This may be confusing to some and it may be lengthy but I really need my fellow UPSers help on this one. Preferably seasoned veterans of UPS. Here goes.
About 3 weeks ago I got a phone call from HR and they are in need of Feeder drivers. She stated my name was on the Feeder bid. Our building is very large and we are in the process of expanding so they need 30 new drivers as soon as possible. I am part time and have been with the company for 12 years, I am a shifter and have been one for 7 years. Back to my talk with HR, she tells me that full timers, and package are turning down feeder positions so they are going to part timers for feeder school. She said that they are basically taking people as soon as they get their stuff in. They are going by seniority but only as people turn in their Class A permit, DOT, and drug test, as soon as they turn that stuff in they are putting them into class. This is a very rare situation, which I nor any higher seniority has seen. I was number six on the part time list.
So skip ahead 4 days, I pass my Class A with flying colors and I have all my stuff, I turn them in and I'm ready to go. She fills out my uniform info and I go about my way. Now skip ahead a week. HR calls and tells me "Oh, we made a mistake, you signed the Feeder bid sheet not the part time to full time bid sheet, and that is what we are pulling from, we are sorry."
So I tell her I sign everything that comes across the table, I literally do sign every piece of paper that comes out, even if I don't want the job I sign it, I have always done this. She tells me no my name isn't on the part time to full time list, I tell her she is mistaken and she tells me to come into HR and I can look over the list myself. I ask her when did the bid come out. She tells me it came out Dec 13.... I had emergency surgery Dec 13 and was out of work until Jan 13. I had appendicitis and I had to have my appendix removed and I was out of work for a month. I literally worked through the pain two days before it burst (because I'm stupid) and finally that Friday Dec 13 I had to have emergency surgery to have my appendix removed. I tell HR this and they call and ask the Labor Department and they tell me "I had to been active during that time to sign the bid sheets. There is nothing I can do." . So you can imagine I was pretty heated at this point, and I have been ever since. I have been with UPS for 12 years and have never been out of work for more than a week, for vacations and the one time I get sick and have to have surgery I miss this one opportunity to get something I actually want. So I call my union rep. And I explain the situation to him, he gives me the typical file a grievance and well see what we can do. He also lied to me, he told me he has never heard of anything like this happening and winning.
So a co worker of mine was out for two months for a knee injury, came back filed a grievance and had his name put on all the bid sheets he missed. This was a month and a half ago, so why he lied to me is a mystery. This sort of gave me a bad taste after I was lied to. So lets move on ......
There is a manager I have a lot of respect for, he has always been an upstanding guy, strange I know, but I ask him if he can do anything, and he actually tries his hardest to help me out, I'm sure he is doing things on the down low to try to help me out. He has actually done more for me my entire career than any union steward has. He tries and tells me there isn't anything he can do and he tried his hardest and I believe him. Whether this was a good idea to get him involved or not I'm not sure but I wanted to try anything.
I have never been fired, and I've only been written up over minor things, and that hasn't happened in 8 years. I work every day, I still have days left at the end of the year, I come in early and work late when asked, and I usually always play ball. I'm not really a hard worker but I'm consistent and I just feel really betrayed by all this. I was one of the first people to get all my stuff together and turned in, and I was ready to rock that Feeder school and next thing you know I'm dealing with all this, while people are just blowing by me. Also the first week and half I was dealing with a certain HR woman, then after that I was dealing with a new HR woman who apparently has no clue what she is doing, which I also didn't like that.
Friday I heard they had an employee scheduled to go to Feeder school Monday, and the woman didn't even have a drivers license, to even drive a regular car, I'm not even making this up, how is this even going on? I've had a couple of employees tell me to call the UPS 1800 number and make a complaint on the woman, I do know that 1800 number does bring down some pain on management but I don't see how that would help. I did fill out a grievance, but I told the union steward to hold on to it until Monday.
I wanted to come on here and ask you guys what would be my best course of action. I can't have missed this guys. I have hated myself for the past 4 days. I have beaten myself up over it, there is literally nothing I could have done, I could have came in to work Dec 13 and died, but as long as I signed that bid sheet that would have been okay right? I just can't imagine that was my chance and its gone because of something like that. You know if this was something small, like car wash or fueler I wouldn't have complained, I hate complaining and I hate making excuses, I'm not that guy, I come to work, I take care of my family, and I get things done. I hate that I'm in this situation, and I hate that I'm upset about all of this. Is there a way to get a re bid? Should I file the grievance? Also If I file that grievance I will be bugging the mess out of my union rep. I just don't want to have to wait 3 months until he gets around to doing anything. By the way I have hardly any faith in my union rep or the stewards, they are usually pretty passive about everything, and it seems to me like they don't like anything that requires work. The few times I have came to them they have never helped. By the way I rarely go to them, I hardly ever have problems and if I do I try to fix them my self.
Also I wanted to add in the 12 years I've been at UPS this is my first grievance I have ever filed. Do any of you guys have any advice at all? Am I screwed? Can I fight this at all? I'm sorry for my wall of text and I know a lot of it might have been pointless to write but honestly I just don't know what to do. I'm sorry if I come off as a cry baby at all, I hate being THAT GUY, but this just pisses me off. Any advice would be appreciated.
