Vacation Cover Driving

<font color="0000ff">I'm sure this has been discussed here before but I didn't read up on it. I have a couple of questions....1) Isn't air driving TOTALLY seperate from cover driving? and 2) Isn't vacation cover driving something anyone can bid into based on company seniority and not having anything to do with air driving? The reason I'm asking is this....Our management here recently had a bid sheet for vacation cover driving. They didn't post it but they took it around to all the air drivers and asked each of them if hey wanted to sign it and some actually didn't want to. Isn't vacation cover driving supposed to be posted for EVERYONE and not just people that are current air drivers or used to be air drivers? I used to work in a hub and can almost swear they posted it there and people with absolutely no driving experience would be picked, based on seniority of course, over people that had been air drivers for years. It's like you cant become a driver here without driving air first. Lately we've had a guy that hasnt even worked at UPS a year yet cover driving and I have 3+ years more time than him but I never saw a bid sheet. He had started saturday air driving before Christmas and now it's like he gets to cover drive over other people that have been there longer. Someone fill me in on this please.</font>

VAcation bid lists are for the cover drivers to sign. Since we do not have air drivers, with the exception of sat. air drivers, they are never allowed to bid on a vacation cover bid sheet. Its only for the drivers without a bid run. That sheet gives them a bid run for a week.

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Vacation cover driving is open to bid by full time drivers who do not have a bidded route (as d stated) on a week by week basis.
We do have air drivers which are used on saturdays and during the week in situations of inclement weather or other delays.

A temp driver list should be open to any part time employee on a seniority basis. And I believe the contract allows the use of temp drivers from June thru the end of the year.

<font color="0000ff">Is there a difference between cover driving and vacation cover driving or is one just a shortened term for the other? I'm a little confused here so I can't ask what I need to until I understand that. We have no union steward now at work and asking anyone else about it, including most of the drivers and especially management, would be almost as good as asking someone that doesn't even work at UPS so bare with me here.</font>

A cover driver is just that, he goes where and when the managment decides. More or less an at will employee. Usually they are the least senior drivers, but some senior drivers also work as cover drivers. I did it for several years just to get away from the humdrum of one route. But when you know all the routes, getting in early is that much harder to do. You are allways sent to help someone else.

Vacation coverage is when the cover driver bids on one route for the following week, according to seniority. When he bids on it, he agrees to cover that route for the whole week as if it were his bid route. Tech. they are not suposed to pull you off that route.

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Vacation coverage is when the cover driver bids on one route for the following week, according to seniority. When he bids on it, he agrees to cover that route for the whole week as if it were his bid route. Tech. they are not suposed to pull you off that route.

I beg to differ with you...Cover drivers have no bidding rights towards any vacation,personal, sick and disabilty of any full time driver.. Any on car sup can put you on trip(usually area knowledge is the reason).. Cover drivers are just like part-timers who work full time hours.. I should know, I covered for 5yrs, and yes, covering a route for a week happens, but area knowledge and being a senior cover driver is the key, but using the word "bidding" wouldnt be the correct word!

The top five senority cover drivers can bid on vacation routes and stay on them all week the rest are at the bosses mercy.

Here in Central States we have BID utility drivers and non-bid utility drivers. BID utility drivers pick coverage (posted Monday, down Thurs. am) for the following week according to senority. Non-bid utility drivers work as directed.
Your center needs to hire more full-time drivers. I have never heard of an air driver covering a full-time bid route. Air drivers may not handle ground pkgs and if they do they are compensated at top driver wage.
Cover driving includes vacations but may also include jury duty, family leave, or work comp. Anything that is known the week prior and lasts the entire week or longer.