How To Stop Drivers From Working During Their Vacations?

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
This is not my first post. I've been a member of the site for over ten years and decided to change screen name due to some brown nosing hourlies in my center as well as some management spying. Anyway.....

Quite a few of our full-time drivers have been working during their vacations this year. A bunch of the lower seniority full-time drivers and part-time cover drivers have decided to try and stop this to avoid layoffs and loss of decent vacation weeks only to have those people come in and work during them. We are in the Southern Supplement and I can't find anything in it, nor the Master, that actually states that we can't work during our vacations (unless sold back or choosing to work the option week) but everyone that I've asked says that its a contract violation. We've all given up on our steward and alternate. One is part of the problem and the other....well....could care less. Our local says to file but based on what? Maybe I'm just not reading the contract right. Can someone please elaborate?
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Working during vacations is no longer allowed in Upstate NY. The company reason is why would they pay us twice, which makes sense. You make some excellent points in your post. It is not fair for a senior employee to select 5 or 6 of the prime vacation weeks only to work through some or all of them. Yes, the junior employees will get their chance in time, but if the senior employee is selecting vacations that he has no intention of taking he should choose the less desirable weeks.

I have worked a vacation or two before the policy change but I always did my best to make sure that I did not displace anyone by working nor did I deny a junior employee a prime week.
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
Read through your supplement language, in the Atlantic Area it states that no employee shall accept vacation pay in lieu of vacation, ie, you can't get your vacation pay unless you actually take a vacation. See if you can't find something similar.
 
I'm in the
Central and were allowed to work 3 of our seven here. I wouldn't be caught DEAD working my vacation if you can't
Live on what your making here then you need some real financial help.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
Our supplement says......

"In lieu of time off, employees, at their discretion, may take the pay for said weeks. However, the employee must notify the employee during September of each year of this request."
 

TheDick

Well-Known Member
Figure the center mgr likes this cuz its less stress if hes got an extra ready to cover a sick call during a prime week. But yeah it sucks if a senior driver hogs a prime week i wold like and then works it only to find out his buddy with less seniority is off for the week. Yeah it's happened more than once in my center.
 

brownboxman

Well-Known Member
In all walks of life there are greedy folks, thats why I have always argued in favor of limiting prime vacation weeks per driver. You can argue "you get it with seniority" till you're blue in the face and it will never change my mind. It's greed pure and simple. There are drivers who will put themselves ahead of other drivers all the time. If "brother and sister" Teamsters are what we are then show it.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
In all walks of life there are greedy folks, thats why I have always argued in favor of limiting prime vacation weeks per driver. You can argue "you get it with seniority" till you're blue in the face and it will never change my mind. It's greed pure and simple. There are drivers who will put themselves ahead of other drivers all the time. If "brother and sister" Teamsters are what we are then show it.

Define prime weeks.
 

grgrcr88

No It's not green grocer!
I'm in the
Central and were allowed to work 3 of our seven here. I wouldn't be caught DEAD working my vacation if you can't
Live on what your making here then you need some real financial help.

I am in the Central as well and we can only work the option week. We had lower seniority guys file for lost pay when a driver worked thru a non option week and got paid for 40hrs. I will see if I can find the article that they filed under.
 

Braveheart

Well-Known Member
This is not my first post. I've been a member of the site for over ten years and decided to change screen name due to some brown nosing hourlies in my center as well as some management spying. Anyway.....

Quite a few of our full-time drivers have been working during their vacations this year. A bunch of the lower seniority full-time drivers and part-time cover drivers have decided to try and stop this to avoid layoffs and loss of decent vacation weeks only to have those people come in and work during them. We are in the Southern Supplement and I can't find anything in it, nor the Master, that actually states that we can't work during our vacations (unless sold back or choosing to work the option week) but everyone that I've asked says that its a contract violation. We've all given up on our steward and alternate. One is part of the problem and the other....well....could care less. Our local says to file but based on what? Maybe I'm just not reading the contract right. Can someone please elaborate?


I filed on that years ago and won. I agree with you that it is not right for drivers to both tie up good vacation weeks and then not use them while causing layoffs and working them.

Those drivers are being selfish. The junior drivers should file. They will win. If the high seniority drivers want to work then sell them all back in Oct per contract.
 

Overpaid Union Thug

Well-Known Member
Looks like this would be the article to file under.

Doesn't "in lieu of" mean "in place of." Sounds like its saying that we can work during vacations as long as we select that option in September. I recall seeing something about "selling back" vacation on the form but never payed any attention to it since I'm not crazy enough to work during my vacation.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Yes, "in lieu of" means "in place of" and, yes, that is the way that I read it also. My only question is by selecting that option in September is that for this year or for the following year?
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
I'm assuming that under this supplement vacations for the following year are bid in October (we bid in November), and the intent of the language is that anyone who wishes to opt out of their vacation will do so prior to the bid so as not to close out a vacation week that they aren't going to take anyway. As I'm understanding it, once you actually bid your vacation weeks you no longer have the option to take the pay in lieu of your vacation, you have to take your vacation during the weeks you bid. As trplnkl said, this is the article you want to file under.
 
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