Bid route designated a training route

Wood82

New Member
Southern Region supplement applicable

A friend-T package car driver recently bid a route designated a training route. When the route is in training am I correct in my understanding:

Treat the situation as a "Reduction in Force" Article 48 Section 5 and "must displace the junior employee within their regular classification?" If this is the case is the driver to displace the lowest seniority unassigned person in his classification - Full time package car driver? By the contract stating "'the' junior employee" and not stating "'any' junior employee" it looks to me that he can only displace the lowest seniority employee according to his seniority. Or, can he displace the junior employee right below him in seniority. Some say he has to displace the lowest seniority driver in his classification because if they allow him to displace the junior driver right below him in seniority then that driver could possibly try to displace a junior driver to him thereby creating a mess of multiple drivers trying to bump several slots each day. Thoughts please since I am getting different opinions from stewards and business agents.

Since my center schedules unassigned drivers by the day and not by the week it is becoming a confused mess each day. They are allowing the driver to come in each day and pick a route. Then and only after he picks a route are they assigning other routes to the remaining unassigned drivers. While this is the driver's preferred solution (obviously) the unassigned drivers just want the right thing to be done.

How is this situation handled in your center?

Any thoughts would be helpful.
 

Box Ox

Well-Known Member
Bid drivers knocked off their training routes, in my experience, typically displace the most junior split route drivers or a volunteer bid driver.
 

john chesney

Well-Known Member
Southern Region supplement applicable

A friend-T package car driver recently bid a route designated a training route. When the route is in training am I correct in my understanding:

Treat the situation as a "Reduction in Force" Article 48 Section 5 and "must displace the junior employee within their regular classification?" If this is the case is the driver to displace the lowest seniority unassigned person in his classification - Full time package car driver? By the contract stating "'the' junior employee" and not stating "'any' junior employee" it looks to me that he can only displace the lowest seniority employee according to his seniority. Or, can he displace the junior employee right below him in seniority. Some say he has to displace the lowest seniority driver in his classification because if they allow him to displace the junior driver right below him in seniority then that driver could possibly try to displace a junior driver to him thereby creating a mess of multiple drivers trying to bump several slots each day. Thoughts please since I am getting different opinions from stewards and business agents.

Since my center schedules unassigned drivers by the day and not by the week it is becoming a confused mess each day. They are allowing the driver to come in each day and pick a route. Then and only after he picks a route are they assigning other routes to the remaining unassigned drivers. While this is the driver's preferred solution (obviously) the unassigned drivers just want the right thing to be done.

How is this situation handled in your center?

Any thoughts would be helpful.
I think maybe you should change your username to Swingdriver
 

brown_trousers

Well-Known Member
Southern Region supplement applicable

A friend-T package car driver recently bid a route designated a training route. When the route is in training am I correct in my understanding:

Treat the situation as a "Reduction in Force" Article 48 Section 5 and "must displace the junior employee within their regular classification?" If this is the case is the driver to displace the lowest seniority unassigned person in his classification - Full time package car driver? By the contract stating "'the' junior employee" and not stating "'any' junior employee" it looks to me that he can only displace the lowest seniority employee according to his seniority. Or, can he displace the junior employee right below him in seniority. Some say he has to displace the lowest seniority driver in his classification because if they allow him to displace the junior driver right below him in seniority then that driver could possibly try to displace a junior driver to him thereby creating a mess of multiple drivers trying to bump several slots each day. Thoughts please since I am getting different opinions from stewards and business agents.

Since my center schedules unassigned drivers by the day and not by the week it is becoming a confused mess each day. They are allowing the driver to come in each day and pick a route. Then and only after he picks a route are they assigning other routes to the remaining unassigned drivers. While this is the driver's preferred solution (obviously) the unassigned drivers just want the right thing to be done.

How is this situation handled in your center?

Any thoughts would be helpful.
That situation would be open to interpretation. In my opinion, it is being handled correctly.

the bid driver would displace the lowest seniority driver, just to show up that morning to work. Then after that, regular seniority applies, and he gets to choose his route first because of his higher seniority.
 

Brown287

Im not the Mail Man!
A driver who knowingly bids a “training route” does so with the knowledge that they are just another cover driver with only their seniority in that capacity while they’re displaced. I’m my building that’s generally why those routes have low seniority drivers with the bid in the first place.
 

Wood82

New Member
John Chesney, I'm a steward looking for other opinions.

brown_trousers, I agree with you. I am a steward and am getting mixed opinions from different business agents with union and other drivers so was just looking for other opinions.

One other problem faced in this situation is that the driver is coming in and changing his mind after picking a route and sometimes running up to almost start time. Supervision is letting him switch routes some days even after the PCM and I find this totally unacceptable. Once you pick it should be a done deal for everyone.
 

dogs.bite.me

Well-Known Member
Southern Region supplement applicable

A friend-T package car driver recently bid a route designated a training route. When the route is in training am I correct in my understanding:

Treat the situation as a "Reduction in Force" Article 48 Section 5 and "must displace the junior employee within their regular classification?" If this is the case is the driver to displace the lowest seniority unassigned person in his classification - Full time package car driver? By the contract stating "'the' junior employee" and not stating "'any' junior employee" it looks to me that he can only displace the lowest seniority employee according to his seniority. Or, can he displace the junior employee right below him in seniority. Some say he has to displace the lowest seniority driver in his classification because if they allow him to displace the junior driver right below him in seniority then that driver could possibly try to displace a junior driver to him thereby creating a mess of multiple drivers trying to bump several slots each day. Thoughts please since I am getting different opinions from stewards and business agents.

Since my center schedules unassigned drivers by the day and not by the week it is becoming a confused mess each day. They are allowing the driver to come in each day and pick a route. Then and only after he picks a route are they assigning other routes to the remaining unassigned drivers. While this is the driver's preferred solution (obviously) the unassigned drivers just want the right thing to be done.

How is this situation handled in your center?

Any thoughts would be helpful.

They displace then least senior driver there, is the one who has been there the least amount of time based on seniority list. He doesn't get to choose who he bumps.

Additionally, if everyone is working, then he is treated as a cover driver, running the routes that are unassigned/ vacations

At that point, seniority applies and he can choose the rte he wants before start time.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
In my building, all the training routes are held by people that have more seniority than the most senior cover driver. Seniority rules and when someone is training, they get 1st choice.
 
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