No union steward & management is out of control!

[grgrcr88]

I filled out the paper with all the details and stuff like that and my union steward, I, and my full time up set down last night and talked about it. This had been the first time Ive ever filed a grievance so I didnt know what to expect. But we all set down and the full time actually agreed with me....haha. He explained what he did and why he did it. I was not aware of this, but the 2 days i had filed he had told the union rep he was going to be having one of his part time sups work because we were very under staffed. Im not saying that justifies it... but we talked about it and dealt with the problem.We had the meeting last night and just by coincident Im getting trained tonight on car wash...haha..what a company!! Im pretty hesitant about becoming a union steward because like you all said..there is a lot of b.s. to deal with and I hate dealing with bull****. But on the other hand Id like to do it because I enjoy taking on new and challenging opportunities.. But I'm only part - time so Im not sure if its all worth the time and effort while still bringing home the same small check each week, you know? But again, thank you all for helping me. Its much appreciated.

The only way this justifies management working is if all other hourly possibilities were exhausted. Did they offer to have anyone double shift, start early, stay late? Have drivers help if possible. Call every available hourly and ask them to work? If not they should have and you still have a winning case against them. All depends on your resolve.

 

[22.34life]

You dont have to be a steward to help people out,you can always help the new person by informing them of there rights.I do this all the time ,if i see some new guy and he is getting screwed i talk to him about it and tell him what his rights are.When i first started the people who had been around a while showed me the ropes and coached me on what to do and what not to do,you dont see this much anymore people just kinda look the other way.You gotta remember a union steward is only one person and cant be everwhere all the time.If you are a veteran employee it is your responsibilty to help out the new man like somebody helped you out,i mean how hard is it to tell a guy "hey they cant do that".

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Locker room lawyers tend to cause more harm than good.

 

[tieguy]

Locker room lawyers tend to cause more harm than good.

great point. Its kind of funny how reading how management does not know the contract when I spend about half my grievance time explaining to stewards and grievance generators that the red herring they are chasing is not in the contract. Bathroom lawyers create a lot of heartache by expanding contractual language beyond its wording or intent.

 

[TheKid]

Locker room lawyers tend to cause more harm than good.

I am a steward and you are right....but we have a less desirable name for them....as I am sure you do.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Case in point--both of our Lake Placid drivers were off Friday. One of the runs is more commercial than the other and was bricked out while the other you could dance through the middle of the PC. The stop counts were similar. The more senior cover driver chose to run the lighter area even though he had been assigned to run the heavier area. The lower seniority driver was not pleased when he heard about this and was told by one of our "in house lawyers" that he could then bump an even lower seniority cover driver off of his assigned area. The dispatch sup told him point blank that he was assigned to that area and could either work as directed or be shown the door, which the shop steward confirmed. Needless to say he ran the area.

 

[jimstud]

cover drivers don't have the right to bump it is work as directed. the only way a cover driver can bump is if a lower senoirty cover driver has a route and he does not .

 

[22.34life]

people should not give advice unless they are sure they know what the hell they are talking about.If i am what you would call a locker room lawyer than so be it.I never open my mouth about anything unless i know for a fact that what i am saying is the truth and can be found in the contract,almost everthing i have ever told someone has come from prior experience.To many people give advice on what is possible rather than what is probable,i tell people the REAL TRUTH,i might say they cant do that but if you file you will lose if i have seen a history of that or when people ask the next question well wont they start messing with me i tell them the truth ,of course they will start to watch you closely.Just because somebody has the title of "UNION STEWARD" doesnt mean that they know what they are talking about either,i know plenty of stewards who tell people smile* all the time that isnt true.Just because something is in the contract does not mean it will be done that way and if you file on it even if its supported by the contract you might lose,it happens all the time and you got to be smart enough to know that.

 

[22.34life]

Case in point--both of our Lake Placid drivers were off Friday. One of the runs is more commercial than the other and was bricked out while the other you could dance through the middle of the PC. The stop counts were similar. The more senior cover driver chose to run the lighter area even though he had been assigned to run the heavier area. The lower seniority driver was not pleased when he heard about this and was told by one of our "in house lawyers" that he could then bump an even lower seniority cover driver off of his assigned area. The dispatch sup told him point blank that he was assigned to that area and could either work as directed or be shown the door, which the shop steward confirmed. Needless to say he ran the area.

So let me understand this a cover driver was bumped by a senior cover driver and was then told he should displace the next junior cover driver JUST LIKE WHAT WAS DONE TO HIM.so one tcd can do it but the other cant,this type of bs happens all the time one person gets special treatment,why wasnt the first tcd told to "work as directed or be shown the door".

