Unable to compete on delivery runs, the company began reducing trip rates for drivers. Eventually, it brought the effective hourly rate below the collective agreement minimum. The arbitrator found the “clear and express” language needed to allow the company to set new rates on existing runs did not exist in the agreement
Under competitive pressure to reduce its rates, a trucking company recalculated the trip rate it charged customers based on a wage rate that was lower than what was specified in the collective agreement.
