Article 40/air drivers picking up grounds

[FlipOldman]

Long time air driver here. I do a regular pick-up route that includes 3 UPS Stores on it. I arrive at the stores close to their closing times to pick up any airs that came in after the last ground driver has been there. At one of these stores the owner expects me to pick up all of his grounds as well. At first it didn't bother me, but as the years have gone on he has never once done anything to return my favor and I'm getting fed up. He's literally making money off of my free labor.

Article 40 says air drivers are supposed to pick up AIR packages, but exceptions can be made. The language there is a little vague and I hope the next contract clears this up a little. From what I understand of this, an exception is when the boss tells us to pick up grounds one day and then we're supposed to get ground pay. Am I correct there? Is there any way an air driver should be picking up ground packages and not getting ground pay for it?

 

[Rack em]

If you are forced to pick up ground packages then you get top ground rate for all hours worked, but if you do it voluntarily then that's on you and you don't get the top rate. You do not work for the guy at the Ups store, you work for Ups. Talk to your supervisor and explain the situation and that if you have to pick up ground then you will take top rate for all hours worked. You can rest assured your supervisor will talk to that Ups store franchisee.

 

[PT Car Washer]

Long time air driver here. I do a regular pick-up route that includes 3 UPS Stores on it. I arrive at the stores close to their closing times to pick up any airs that came in after the last ground driver has been there. At one of these stores the owner expects me to pick up all of his grounds as well. At first it didn't bother me, but as the years have gone on he has never once done anything to return my favor and I'm getting fed up. He's literally making money off of my free labor.

Article 40 says air drivers are supposed to pick up AIR packages, but exceptions can be made. The language there is a little vague and I hope the next contract clears this up a little. From what I understand of this, an exception is when the boss tells us to pick up grounds one day and then we're supposed to get ground pay. Am I correct there? Is there any way an air driver should be picking up ground packages and not getting ground pay for it?

I have covered PM letter box routes where 90% of the pick ups were ground packages. AM air routes if you deliver or pick up or shuttle ground we are paid top driver rate for the day.

 

[FlipOldman]

Rack em, that's a good point. I had the same problem at one of my other UPS Stores and my supervisor would pay me ground pay. Then I got a new supervisor and she said if I pick up grounds voluntarily she won't pay me. From then on I only picked up airs at that UPS Store.

I'm about to start only picking up airs at this UPS Store too. I know this owner is a total jerk and he's going to complain, so I just want to make sure I'm covered by article 40. It uses the word "exception," but that's just when the boss has you do something unusual that's not an every day thing, right?

 

[FlipOldman]

PT Car Washer, that's very true. I have a lot of letter boxes on my route and people put mostly grounds in there. I don't know why they even classify me as an "air driver" when most of what I pick up is grounds. They should just call me a "part time driver."

I heard they were working on the letter box issue on the next contract. The signage used to indicate that only airs were excepted, but then they changed that to include all service levels. So, UPS figured they could make more money by including grounds in the letter boxes, but they don't want to pay us any of that extra money for doing the work.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago, saying that if the regular driver(s) were not going back, that air drivers must pick up all packages and do not get ground rate. I believe that is in Article 40 but the air driver wage was the deal.

 

[BigUnionGuy]

UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago

They did ?

 

[FlipOldman]

UnconTROLLed, I'm not so sure about that one. Article 40 section 1 clearly says air drivers pick up, deliver, and shuttle AIR packages. Then in section 1(a) (7) it says:

"Air drivers may, on an exception basis, be used to make service on packages which are not air packages. An exception package is intended to be when an Air Driver is making a pick up, as outlined above, after the regular driver has been at the customer's premises, and the customer has an exception ground package(s) for shipment, the air driver may make service on this package(s). Air drivers may continue to pick up ARS packages but the features of this service will not be expanded"

It goes on to say any violation of that section will result in the air driver receiving ground pay. It's not an "exception" if it's an every day thing where the owner of the UPS Store wants the air driver to pick up all the grounds he has.

