The rules and the expectations are different during peak season, just as they are in the NBA finals. The stakes are higher and the referees call the game differently.
No vacations, no optionals, no 8 hr requests, 9.5 language no longer applies, helpers are allowed on car. For a 3 week period our workload is essentially doubled.
I get what you are saying about giving 100% all year around, and I do the same thing. I give the company a "fair days work for a fair days pay" and perform my job "in a manner that best represents the interests of the employer" per Art 37 NMUPSA no matter what time of year it is.
During peak, however, the parameters change. A "fair days work" on my route usually means about 95 stops, which winds up taking 9.5 to 10 hours. Last week I was doing 180 stops and taking 12 hours. The pace that I am currently working at is not physically or mentally sustainable for 12 months out of the year, nor should it need to be.
When I first started, there were a lot of militant, pro-union drivers who would go ahead and skip their lunches and breaks for 2 or 3 weeks during peak. Once peak had ended, they would "get the time back" by taking an extra 5 or 10 minutes per day in January until they were "even" again. Management was aware of this and chose to look the other way. I'm not condoning the practice, but I understand the mentality behind it. Last year, I broke my toe on December 12th. Had it been any other time of year I would have sat in the office on TAW, but because it was peak I stayed on car and did the best that I could using a helper. In my opinion, that is the mentality that we should all adopt in December.
