What is the 9.5 rule? My understanding is that you can't work more than 9.5 hours? Is that what that means? I have read posts talking about working 59 hrs a week. I am sure there are plenty of part-time handlers that would like to hear what life is really like as a full-time driver. What time do most drivers start off their day in the morning? What time does your day end? Does it get a lot busier during the holiday season?
While I'm certainly not qualified to answer this, I'm going to reply anyway (it is only the interweb, after all). 9.5 hours seems to be the long-standing agreed upon "fair day's work" load. In theory, UPS factors # of packages, # of stops, miles driven, etc. and spreads the work around accordingly. Please see
Article 37 (MANAGEMENT-EMPLOYEE RELATIONS) Section 1.c for the contract language on this. If, after repeated requests for a driver's workload to be reduced to 9.5 hours or less (excessive overtime), no progress is made towards this, time worked over 9.5 each day could potentially be double time. This only applies to package car drivers (feeder drivers can be worked up to the federal DOT regulations that apply to them) (and not in november-december, at least in my local's contract). References to not being allowed to work over 9.5 seem to refer to local center management teams getting pressure from above to reduce labor costs on their reports. Start times seem to range around 8-9 AM. Now here's what I'm unclear on, but I'm assuming lunch and breaks come in addition to these 9.5 hours. So if you started at 9 AM, worked 9.5 hours, took a 1 hour lunch and 2 ten minute breaks (an additional 1.33 hours total), you should be punching out at 7:50 PM. I've personally seen drivers returning as late as 10:45 PM (and not during Peak season, either). Yes it's much busier during the holiday season, some say we move up to 50% more packages, with temporary (seasonal) driver helpers, drivers, rental trucks, and working even more hours, of course.
Brown cafe patrons, please commence with your parsing, sniping, and flaming.