Article 37 Explained: Your Rights Against Harassment and Excessive Overtime

Article 37 of the National Master UPS Agreement is one of the most important protections rank-and-file UPS Teamsters have. It covers Management-Employee Relations — how you must be treated on the job, your right to be relieved of overtime, your protection from excessive overtime (the "9.5" rules), and limits on how technology like cameras and telematics can be used against you. This article walks through what your contract actually says.

Note: A web search for "Article 37" mostly returns unrelated documents — the UN Charter, the Irish and Indian constitutions, New York environmental law, and Boston's green building rules ^{[13][14][15][16][17]}. None of those have anything to do with your UPS contract. When members say "Article 37," they almost always mean the UPS Management-Employee Relations article, which is what this guide covers.

A Fair Day's Work and the Right to Dignity and Respect

Article 37 opens with the core principle: "a fair day's work for a fair day's pay shall be observed at all times," and employees must perform their duties in a manner that best represents the Employer's interest ^[7]. In return, the Employer shall not intimidate, harass, coerce, or overly supervise any employee, and shall treat employees with dignity and respect — including giving due consideration to the age and physical condition of the employee ^[7]. Employees are also expected to treat each other and the Employer with dignity and respect ^[7].

The 2023-2028 master agreement strengthened this language by adding an explicit anti-retaliation clause: the Employer shall not retaliate against employees for exercising their rights under the Agreement, and in retaliation grievances the severity and timing of management's actions are relevant factors in determining motivation ^[7].

How Harassment and Over-Supervision Grievances Are Handled

Article 37 sets up a special track for grievances alleging intimidation, harassment, coercion, or over-supervision ^[4]:

• Grievances not resolved through the Local or Area grievance procedure are forwarded to the National Article 37 Grievance Committee, made up of an equal number of Union and Employer representatives plus a sitting arbitrator who decides the case if the Committee deadlocks ^[4].
• The Committee can award a monetary penalty of up to five (5) times the employee's daily guarantee for each proven violation, depending on the severity ^[4].
• A manager found to have committed two (2) or more violations within a two-year period must appear in person before the Committee for any later grievances; failing to show up (without a legitimate excuse) results in a negative inference against the company ^[4].

If you're covered by Local 705, your supplement runs this through a Local 705/UPS Article 37 Grievance Committee instead, with the same five-times-daily-guarantee maximum penalty and the same two-violations-in-two-years rule ^[2].

The 8-Hour Request: Getting Relieved of Overtime

Article 37 says it is the Employer's policy to cooperate with a package car driver who wants to be relieved of overtime, as long as the driver completes their assignment ^[4]. Key rules under the National Master:

• A driver who wants to be relieved from overtime on a particular day must make a written request on a company form, submitted no later than the start of their shift on the third workday before the day requested ^[3].
• The Employer must return a signed copy stating approval or disapproval by the end of the next working day ^[3].
• The Center Manager and Steward process requests based on seniority ^[4].
• The Employer must allow at least 10% of the package car drivers worked in any center off on a daily basis ^[4].
• A driver's dispatch will not be adjusted more than two (2) times per month ^[4].
• These requests cannot be submitted during November and December ^[4].

Penalties when the company gets it wrong

The penalties for mishandling an 8-hour request are real money ^[3]:

• If a request is wrongly denied (when it should have been granted under the criteria), you get a two-hour penalty at your double-time rate ^[3].
• The same two-hour double-time penalty applies if the company approves the request but later says you can't be relieved of overtime ^[3].
• If the request is granted but the company fails to adjust your dispatch so the work can be done in 8 hours, and that causes you to work more than 8.5 hours, you get the two-hour double-time penalty AND keep the 8-hour request for later use ^[3]. No penalty is due if you go past 8.5 hours for reasons beyond the Employer's control ^[3].

If your request is granted, you cannot be required to work more than 8 hours that day. If your dispatch wasn't adjusted, the extra work is to be removed before you leave the building. While on the route, if you realize you can't finish in 8 hours, notify management — no later than 1:00 P.M. — and they're responsible for making arrangements to get you off in 8 hours ^[3]. No one may be threatened, harassed, or disciplined for using this right ^[3].

Local 705's version

Local 705 has its own 8-hour relief language under Article 37, Section 37.1(b) ^[2]. There, a driver requesting relief must submit the request at least 24 hours in advance, and if the Employer fails to provide work reasonably completable within 8 hours, the driver gets a two-hour penalty at double time ^[2]. Local 705 limits drivers to no more than two requests per month and the same 10% daily minimum applies ^[2].

The 9.5 List: Protection From Excessive Overtime

The "9.5" provisions protect drivers who are repeatedly worked long days. The Union circulates and collects the names of eligible package drivers who want this protection once a year, providing the list to the Company by January 5th; the opt-in list becomes effective January 15th ^[1]. You can add or remove your name at any time with one week's notice to the Employer ^[1].

