In the past. (when freight was busy) we would be forced to work "10" hours most every day. They supposedly had to tell us at least 1 hour before the end of the regular shift. Now here is where it gets interesting. Say they told me I had required overtime and I got back to the terminal "after" my eight hours but before the ten hours was up they had to give me something to get me back by the end of the tenth hour. Then about a year ago they decided they didn't have to get me back by the end of the tenth hour, just by the 14th hour. So if I get back in at 9 hours and 59 minutes they can give me a 5 hour run. We tried to fight it but didn't get very far. The hall said not to push it, if we don't get the freight then a non-union carrier will. I would be interested in what goes on at other terminals in this regard. Oh and the last two shifts of the day are considered cleanup shifts and are required to stay untill the dock is closed no matter how long. The 1:30 pm dock gets to see the 2am crew once in a while.
P.S.
The rumor is you can request to be off on your 8 if you do it in writing before the start of your shift, you can do this once a month.
I haven't seen this written down anywhere but then a lot of stuff is not written down around here.