MOKENA, IL | Teamsters Local 710 has successfully settled an outstanding grievance ahead of arbitration relating to excessive overtime at UPS – colloquially referred to as “9.5s” – which in turn has settled dozens more.

“This is a huge win for our Package Car Drivers, not because of the money back in their pockets, but on principle,” said President Del Schaefer. “UPS was trying to change how 9.5 grievances have been decided and paid for decades, and we weren’t going to stand for that. This agreement holds them accountable to remain consistent with 9.5s moving forward.”

The arbitration for this case was scheduled for October 30. Local 710 representatives are still processing the eligible grievances to get final numbers, but the agreement will settle approximately 60 grievances totaling more than $10,000 back to the members. This agreement will also ensure that the company handles 9.5s according to the contract and years of precedent.

“UPS finally came to their senses and realized this was going to be a tough one for them to arbitrate,” said Vice President Neil McKinney. “We can show that they’ve paid out 15 days in a row, 18 out of 20 days – they set a precedent that can’t be ignored, and that’s why we weren’t going to back down from this grievance, no matter how long it took.”

The Local 710 contract language states that a Package Car Driver has the right to file a grievance over excessive overtime if they work any three out of five consecutively scheduled work days over 9 ½ hours. If a member works more than 9 ½ hours three days in a row for example, they can file a grievance right then, effectively resetting the 5-day timeframe. Plus, that 5-day timeframe is rolling and can be wrapped from one week to the next.

“Local 710 has the best 9.5 language in the country,” said Business Agent Jerry Pauli. “This company seems to think that the intent of our language is just to get people paid. While we love when our people get paid, we love it more when they don’t get worked to death. The bigger purpose of this language is for the company to not abuse its use of overtime. I’m proud our 710 team of agents, stewards, and members were able to secure this victory!”

Teamsters Local 710 represents more than 7,000 UPS members at 45 centers across Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.