The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ UPS National Committee has reached a settlement for the National Master UPS agreement. Here are some of the significant improvements made by the union.
Article 37 Sections (a) harassment, (b) eight-hour days and (c) over 9.5 has been revised. Issues around harassment will have a sitting arbitrator to break deadlocks, a contractual authority to award a monetary penalty of up to three days’ pay depending on the offense’s severity and require any member of management who committed two or more violations in a two-year period to appear in person before the committee for any subsequent grievance(s). Under Section (b), if UPS fails to adjust a driver’s dispatch to comply with this section, the driver will receive the current two-hour penalty and also retain the eight-hour request for later use. The union has written new language for 9.5 and excess overtime that will resolve and expedite the process for getting on the 9.5 list. Resolving 9.5 issues and its retaliation is an important step so that drivers are able to be on the list without filing a grievance to get on. The union will gather names of drivers who want to be on the 9.5 list and provide those names to the company in January and June. A driver can add or remove their names to the list during the two five-month periods and must give one week’s notice to UPS.
The union and the company made a joint effort to introduce a new position known as “Combination drivers”. Combination drivers will work full-time. They will have consecutive days but will work weekends. The purpose of this new classification is intended by the union to alleviate current members from excess overtime and weekend work. Additionally, this will create more full-time opportunities. Please see below Package Division Director’s Denis Taylor’s insightful letter about the full job description.
Lastly, the tentative agreement calls for growth in the sleeper team workforce within the feeder department. The National Committee successfully negotiated to pull many loads currently moved by the railroad off of the rails and will instead move by newly created sleeper teams throughout the county. The expansion of the work will guarantee 2,000 new jobs. Sleeper team jobs are the highest paid in the bargaining unit.
While the UPS National Negotiating Committee has come out with a tentative agreement, there are still numerous supplemental/sort riders that are not yet completed, including the Northern California Agreement. For the first time since 1997, one of Teamsters Local 315’s representatives have a seat on the National Committee. Teamsters Local 315 officials understand the immense responsibility negotiating a contract of this magnitude. Negotiations involving 250,000+ members with a variety of different needs, demands, and issues requires a lot of work and moving parts. We work hard to address those issues because we know and appreciate how hard you work every day to make the company you work for more successful. The new proposals are intended to solve issues voiced by members across the country. 9.5 rules and excessive overtime will be combated by updated language and the new combination drivers, who will relieve current members of working weekends. Additionally, the tentative agreement’s language will open the floor to more driver opportunities for UPSers and allow members to earn a full-time career with 8-hours pay. This settlement on the National Master UPS Agreement shows much promise in the future for our members.
Denis Taylor’s memo regarding 22.4 Combination Drivers:
READ THE FACTS ABOUT THE COMBINATION DRIVERS
When UPS members were asked to provide the National Negotiating Committee with their requests for a new contract, the following items were most frequently raised from every Local Union:
Reduce the number of hours package car drivers are required to work Prevent the Company from forcing package car drivers to work weekends Ensure that package car drivers can take more time off
Protect our medical and pension plans
The language negotiated to create new combination drivers addresses each of these issues. The Company can only use the new combination drivers at buildings where the Company delivers on Saturday or Sunday. Here is the actual contract language that you will find in Article 22, Section 4 (in italics) and the issues you told the Committee needed to be addressed.
Current Regular Package Car Drivers (RPCDs) will not be regularly required to work Saturday or Sunday
The Union and Company commit to protect existing RPCDs from being scheduled or forced to perform weekend delivery work and increasing the number of full-time opportunities for part-time employees… It is the commitment of the parties that RPCDs work a Monday through Friday schedule.
All Current Regular Package Car Driver (RPCD) jobs in each building will be protected
The number of RPCDs working a Monday through Friday schedule in each building shall be verified and agreed to by each Local Union and the Company Labor Representative, as of August 1, 2018 and shall be protected jobs… The number of protected RPCD jobs in each building…shall be guaranteed from replacement by 22.4 combination drivers or from any part- time driver as allowed by any Supplement, Rider or Addendum…No RPCD shall be laid off or displaced from the classification while 22.4 combination drivers are working in the building.
The wage rates of current RPCDs working Tuesday through Saturday will be protected
Those RPCDs currently working Tuesday through Saturday shall be red circled by name and shall continue to be covered under Article 41, Section 2 [Full-time wage rates].
Note: Current Tuesday through Saturday RPCDs will be transitioned to a Monday through Friday schedule within eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) months of ratification. They will receive all contractual wage increases.
The wages and minimum weekly hours of current RPCDs will be protected
RPCDs working a Monday through Friday schedule shall be guaranteed five (5) consecutive days of eight (8) consecutive hours per report and forty (40) straight time hours of straight time pay each week, if reporting each day as scheduled, as long as work is available.
The number of Combination Drivers will be capped and the Company will be required to create additional full-time jobs as the volume expands
The number of 22.4 combination drivers shall not exceed twenty-five (25%) of the total number of RPCDs in the building.
Note: In order to increase the number of combination drivers in a building above 25%, the Company will have to create three new full-time RPCDs for every new combination driver.
New full-time driver positions will be created that will be filled by part-time employees
In the event a protected RPCD position becomes available, it shall be filled in accordance with the Supplement, Rider or Addendum, provided, however that no RPCD position shall be filled by outside hire unless the job remains unfilled after exhaustion of the applicable bidding procedure.
Note: Part-time employees who fill newly created full-time combination driver jobs have a path to become RPCDs; the Company cannot hire off the street to fill a protected job unless no current employee wants the position
The start rate for 22.4 Combination Drivers will be $20.50 and reach a top rate of $34.79 by August 1, 2022
22.4 combination drivers shall be paid in accordance with Article 41.4
Note: The top rate on August 1, 2018 will be $31.34 and will increase each year in accordance with the General Wage Increases
Combination drivers shall be full-time and be guaranteed 8 hours pay/ 40 hours each week
All 22.4 combination drivers shall be guaranteed eight (8) consecutive hours of straight time per day, if reporting as scheduled. All 22.4 combination drivers shall work a five (5) consecutive day schedule…
The combination drivers will protect our Health and Pension Funds
As full-time employees, the combination drivers will receive full-time benefit coverage as provided under Article 34. Most of the work the combination drivers will perform is currently being done by part-time employees getting part-time benefits at a reduced wage rate. The creation of combination drivers will increase the number of participants in our health and pension plans and increase the amount of contributions the Company will be required to make. This new money will help solidify those plans that are doing well and help those that are struggling.
Additional full-time drivers will relieve the burden on RPCDs now forced to work excessive hours each day and week
Combination drivers will increase the staffing levels during the week. The Company has pledged to use these additional full-time drivers to even the dispatch so RPCDs will be able to get time off and reduce forced overtime.