It’s getting to be that time of year. Peak season. Use the Peak Season Survival Guide to protect yourself.

Follow these tips to protect yourself—no matter what Peak Season throws at us.

Don’t Cut Corners

Management will still use driver observations and dishonesty to discipline members.

Don’t falsify records. Sheet all your packages honestly and accurately. Report any and all accidents or unusual conditions on the road.

Management will try and use phone conversations to get you to falsify records only to later to deny what they said.

Use the Diad for all company communications.

No Sixth Punch

Peak season also does NOT mean UPS can force you to work a 6th punch.

Protect Your Overtime

If you got off the 9.5 List before September 1, management cannot take away your work or divert to a seasonal.

Talk to your steward about filing a grievance if you believe management is diverting your work and denying you the overtime you signed up for.

Stop Sups Working

UPS is increasingly trying to send us home after 8 hours and give our work to lower-paid seasonals.

Management will also put more sups to work to avoid paying Teamsters what we’re owed.

You may not want the overtime, but another Teamster does.

File sups working grievances to protect Teamster work and overtime pay.

We can bring home hundreds of thousands of dollars to hard-working Teamsters if we hold the company to the contract.

Inside Workers—Protect Your Safety and Job Security

Piles of packages blocking egress. Overflowing belts. Spills and hazards.

Carol Tomé is making our hubs overcrowded and dangerous.

We can protect ourselves and win more jobs by enforcing Article 18 contract protections on Health & Safety.

Here’s how:

Stop the belt if you believe it is unsafely overcrowded or operating too fast.

Over 70s—No employee can be forced to handle an over-70lb package alone. Pause and ask for help. File a grievance if a sup harasses you for asking for help.

Egress Violations—If aisles, and especially building exits, are blocked with packages or equipment, talk with your steward to file a grievance and an OSHA complaint.

Spills and Hazardous Material—Don’t handle any damaged package that may contain hazardous material or work in an area with spills. Get a trained hazmat responder.

Part-Timers: Get That Peak Season Money

Part-timers, take advantage of peak season to make UPS show you the money from double-shifting to seasonal work opportunities.

Our contract requires UPS to give you the opportunity to work as an SSD, driver helper, or seasonal driver before hiring off the street.

Talk to your shop steward or BA if you have a question or if management violates your rights.

Welcome Seasonal Workers

Introduce yourself to seasonal workers, and talk up the union. Seasonal workers are working for UPS just like us. Many want to work at UPS long term.

This peak season will be the first impression of the union for many future Teamster brothers and sisters. Make sure they get a good one.