What does the projected agreement mean for me?

[SouthernComfort]

I and about 2 dozen fellow teamsters in my local fall into a small gap that often gets over looked into contract agreements. We are "part time cover driver". I work 85% or more of the year as a pkg car driver, I do not have a set route, and am bumped from route to route every other day. I have 12 years seniority( I applied at UPS on my 17th birthday) and began cover driving after a brief 4 years working in the hub... I have been cover driving for 8 years now along with about 25 fellow drivers that for some reason fall into the shadows of contract agreements. We DO NOT get 8hr vacation days, we do not apply to any of the current 9.5 language(in my center cover drivers avg 49hrs/week, we can not get approved for 8 hour days, we are sent out on routes cold at least 3x a month and then harassed about obsessive backs. If we are dispatched with an 8.5 day you can bet your butt we will be instructed to take stops of a near more senior driver to keep them under 9.5(hanging us out to 8:45pm or later some nights). After 8 years in a center its depressing at how we get treated like endentured slaves. Most of us are in our late 20's, we have purchased homes, gotten married, and started families, our cost of living is the same as everyone elses...and then the dreaded 15% of the year sneaks up to where we are bounced back into our part time hub positions taking approx a $750/week pay cut. When they have FT openings the company brings in hub employees with 15yrs PT time that bump us down on the seniority list to become full time, these drivers half about 2% experience/area knowledge as me and my buddies I graduated from high school with 11 years ago and they are getting FT Pkg positions after 60 days of driving pkg. We get used, abused, and then hung out to dry day in and day out. The "leaks" claim 2000 new FT positions, but how many of those positions will be offered to me and my fellow black sheep cover drivers? When can we be ellibible for 9.5 agreements, 8hr requests, 8 hour holiday pay, and not be forced to work the day after thanksgiving ever year (for air pay-a $5/hr pay decrease)? We all have plans to retire from this company, but there's a bunch of disgruntled cover drivers that have a bad taste in their mouth about the way we have been used and abused the past 5+ years. Are there any leaks yet as to what the new agreements plans are forr PT cover drivers? There are driver 3 years older than me driving feeder 60% of the year that went FT 2 years ago....we have been treading water for years waiting for our break, will this contract bring us up and make us whole?

 

[Bagels]

In many areas, PT cover drivers are merely PTers working one of the sorts who perform cover duties when needed. If you were to work 85% of the year in my local, my BA would've grieved to negotiate a regular FT job for my facility by now.

 

[Coldworld]

It's a loophole for sure....we don't have cover drivers out west.....if they need an additional driver in a pinch one of the hub people go out with a sup and they get paid ground wages for all hours worked that day including their hub time.

 

[dogs.bite.me]

I and about 2 dozen fellow teamsters in my local fall into a small gap that often gets over looked into contract agreements. We are "part time cover driver". I work 85% or more of the year as a pkg car driver, I do not have a set route, and am bumped from route to route every other day. I have 12 years seniority( I applied at UPS on my 17th birthday) and began cover driving after a brief 4 years working in the hub... I have been cover driving for 8 years now along with about 25 fellow drivers that for some reason fall into the shadows of contract agreements. We DO NOT get 8hr vacation days, we do not apply to any of the current 9.5 language(in my center cover drivers avg 49hrs/week, we can not get approved for 8 hour days, we are sent out on routes cold at least 3x a month and then harassed about obsessive backs. If we are dispatched with an 8.5 day you can bet your butt we will be instructed to take stops of a near more senior driver to keep them under 9.5(hanging us out to 8:45pm or later some nights). After 8 years in a center its depressing at how we get treated like endentured slaves. Most of us are in our late 20's, we have purchased homes, gotten married, and started families, our cost of living is the same as everyone elses...and then the dreaded 15% of the year sneaks up to where we are bounced back into our part time hub positions taking approx a $750/week pay cut. When they have FT openings the company brings in hub employees with 15yrs PT time that bump us down on the seniority list to become full time, these drivers half about 2% experience/area knowledge as me and my buddies I graduated from high school with 11 years ago and they are getting FT Pkg positions after 60 days of driving pkg. We get used, abused, and then hung out to dry day in and day out. The "leaks" claim 2000 new FT positions, but how many of those positions will be offered to me and my fellow black sheep cover drivers? When can we be ellibible for 9.5 agreements, 8hr requests, 8 hour holiday pay, and not be forced to work the day after thanksgiving ever year (for air pay-a $5/hr pay decrease)? We all have plans to retire from this company, but there's a bunch of disgruntled cover drivers that have a bad taste in their mouth about the way we have been used and abused the past 5+ years. Are there any leaks yet as to what the new agreements plans are forr PT cover drivers? There are driver 3 years older than me driving feeder 60% of the year that went FT 2 years ago....we have been treading water for years waiting for our break, will this contract bring us up and make us whole?

Our contract states that 200 driver punches from a TCD = a full time job created in that center. I grieved this for 2 years and got FT last september. Look at your contract for that language.

It also states that if you have more than 156 punches as a driver, you get Driver Vacations. meaning 45 hours at TCD rate.

 

[sortaisle]

It really depends on where you're at. Over here, you'd be covered under utility. Just shy of full time Air Driver wage. If you have more than 200 punches as a utility driver than you can grieve for a fulltime spot to open up, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get that spot, so pick your battles wisely.

 

[DOK]

Yes depends on where you are, your language needs to be changed in your supplement, there are plenty of supplements across the country that have excellent language covering the cover driver area. In ours, cover drivers get 8 hours vaca days, 45 hr vaca week, etc.

 

[SouthernComfort]

I am in the SE region and yes our language states that for every 200 reports they have to bring a full time driver in our center.... HOWEVER they are pulling up drivers with 15 years hub time and putting them through driver training and then offering them FT driver positions over us OR transferring a FT driver from another center to ours to fill the FT position created that us cover drivers punched 200 reports to create. We do not get full paid holidays because they lay us off 1 day of the week the week of a holiday(monday the week of thanksgiving for example) so that they don't have to pay us for full 8hr holidays @ our driver pay because we did not drive the whole week of the holiday. In 2005 our center had 51 routes non peak now we run 43 routes, the center has record high volume, and 90% of the trucks in our fleet are the new extra long automatic trucks capable of holding 350+ pieces.