It's pretty clear here that air drivers aren't supposed to pick up grounds at UPS Store unless there's some kind of special exception. I do wish the next contract would be more precise on this to avoid misinterpretations though. They should either give an exact number like say no more than 5, or just say any time an air driver touches a ground package they get ground pay, or just have equal pay for all drivers who have reached a certain seniority level. None of this air drivers doing ground work for air pay crap anymore.

 

[BigBrown1234]

I have never heard this.

“UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago”

What format was the agreement made in? LOU, written, verbal, amendment, supplemental. Was it local

Do you have the specific language?

Has it been challenged?

Was there a panel or arbitration outlining the specific circumstances?

 

[FlipOldman]

“UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago”

Are you sure that wasn't just a rumor the bosses tried to start in order to get air drivers to do ground work for free? I've heard bosses try to say stuff like this, but I've never heard it from anyone in the union, and I've never seen it in writing.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I have never heard this.

“UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago”

What format was the agreement made in? LOU, written, verbal, amendment, supplemental. Was it local

Do you have the specific language?

Has it been challenged?

Was there a panel or arbitration outlining the specific circumstances?

I only remember the union, company or both, having a pamphlet outlining the conditions of air drivers, excessive ground packages at drop boxes and pickups etc. We were instructed that all packages at every drop box or pickup location must be picked up and there was no ground rate, if the air driver was the last person there.

To the OP, I've been there, was an air driver for a few years. I've picked up loads of grounds and wasn't happy about it, I shuttled tons of ground work for Art 40 pay, and other scenarios. I completely agree with you but the contract, like you said, doesn't really have any teeth.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

“UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago”

Are you sure that wasn't just a rumor the bosses tried to start in order to get air drivers to do ground work for free? I've heard bosses try to say stuff like this, but I've never heard it from anyone in the union, and I've never seen it in writing.

I talked with the stewards and BA at the time and they sided with the company.

 

[FlipOldman]

Has anyone heard if this is being addressed in the latest contract negotiations? The part in article 40 about making "exceptions" on ground packages is too vague, and it leaves room for different interpretations.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Has anyone heard if this is being addressed in the latest contract negotiations? The part in article 40 about making "exceptions" on ground packages is too vague, and it leaves room for different interpretations.

Article 40 could be addressed by blowing it up

 

[BigBrown1234]

I have been article 40 bid part time air shuttle driver for over 20 years.

If I touch ground I get ground all day no exceptions. My BA said the panel defined it as “dirtying” my position.

 

[PT Car Washer]

I talked with the stewards and BA at the time and they sided with the company.

Somebody made a deal.

 

[Bubblehead]

UPS made a deal with the union around 10 years ago

They did ?

In regards to ground packages picked up by air drivers at drop boxes, that's my understanding as well.

The one caveat, as I remember it, is that a full time driver has to have made an earlier pickup at the drop box.

Also how does this language in Article 40, section 1 not allow for the OP to pickup the ground packages processed after the regular driver makes their pickup earlier in the evening?

(6) Additional late air pickups.
(7) Air drivers may, on an exception basis, be used to make service on packages which are not air packages.
An exception package is intended to be when an Air Driver is making a pick up, as outlined above, after the regular driver has been at the customer’s premises, and the customer has an exception ground pack- age(s) for shipment, the air driver may make service on this package(s).

Seems to me, if instructed, the OP should pickup everything, with the expectation of top scale ground pay from UPS, and nothing from the shipper.

 

[FlipOldman]

That's how I read it too. Either they instruct me to pick up grounds and I get ground pay, or I just pick up airs for air pay. They can't have it both ways and have me pick up grounds for air pay.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I stand corrected, I believe this was a drop box issue ~10 years ago and not an "inside" pickup at a business. However given the contract language it still could be argued there is little difference, as long as the service provider was already there and gone.

 

[FlipOldman]

That's why they need to clean up the contract language. We're having different interpretations of it. I think if they meant to say air drivers should pick up all the packages in the store as long as the ground driver had already been there, they would've said so. And they would've set a package limit. Obviously it's not right if the other driver leaves the store 3 or 4 hours before closing, leaving 100 packages for the air driver.