once you reached your seniority, would have been applied with regards to the contract that took effect in December of 2007. The monetary part of the new contract took effect August 1, 2008 and you reached your seniority after August 1 of that year. You are making the correct amount based on the pay rates that are used in the current contract for someone in progression.

I have copied the progression raises from the contract for you to reference with regards to your raise schedule. You also received the COLA raise the everyone who had seniority as of august of 2011 which is why you are making 12.99 per hour vs 12.87.

All part-time employees, who are hired or reach seniority after
August 1, 2008 will be paid according to the following wage schedules:
Hourly Rate
Preloader
Sorter
Start $9.50
Start plus ninety (90) calendar days $10.50
Seniority plus one (1) year $11.00
Seniority plus two (2) years $11.50
Seniority plus three (3) years $12.00
Seniority plus four (4) years $12.87

You were not given the twice yearly raises that others have gotten as those raises were applied to individuals that had reached their seniority dates before August 1, 2008. The numbers I copied are the pay rates for someone with the skilled rate of pay.

I hope this answers your questions.

 

[JonFrum]

I agree with Iowa Boy. You have completed four years of the five year Part-time Progression so you are making $12.87 (an 87-cent raise) plus the 12-cent 2011 Cost-of-Living-Adjustment, which brings you to $12.99.

To have gotten the two general "split" raises per year all along, instead of the one Progression Raise on your yearly Seniority Date, you would have to have "REACHED"/"ACHIEVED" seniority by 8/1/2008. Although your Seniority Date is before 8/1/2008, you didn't REACH/ACHIEVE Seniority probably until 8/21/2008 or later. Once attained, it was backdated to your Date Of Hire, and 7/21/2008 then became your Seniority Date as well. You just missed the cutoff by days. Actually you straddled the 8/1/2008 cutoff.

See Article 22 of the National Master Agreement.

[I don't know where June 9, 2008 comes from.]

 

[Johnny815]

Thanks for the help. So, when I hit my fifth, sixth, etc year, my raise will also be more than 50 cents a year?

 

[Leftinbuilding]

Just so I understand.....if it's a mistake in the companies favor you want it fixed. If it's a mistake in your favor you want it ignored. Did I get that right?

 

[SnowCitizen]

[I don't know where June 9, 2008 comes from.]

You can ignore my whole post since the initial information from the OP was wrong.

Also I clearly explained in my post where June 9 came from (would have been approximate start date) and why it is important (you get at a minimum the new progression in the new contract, which means raises at Start plus 90 days and Seniority plus 1 year.)

 

[uber]

Just so I understand.....if it's a mistake in the companies favor you want it fixed. If it's a mistake in your favor you want it ignored. Did I get that right?

Losing money from hard work from a billion dollar corporation vs. losing money from personal miscalculation?

I don't see how its even comparable.

 

[Leftinbuilding]

Losing money from hard work from a billion dollar corporation vs. losing money from personal miscalculation?

I don't see how its even comparable.

It's called integrity. To complain when you are shorted, but ignore when it's in your favor, raises questions about honesty and integrity. I am not willing to forfeit either for a few dollars.

 

[uber]

It's called integrity. To complain when you are shorted, but ignore when it's in your favor, raises questions about honesty and integrity. I am not willing to forfeit either for a few dollars.

Its a two way street. I'm not going to sacrifice my integrity when UPS management has never shown me any.

If I happen to get a couple extra dollars from an error on their part, so be it. I'm the one busting my ass for them day in and day out.

Its always the next person's fault with UPS management. Absolutely no accountability. Accountability goes hand in hand with integrity.

Thanks for the lecture though, needed a little moral compass from a fellow speck in the brown monster.

 

[iowa boy]

Thanks for the help. So, when I hit my fifth, sixth, etc year, my raise will also be more than 50 cents a year?

From now on, you will get the same raises that everyone else will get. On Feb 1 of next year, you will get a 47.5 cent raise in your pay that all regular seniority people will get.

 

[NY11725]

I wouldn't normally care, but a few weeks ago, a few buddies at work received a 99 cent raise, while I received this so called COLA 12 cent raise. However, I did just receive my 47.5 raise, as I just logged into my upsers.com account. I also know one of my buddies accounts who received the 99 cent raise a few weeks back, I logged in his and he also received the 47.5 raise. Why didn't I receive this mysterious 99 cent raise? The buddies I am referring to were hired 3 weeks after me, and I was hired in late may of 08

 

[JonFrum]

I wouldn't normally care, but a few weeks ago, a few buddies at work received a 99 cent raise, while I received this so called COLA 12 cent raise. However, I did just receive my 47.5 raise, as I just logged into my upsers.com account. I also know one of my buddies accounts who received the 99 cent raise a few weeks back, I logged in his and he also received the 47.5 raise. Why didn't I receive this mysterious 99 cent raise? The buddies I am referring to were hired 3 weeks after me, and I was hired in late may of 08

If you got Seniority before 8/1/2008, you should have been getting the "split raises" every six months all along.These raises may now put you at a payrate higher than the Part-time Progression raises. If you are already making more than $12.87, you don't get the 87-cent raise. You do get the 2011 12-cent COLA though.

 

[JonFrum]

Just so I understand.....if it's a mistake in the companies favor you want it fixed. If it's a mistake in your favor you want it ignored. Did I get that right?

It's worth noting that for an employee to get a payroll error fixed, no matter if it's an overpayment or underpayment, requires time and effort and usually repeated inquiries, all usually done off the clock. There's nothing wrong with getting "paid" for your efforts, in my judgement. There's also nothing wrong with "banking" the rare overpayment, to save you the trouble of making a pest of yourself to get one or more future underpayments resolved.

 

[brown_trousers]

Its a two way street. I'm not going to sacrifice my integrity when UPS management has never shown me any.

If I happen to get a couple extra dollars from an error on their part, so be it. I'm the one busting my ass for them day in and day out.

Its always the next person's fault with UPS management. Absolutely no accountability. Accountability goes hand in hand with integrity.

Thanks for the lecture though, needed a little moral compass from a fellow speck in the brown monster.

its a one-way street... once those honest union guys go into management their integrity, honesty, and anything else showing the slightest bit of humanity is lost.... Never to return again. Don't drag yourself down that road!

 

[NY11725]

If you got Seniority before 8/1/2008, you should have been getting the "split raises" every six months all along.These raises may now put you at a payrate higher than the Part-time Progression raises. If you are already making more than $12.87, you don't get the 87-cent raise. You do get the 2011 12-cent COLA though.

That cleared it up, thanks Jon

When the 2nd 47.5 coming? I heard we get .95 cents year and the 12 cent cola and this 47.5 doesn't add up to .95

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

It's worth noting that for an employee to get a payroll error fixed, no matter if it's an overpayment or underpayment, requires time and effort and usually repeated inquiries, all usually done off the clock. There's nothing wrong with getting "paid" for your efforts, in my judgement. There's also nothing wrong with "banking" the rare overpayment, to save you the trouble of making a pest of yourself to get one or more future underpayments resolved.

The time it takes to notify your mgt team of an overpayment is minimal. You simply make a photocopy of the paystub with the overpayment highlighted and hand it to your supervisor. This puts the onus on them whether they wish to spend the time and effort that it does take to correct such errors. This is not Monopoly--"Bank Error in Your Favor--Collect $200. This is all part of personal integrity.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

its a one-way street... once those honest union guys go into management their integrity, honesty, and anything else showing the slightest bit of humanity is lost.... Never to return again. Don't drag yourself down that road!

This is not always the case. My on-car drove for 15 years before making the move. Never lost an ounce of his personal integrity.