Catatonic
Nine Lives
I'd agree that it depends on where you are too, although not drawn by any state boundaries. It seems more like word of mouth rules where there is little belief that there is a source for the actual language (the book) and that the word being represented by anyone in authority is the contract language.
UPS unintentionally makes good Teamsters out of those who finally question the authenticity of what they are told is the reason for a particular course of action that they find questionable. Sometimes it is the result of management contract unfamiliarity, sometimes it's the result of management contract familiarity and a desire to circumvent it.
The contract is written by lawyers (on each side) and as lawyers do, they leave ambiguities (usually on purpose), in the language that leaves room for interpretation.
Those gray areas are where most of the angst is centered.
That is another reason I never read the contract much is because it is subject to interpretations. I used the key points in the presentations developed by UPS lawyers and UPS Labor group.
It was not really important what I thought but to manage according to how UPS instructed me to apply the contract.