Lunch Issue

[Grumpy Steward]

For the last 2 years, I have taken my lunch hour at a place near our building(at the end of the day). I have done this to make myself more available to all the drivers in my building(I usually get to work about 2 minutes before start time due to AM commitments). Everday, someone stops by to talk about some labor issue or just to BS. My BA recently found out about this and told me I'm setting a poor example for the rest of the crew and I should take lunch as written in the contract. I disagree. I think I do more good by bending this rule and was wondering what other stewards and drivers think about this.

 

[1989]

I don't have a problem with it. But in some states you would be fired. You arn't bending a rule you are in fact breaking it.

 

[Bad Gas!]

I take lunch at the end of day so I can shower and eat dinner before returning to building..Lunch between 3rd and fifth hour has never came up as an issue in Ga. district that I know of...

 

[brownmonster]

I always take lunch between the 185th and 189th minute

 

[over9five]

I think you should honor the contract. Take your lunch as specified in the contract.

As a steward, I don't understand how you can grieve the company breaking the contract if you yourself do it.

 

[705red]

The company can not hold us as stewards to a higher level, but we as stewards do need to set examples to others. You dont have to get to work early everyday, but you should several days a week. All of my drivers have my personal phone number to call in case they need me.

Over had it right, you cant hold the company accountable while at the same time you are violating the contract.

Could you imagine how many more routes would get put in if every driver stopped and took their lunch between the third and fifth hour?

 

[US0352]

Do you really think more routes would be added if we all followed this rule? Every time you turn around more routes are being cut and shortened. Unless you are talking about package, not feeders.

 

[soberups]

The intent of the contract language...is to ensure that the company does not overdispatch a route with business stops and force the driver to take lunch at the end of the day to make service on the packages.

The actual language says that the driver shall be "afforded the opportunity" to take his lunch between the 3rd and 5th hour. I interpret that to mean that the driver has the right to do so, not the obligation. The contract also states that employees shall be paid for all hours worked.

If I am done with my business stops by noon...it makes no difference whether I eat lunch then, or do all of my resi deliveries and pickups first and have lunch at the end of the day. Same miles...same level of service...same number of hours. I prefer to eat at noon, but sometimes I might have an appoinment or kids school function to attend, and taking lunch at the end of the day just works out better for me. Its my choice.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I generally do all of my deliveries and the first round of pickups before I stop for my break and dinner. I then complete my final 2 pickups and head back to the center. This works well for me and I haven't been asked to do otherwise. My 2 cover drivers each have their own way of handling this--one stops for lunch during the day and the other takes his lunch at the end of the day.

 

[charliebrown11]

I always took my meal from the 3rd to 5th hour regardless of the amount of stops that I had. I always called at 3:30 in the afternoon and gave my stops off and stops remaining and let the boy scouts decide what they wanted to do. I was not a supervisor, just a driver!

 

[705red]

Do you really think more routes would be added if we all followed this rule? Every time you turn around more routes are being cut and shortened. Unless you are talking about package, not feeders.

Of course im talking package, our feeder drivers do already take their lunce by the end of the 6th hour here. Its our package drivers that do not stop for lunch.


This thread was a question about him being a steward and not taking his lunch between the 3rd and 5th hour.

 

[Fullhouse]

I too take my lunch at the end of my day. Been doing it for 5 yrs now, mgmt never had a problem with it.
The way I see it if a driver is dispatched over a 9.5 day and that driver skips his lunch till the end in order to make service, well then I could see where that would effect the amount of drivers that need to work that day. If nine drivers did it = 1 route needed to be added.
We have something a little different going on here. We have drivers backing up their scheduled start times and taking lunch before the regular start time.
example Start time 8:50 Driver punches in at 8:00am,driver changes his start time to 8:00 starts lunch at 8:00 and finishes at 8:50 takes a 10 min break and finishes his 10 min lunch on the road and leaves 50 minutes earlier than usual.
I don't blame the guys because they want to get home earlier. The drivers are not over dispatched, so they are not depriving laid off drivers actual work. A bunch of drivers are doing this and if anything is said it could be like opening pandoras box!

 

[Ghost in the Darkness]

I guess if management doesn't care but doesn't that show late everyday when they back up their start time to before they punch in?

As far as the taking lunch late in the day it doesn't hurt anyone. You are following directions to take the lunch and until management requires it be taken between the 3rd and 5th hour then you are free to do as you want. The people who whine about taking later are usually doing other contract tweeks to benefit themselves. Nobody follows the the contract right down to the letter and if they claim they do I'm sure I could follow them around and point out the times they don't. I'll worry about me, you worry about you.

 

[705red]

Sometimes being a steward is a pain, but we are to uphold the contract and if these drivers are starting earlier than they should get paid overtime for reporting before their scheduled start time. Its cut and dry and will not be the popular feeling, but if you have brothers laid off i would enforce it 100%.

 

[load princess]

The drivers in our center have had to start their lunch after 12 and have it completed by 2 for several years now. (I am a cover driver) No new routes have been added because everyone is taking their lunches at these times. In fact as Over said routes have been consistently cut with more stops going on the remaining trucks.

I don't get why UPS doesn't enforce the lunch law for all of us or none of us. Inconsistency at UPS, again.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Fullhouse, that is an interesting solution and one that I had never heard of before.

 

[1989]

I too take my lunch at the end of my day. Been doing it for 5 yrs now, mgmt never had a problem with it.
The way I see it if a driver is dispatched over a 9.5 day and that driver skips his lunch till the end in order to make service, well then I could see where that would effect the amount of drivers that need to work that day. If nine drivers did it = 1 route needed to be added.
We have something a little different going on here. We have drivers backing up their scheduled start times and taking lunch before the regular start time.
example Start time 8:50 Driver punches in at 8:00am,driver changes his start time to 8:00 starts lunch at 8:00 and finishes at 8:50 takes a 10 min break and finishes his 10 min lunch on the road and leaves 50 minutes earlier than usual.
I don't blame the guys because they want to get home earlier. The drivers are not over dispatched, so they are not depriving laid off drivers actual work. A bunch of drivers are doing this and if anything is said it could be like opening pandoras box!

That is not a lunch.

 

[brownhorn]

That is not a lunch.

Lupper? I'm in Texas where it's just now getting out of the 100 degree, 65 percent humidity days. If I don't stop down in the middle of the day, they would have to peel me off of the pavement. There are guys who skip their lunch in this oven, but not this fat boy. How they keep from falling out is beyond me.

 

[Bubblehead]

I find this conversation to be amazing. As it was eluded to in a previous post, the between the 3rd and 6th hour rule was put in place for our benifit. To keep the company from working us into the ground. For 1st shift workers breakfast is in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and dinner in the evening. Your body needs periodic rest and nourishment. Steward or not take your lunch at lunch time. Use your breaks at the end of the day to rub elbows if you want. Taking undo liberties can be construded as hypocritical. As a steward we are sometimes in the position were we have to tell one of our members the errors of their ways. This will be better received from a steward who leads by example.

As for the side bar debate, if everybody took their lunches and breaks during the work day, routes would definately have to be added. With the many varying commit times throughout our days on the delivery and pickup end, in conjunction with the ever later start times, something would have to give.

I, I, I. Me, me, me.
In a union shop it's about we!

 

[brownman15]

ups wants us to not take our lunch between the third and sixth hour so it gives them a reason to not follow the contract, not like they need one. How can we expect them 2 follow it if we can't. i am a steward also and take my 1 hour lunch between the third and sixth hour