That doesn't make sense. There's no difference between paying OT earlier in a different region and paying a higher wage in a different region. It's the same mechanism. They have to pay more in central region to be competitive for labor, and they have to pay OT earlier for the same reason. And yes, unions have a lot to do with it.
You can argue that we should all be on the same wage and OT schedule if you want, but you can't sit there and say the wage is fair but the OT isn't.[/QUOTE
Through out the northeast, ...forget that, through out the entire system drivers hourly wages differ. I never insinuated that the hourly wages were fair or unfair but the truth is, the difference in hourly wages between service centers probably should be a little closer with one another, its another whole issue. In many cases service centers within 50 or 60 miles of one another vary in hourly pay. Some of that has to do with the labor pool available when there is a need to hire...and often that difference in hourly wage seems to make no sense what so ever. Have been told it has very little to do with what it cost in one area to live vs another. As far as OT, the same nationwide unionized carriers "teamsters" are in the south, the same as the rest of the country. They all have the same OT schedule. Fedex has the same OT schedule nationwide. There are plenty of our competitors that pay no OT at all across their system. The point is whatever their OT schedule is, its uniform across their systems. We haven't been classified as different regional companies in years, we've been one entity for quite a while now. Whatever our OT schedule is... or should be, it should be uniform across the system. Yes, unions certainly had something to do with this years ago, but now, given the reduction in many union companies and the overall strength of the teamsters compared to years ago, its doubtful this is a contributing factor now. Its more like something that just never changed.