So it sounds like in MA the state law says an unpaid lunch break if I work beyond 6 hours. While I like the overtime pay over 6 hours, I think Turmlos is right, money isnt everything to me either and its time to prove a point. Next day that I reach 6 hours and I'm still working I am going to request my 30 minute unpaid break. Of course they are going to be aggrevated by that and I'm not gonna be coming back to any work when the 30 minutes is over, but maybe it will show them that these 5 hours and 59 minutes with just one 10 minute break is not enough, and that if they want to keep having us start as late as possible and push us out the door as early as possible while in most cases having the PT sup cleanup whatever is left, then eventually it might backfire on them. Speaking with some other teamsters the last couple days and it seems like I wouldn't be the only one that would do this. I know this is the heavy season for UPS and we should be expecting to work longer, but they need to realize that 6+ hours with just a 10 minute break is not enough for people who have to go to another part time job or school or whatever after the shift. UPS can cut back on things like t-shirts, water bottles, pizza, the turkey, whatever, but when little to no consideration is given for what people need for a a proper rest time for the extra time worked then I think UPS is pushing it too far.
Time worked vs. minimum break time?
- Thread starter konsole
- Start date
So it sounds like in MA the state law says an unpaid lunch break if I work beyond 6 hours. While I like the overtime pay over 6 hours, I think Turmlos is right, money isnt everything to me either and its time to prove a point. Next day that I reach 6 hours and I'm still working I am going to request my 30 minute unpaid break. Of course they are going to be aggrevated by that and I'm not gonna be coming back to any work when the 30 minutes is over, but maybe it will show them that these 5 hours and 59 minutes with just one 10 minute break is not enough, and that if they want to keep having us start as late as possible and push us out the door as early as possible while in most cases having the PT sup cleanup whatever is left, then eventually it might backfire on them. Speaking with some other teamsters the last couple days and it seems like I wouldn't be the only one that would do this. I know this is the heavy season for UPS and we should be expecting to work longer, but they need to realize that 6+ hours with just a 10 minute break is not enough for people who have to go to another part time job or school or whatever after the shift. UPS can cut back on things like t-shirts, water bottles, pizza, the turkey, whatever, but when little to no consideration is given for what people need for a a proper rest time for the extra time worked then I think UPS is pushing it too far.
UPS Lifer
Well-Known Member
I personally think that if you know you are going to be working over 6 hours you should look at taking a lunch prior to that time. I have ALWAYS believed that a lunch break helps to renew your energy and attentiveness besides making you less prone to safety concerns.
A 10 minute break is not acceptable if you are working 6 hours. Understand that you are hearing this from a retired mid level 20 year manager.
Breaks and lunch are extremely important to performance and safety.
A 10 minute break is not acceptable if you are working 6 hours. Understand that you are hearing this from a retired mid level 20 year manager.
Breaks and lunch are extremely important to performance and safety.
Its good to hear an opinion with human "need" as the focus rather then "its what the law or contract says" or "its what we want or dont want"
I would love to take a 30 minute unpaid break in the middle of the shift. Unfortunately I think too many teamsters on the shift wouldnt and it would create an issue. I think its safe to say that most part timers do not like the work and would rather just get out of the building as soon as possible. That is probably why you don't see many part timers complain about their supervisors telling them to leave and the sup taking over the little bit of work thats left, or the supervisors working during the shift so they can leave as early as possible. If I knew the shift was going to run more then 6 hours then I would request to management that we take the 30 minute unpaid around the 3rd or 4th hour, but the start and finish times are constantly changing, ironically lasting in the 5.5 to 6 hours time :-/
Not sure if they are stopping the shift before all trailers are unloaded but it wouldnt be hard to find out.
UPS Lifer
Well-Known Member
Not knowing your operation, it is possible but not likely that they are advancing volume and the volume run at the end of the shift is not planned for delivery that day which means they can make a decision to shut down the sort anytime they want. You will more than likely see advancement of volume especially on Mondays as Xmas gets closer.
EmraldArcher
Well-Known Member
The pre-load here in Orlando started at 1:15 three times this week and didn't wrap until after 9. They received ONE ten minute break because apparently FL law doesn't require ANY kind of break or meal period. I'm going to have to get a hold of the local supplement.
Bagels
Family Leave Fridays!!!
Only eight states have requirements regulating rest periods, and only half of those could apply to UPS (most specifically exclude companies with CBA or seasonal work).
Midweek, in which most Preloaders worked 7.5 to 9 hours, our manager called break exactly one hour into the sort (and would've done so earlier, but the contract prohibits him from doing so) so that he could shuffle the line-up. Well, the unloaders -- most of whom are use to working fewer than 3.5 hours each day -- became gassed out toward the end of the sort, and thus a decision was made to postpone the unloading of some late trailers until the following day (otherwise the drivers would leave too late, on a day in which most would be working 10-12 hours as it was). The next day our manager lectured us on our lack of intensity, how we blew our numbers, and warned us to step it up... I can't blame the guy for the break policy, but I felt he should've taken responsibility for two consecutive early breaks.
Are you the only one on the shift that is speaking up about this? If there is no state law then I would hope that your local supplement agrees on atleast one more 10 minute break in that 8 hours, but I can't imagine there is no law in Florida requiring a break for that amount of worked time.