 

[UnconTROLLed]

So let me understand this a cover driver was bumped by a senior cover driver and was then told he should displace the next junior cover driver JUST LIKE WHAT WAS DONE TO HIM.so one tcd can do it but the other cant,this type of bs happens all the time one person gets special treatment,why wasnt the first tcd told to "work as directed or be shown the door".

Doesn't have to be TCD necessarily. Our cover drivers are full-time bid jobs, or in some cases seasonal. Some regions are different of course.

From what Upstate said, it doesn't sound like anyone was bumped. It sounds like the senior driver picked the easier day. T he other route left was for the other cover driver. It isn't as though someone was bumped off of a route. It's WAD, regardless.

 

[22.34life]

Doesn't have to be TCD necessarily. Our cover drivers are full-time bid jobs, or in some cases seasonal. Some regions are different of course.

From what Upstate said, it doesn't sound like anyone was bumped. It sounds like the senior driver picked the easier day. T he other route left was for the other cover driver. It isn't as though someone was bumped off of a route. It's WAD, regardless.

he said he had been assigned to that route.that means he bumped the guy

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I actually misspoke. The higher seniority driver is a FT driver without a bid run so he does have the right to choose. The lower senority driver is a cover driver who does not. I apologize for the confusion.

 

[SWORDFISH]

My response is: Management knows the contract better than most Teamsters. Not good. Which, by the way, is exactly how UPS wants to maintain the culture. Hiring process, ERI, fraternizing with employees, PAS, EDD, all of these things contribute in a passive? or extremely muted way to pacifying union activity. Call me paranoid

I think Hoax meant UPS supervisors and managers were 95% honest and ethical, which maybe was true at one time but is no longer.

Not my management. I am constantly educating them.

 

[SWORDFISH]

Case in point--both of our Lake Placid drivers were off Friday. One of the runs is more commercial than the other and was bricked out while the other you could dance through the middle of the PC. The stop counts were similar. The more senior cover driver chose to run the lighter area even though he had been assigned to run the heavier area. The lower seniority driver was not pleased when he heard about this and was told by one of our "in house lawyers" that he could then bump an even lower seniority cover driver off of his assigned area. The dispatch sup told him point blank that he was assigned to that area and could either work as directed or be shown the door, which the shop steward confirmed. Needless to say he ran the area.

cover drivers don't have the right to bump it is work as directed. the only way a cover driver can bump is if a lower senoirty cover driver has a route and he does not .

These 2 instances are area specific. In many areas cover drivers can bump even if they are assigned a route(not bid but assigned). The deciding factor is area knowledge in those cases.

 

[jimstud]

These 2 instances are area specific. In many areas cover drivers can bump even if they are assigned a route(not bid but assigned). The deciding factor is area knowledge in those cases.

if the supervisor has any sense he will put the drivers on routes that they have area knowledge. but if you don't ever do a route on the blind how will you get area knowledge ?

 

[JonFrum]

if the supervisor has any sense he will put the drivers on routes that they have area knowledge. but if you don't ever do a route on the blind how will you get area knowledge?

By being properly trained on the route by a supervisor.

No one should ever be sent out to do a route blind. That's just asking for trouble for a number of reasons.

In any other workplace, doing a job blind would be an indication that the worker is not presently qualified to do the job correctly.

 

[SWORDFISH]

if the supervisor has any sense he will put the drivers on routes that they have area knowledge. but if you don't ever do a route on the blind how will you get area knowledge ?

The only route I was trained on was my first training route in my first 30 days. After that I learned routes in the country in the snow in the dark, downtown, and in cities I had never been to.

 

[fxdwg]

The only route I was trained on was my first training route in my first 30 days. After that I learned routes in the country in the snow in the dark, downtown, and in cities I had never been to.

hmmmm...So it is obvious to me that you are a Democrat

Also into Green initiatives

Oh, and you're gonna win the Lottery and live to 100....

 

[jimstud]

By being properly trained on the route by a supervisor.

No one should ever be sent out to do a route blind. That's just asking for trouble for a number of reasons.

In any other workplace, doing a job blind would be an indication that the worker is not presently qualified to do the job correctly.

when i first started that is what cover drivers did . in my building we have 150 pkg drivers and 5 on car suits how are you going to go out with every cover driver on every route. someone is going to go on the blind it is the nature of what we do.

 

[Catatonic]

The only route I was trained on was my first training route in my first 30 days. After that I learned routes in the country in the snow in the dark, downtown, and in cities I had never been to.

Same here.