Article 40/air drivers picking up grounds

FlipOldman

Well-Known Member
If he complains your def gonna get yelled at. You friend-Ed yourself by always taking grounds from the beginning.

Yeah, I'm hoping he retires soon so I can start fresh with a new owner. But even if I get yelled at, I'm still protected by Article 40, right? I'm getting mixed messages here which tells me the language in Article 40 isn't as clear as it should be.
 

Bubblehead

My Senior Picture
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
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.
Huh????????
Drop boxes, after a ground driver has emptied it during their pickup log....

....nobody else remembers this.....@BigUnionGuy???
 

wide load

Starting wage is a waste of time.
Drop boxes, after a ground driver has emptied it during their pickup log....

....nobody else remembers this.....@BigUnionGuy???
Why would an additional pickup be required if there is a minimum pickup time already? This is definitely not happening in these parts. Only case I’ve heard of was a PM air driver picking up high volume air ltr boxes that may have a few ground letters.
 

Bubblehead

My Senior Picture
Why would an additional pickup be required if there is a minimum pickup time already? This is definitely not happening in these parts. Only case I’ve heard of was a PM air driver picking up high volume air ltr boxes that may have a few ground letters.
Most drop boxes here have late commit times, well after most package car routers are in.

As I understood it, it was agreed that when the boxes were branded for all service levels, the Company and Union agreed to allow air drivers to close out these boxes without penalty.

Can't imagine that @BigUnionGuy doesn't remember this???

Seemed like a reasonable remedy to me.
 
Most drop boxes here have late commit times, well after most package car routers are in.

As I understood it, it was agreed that when the boxes were branded for all service levels, the Company and Union agreed to allow air drivers to close out these boxes without penalty.

Can't imagine that @BigUnionGuy doesn't remember this???

Seemed like a reasonable remedy to me.
This is the way the Union local has explained it to us. Some routes you will pick up a handful of NDA and a whole lot of Amazon returns. Sometimes they will be stacked up next to the box inside a secure building. Especially on a Monday.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
Yeah, the issue was bad service due to packages sitting for days and weeks and also theft when boxes filled and cu's stack them outside.
Most drop boxes here have late commit times, well after most package car routers are in.

As I understood it, it was agreed that when the boxes were branded for all service levels, the Company and Union agreed to allow air drivers to close out these boxes without penalty.

Can't imagine that @BigUnionGuy doesn't remember this???

Seemed like a reasonable remedy to me.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Why would an additional pickup be required if there is a minimum pickup time already? This is definitely not happening in these parts. Only case I’ve heard of was a PM air driver picking up high volume air ltr boxes that may have a few ground letters.

There is no such thing as a ground letter as there is no ground letter rate.
 

wide load

Starting wage is a waste of time.
There is no such thing as a ground letter as there is no ground letter rate.
You have never seen a ground envelope before? Now I suppose you’ll argue the semantics. Where the friend do you deliver? Before you start talking out of your ass... HERE:
7C4B0587-2CFA-4237-9689-6C6C7D049764.jpeg
You left this on your tailgate. Since there is no ground LTR rate, I guess this was free.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
You have never seen a ground envelope before? Now I suppose you’ll argue the semantics. Where the friend do you deliver? Before you start talking out of your ass... HERE:
View attachment 191024 You left this on your tailgate. Since there is no ground LTR rate, I guess this was free.

The weight is 1 lb.

Both UPS and FedEx lobbied for a ground letter rate but were told that is what the Post Office is for.
 

BigUnionGuy

Got the T-Shirt
Can't imagine that @BigUnionGuy doesn't remember this???


"(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 package(s) for shipment, the air driver may make service on this package(s). Air drivers may continue to pick up Automatic Return Service packages but the features of this service will not be expanded."


https://teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/6161478090_master_final.pdf


This language has been in effect since 1993.

The last sentence about ARS packages, started in 1997.


That's what I thought @UnconTROLLed was referring to.


What's funny.... my Local was paying air drivers ground rate, up until

about 2006(?). A new supe came into the air dept, and questioned the

Labor Manager about it. He flipped when he found out.



-Bug-
 

FlipOldman

Well-Known Member
BigUnionGuy, why did they stop paying the air drivers ground rate? How are they interpreting that section of article 40? What's an exception package? I was thinking maybe that means there's a special package that needs to go out that night because it's for a wedding or it's medicine or something. It's not an "exception" if there's a big pile of grounds on the floor every single day. That's ground work.
And what does this last sentence even mean? "but the features of this service will not be expanded."
 

FlipOldman

Well-Known Member
The top rate for air drivers is 8 dollars an hour less than top ground rate. They can justify this by claiming that we don't touch ground packages, but when 90% of what I'm picking up is grounds I feel like I'm being screwed over. I only get 3 1/2 hours and my route is 60 miles. I've considered going full-time, but the thought of being screwed over for the entirety of the day is too depressing. It's also depressing to not have a lot of money in my pocket, but I'll live. I just wish they would do something to protect air drivers from getting screwed.
 

AlliSeeisBrown

Well-Known Member
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.

There's one letterbox on the PM route I run sometimes that some customer stacks out all of his ground pieces all around the letterbox Usually it's 12 or so medium sized boxes (not even close to fitting in the letterbox). I pick them up, but I lol when it's pouring rain out.
 
Top