What a surprise, again yesterday and today the unload "wrapped" up just short of 6 hours. I was messing around this morning and wrote on a piece of paper what I projected the down-time to be and taped it to the wall. I wrote 7:50 on the paper, because I figured we started at 2:00, so just under 6 hours would be 8:00. Wouldn't you know 7:45-7:50 rolls around and the unload is finishing. After the shift I talked to one of the unload supervisors and he claims that they finished at this time because they were done and there weren't any packages left. Maybe hes lying, maybe hes telling the truth, maybe management is holding off volume somewhere on purpose to make sure we can be done in 6 hours. I have a hard time believing that they just happen to wrap the unload in just under 6 hours everyday for the last 7 days or so. Tomorrow being Wednesday is normally the lightest day for me and I would guess is usually the lightest day for the building, so I wouldnt be surprised if we finish well before 6 hours.
UnconTROLLed
perfection
Konsole,
Speaking from the hub here, volume has come way down. hub twi tonight is processing 210k, previous Friday/Monday shopping and 1-5 day boost they were doing 300k. Way overstaffed. 20-30% reduction outbound and local. momentum swung back to more normal early-peak levels, so maybe 1:45 is too early of a start.
oh ok so the volumes the last week or two have been heavier then in years past same time?
Ya we just got the word this morning that the start times got pushed about 30 minutes later for Thursday and Friday. I think today the unload was done in around 5 hours, because me and another preloader stuck around for some late airs and even still I punched out before the 6 hours after waiting 15 minutes for the airs.
Something going on?
UnconTROLLed
perfection
Last year, iirc, the hub's peak day ( the Monday before X-Mas) was 330,000 packages on the twilight. The second highest day was 280k, the day after "peak day"
This year we've already eclipsed 300k a couple times.
As this trickles down, in general (I'm guessing here) that the package volume should be a bit less for smaller buildings this week, since the mini-peak is ovah.
This year we've already eclipsed 300k a couple times.
As this trickles down, in general (I'm guessing here) that the package volume should be a bit less for smaller buildings this week, since the mini-peak is ovah.
Bagels
Family Leave Fridays!!!
There's no conspiracy - sorry. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales bring heavy volumes the first week of peak. It slows down the second and picks up during the third. It's been this way for the last several years.
As consistency in total hours worked... a good manager knows how many loads s/he's getting and what time they're scheduled to arrive -> from that information s/he can determine what time to start. Adjustments are continually made to unload staffing (more or less teams, some trailers doubled, etc.) to meet goals. This is done year-round... the number of hours I work is fairly consistent from week-to-week, with an outlier here or there.
I didn't imply there was a conspiracy about the heavier volume in the recent past and drop in volume in the present and near future. The "conspiracy" I was talking about was the coincidence of the unload just so happening to finish just under 6 hours for many days in a row and preventing the triggering of the 30 minute unpaid break. I'm implying that it feels like volume is being held off somewhere or management is doing the best they can to get all the trailers unloaded as close to but not over the 6 hours. My previous post was me only wondering if someone knew what was causing this fluctuation in volume recently. I assume this current week we are in is the "second" week your referring to.
UnconTROLLed
perfection
There is an across the board grievance pertaining to 6 hours and lunches, just so you are aware. It may be FT only, it may be something else...not sure. Myself and many others have brought this up and hopefully something is RESOLVED (including in the hopefully 2013 local contract! but as always, unlikely)
This wishy-washy stuff is ridiculous, especially given there is existing language in our supplement regarding Nov-Dec work and also lunch after 5 hours worked.
UPS Lifer
Well-Known Member
There is no excuse for management not to give employees lunch breaks. Even in a preload operation it is feasible. You take the top seniority folks who want the hours determine how many are probably going to work over 6 hours and stagger lunch breaks based on that time. Hire a certain number of seasonal employees to work minimum hours and cover the lunches, then they go home after their guarantee. There is a solution for every problem...
DriveInDriveOut
Inordinately Right
Just worked a 9 hour volunteer shift with only a ten minute break at the end of the third hour like my supplement says. My state's laws are vague though; any shift "scheduled" over 6 hours gets a 30 minute unpaid meal break.
When I get there I check my sup's daily plan sheet and the "scheduled" downtime is always around the 6 hour mark for these 8-9 hour weekend shifts. Seven to eight hours in I start asking when we're going down and it's always "I don't know they won't tell us, we're down when we're down".
It's just as well though the meal break would be unpaid and I would be stuck there longer.
When I get there I check my sup's daily plan sheet and the "scheduled" downtime is always around the 6 hour mark for these 8-9 hour weekend shifts. Seven to eight hours in I start asking when we're going down and it's always "I don't know they won't tell us, we're down when we're down".
It's just as well though the meal break would be unpaid and I would be stuck there longer.
Yesterday and today, start time for unload 2:00, end time for primary just before 8:00. They can run the operation however they want, but unless I saw clear as day proof that the sort just happened to need 6 hours to finish I'm going to stick to my opinion that they are stopping the sort at 6 hours or just under to prevent the 30 minute unpaid break. Monday we started at 12:30 and I believe the unload was done right around 6:30. Sorry not buying "their" reasons why. We have yet to get more then a one 10 minute break up to this point, and I don't see that changing by next Monday. I think the company is shooting itself in the foot by not providing a little bit more break time for these extended days. 10 minute breaks that start the moment the belts shutoff, so the employee could be in the middle of doing something they cant immediately stop, then everyone is called back to their work area 2 minutes before the break is over.
menotyou
bella amicizia
Here, there is no wording about scheduled. It's if you work over 6, you are entitled.
I would really like to hear from someone in upper management that doesnt mind speaking about what they know. If its true that a sort was purposely being scheduled for 6 or stopped at 6 hours, I'm sure the number of people on our sort that know the truth, if in fact there is something conniving about this, is probably 3 or less. I'm sure non of the belt or unload supervisors give it a second thought especially when questioning higher management wouldn't be popular.
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