To be eligible for 9.5 protection, an employee generally must ^[1]:

1. cover a route for a full week; or
2. bid or be assigned to cover a route for a full week but be prevented from completing it due to reassignment by the Employer; or
3. have four (4) years of seniority as a full-time package driver ^[1].

Once you're on the list, you can file a grievance if the Employer has continually worked you more than 9.5 hours per day for any three (3) days in a workweek ^[1]. The Company also can't pile excessive overtime on the other two days of the week to retaliate — if it does, the Co-Chairs can award a triple-time penalty ^[1]. This protection does not apply during the peak period from November 15th through January 15th ^[1].

Escalating penalties and the 9.5 Committee

The 9.5 rules build in escalating consequences:

• If a driver is paid a penalty more than four (4) times in a calendar year, a meeting with the District Labor Manager, Business Agent, and Co-Chairs must be scheduled within 45 days to determine what's needed for compliance ^[1].
• Unresolved grievances can be docketed to the "9.5 Committee" (two Union and two Employer reps), which can order the Employer to adjust the driver's schedule ^[5].
• Deadlocked cases go to the Employer's VP of Labor Relations and the Union Co-Chair, who can grant triple time for hours worked over 9.5 and/or order a schedule adjustment ^[5].
• After the 45-day Supplemental Co-Chair meeting, if violations continue, the Co-Chairs may grant quadruple-time penalties ^[5].
• Unresolved disputes can go to arbitration under Article 8, where an arbitrator can impose any remedy in the Section — including back wages at the applicable daily guarantee and progression credit ^[5][6].

The 9.5 Committee can also trigger a review of the adequacy of the company's staffing in a center with excessive grievances ^[5][6]. Importantly, the national 9.5 provisions supersede any "9.5" language in the Central Region Supplement ^[6].

Regional variations

Supplements and riders can change how 9.5 works. In the Upstate/West New York Supplement, drivers on 4-ten or other alternative schedules keep all Article 37 rights; excessive-overtime protection is measured by adding 1.5 hours to the driver's scheduled day when that day is 8 or more hours ^[8]. The Local 688 Rider confirms that Article 37, Section 1 of the National Master supersedes the rider's own language about employees working over 9.5 hours per day ^[10]. And drivers reclassified from the old 22.4(b) classification are explicitly covered by the "9.5" provisions and 8-hour requests as full RPCDs ^[11]. As always, check your own supplement.

Technology: Cameras, Telematics, and Your Personal Time

Article 37 also limits how the company can use technology against you. Under the national agreement, no employee shall be disciplined for exceeding personal time based on data from the DIAD/IVIS or other information technology ^[6].

The Local 705 supplement spells out detailed technology protections ^[2]:

• No discipline for exceeding personal time based on DIAD/IVIS, Telematics, GPS, or other technology ^[2].
• No inward-facing cameras; forward-facing camera capability cannot be used for discipline; no in-cab audio or video recording, and driver-facing camera functionality must be disabled and rendered inoperable ^[2].
• Driver-facing sensors may only trigger in-cab audible alerts for distracted driving and for coaching during Integrad or the 40-day qualification period — never as the sole basis for discipline or disqualification ^[2].
• The Employer may not alter DIAD or other recorded information to reduce your compensable time without your knowledge, and must post a copy of the PTE edits for your review ^[2].
• No supervisor may use a DIAD under an hourly employee's name unless that employee is present — including for training or demonstration ^[2].

Article 12 of the national agreement echoes these data protections and adds that by January 1, 2026 the Employer must implement an employee-accessible payroll system showing start/finish times, pay codes, pay amounts, scheduled time off, and any alterations made by management ^[12].

Limits on Supervisor Rides (OJS)

Article 37 also limits ride-alongs ^[6][9]:

• Generally not more than one (1) member of management rides with a driver at a time, except for training management personnel ^[6].
• No driver is scheduled for more than one day's ride per year with more than one manager on the car, and that day can't be used for discipline ^[6].
• If a supervisor assists during an OJS, that day won't be used to determine a fair day's work ^[6].
• The Employer must give at least 24 hours' notice before a ride (except post-accident/injury rides), including the reason; results are reviewed with the employee and steward ^[9].
• Where a driver has filed a grievance about excessive rides, no manager rides with that employee until the local-level hearing concludes (held within 5 working days, extendable to 10) ^[9].

What To Do Next

If you think management is harassing or over-supervising you, working you past 9.5 hours, denying valid 8-hour requests, or misusing telematics/cameras, document everything — dates, times, names, and what was said — and talk to your shop steward right away. Article 37 has real penalties, but they usually require a timely grievance. For the rules that apply to your exact location, select your supplement (705, 688, Upstate/West NY, etc.) and ask TeamstersGPT, since regional language can change the deadlines and measurement of overtime.