Was Tim wanting Liam on his e board a mistake? A simple yes or no to that question without political dancing will be nice
This question wasn't for me, but I would like to attempt to answer it with an observation I made as the Mespath fiasco unfolded.
I have had the luxury and privledge, through another union related endeavor (not TDU), to acquaint myself with several front line drivers and stewards in Local 804.
Several have become my friends, giving me an insight as to the climate in this local.
This all came on the heels of Liam being fired from UPS, as a steward and driver, in the Mespath UPS facility.
I read the arbitrators ridiculous decision to uphold Liam's discharge, siting an "overall work record", when in reality the case was about maintaining a SPOHR.
I applauded Tim in standing by his steward and hiring him as a business agent for the local.
Where I think things may have went wrong, was when Tim assigned Liam to represent the very same building he was fired from.
There simply may have been too much baggage and hard feelings for any man to remain objective in this scenario, a scenario which held in the balance a huge liability.
I say all of this with the luxury of hindsight.
In the end, we will never know the full scope of what was said or meant in the Liam recordings, as they are being disseminated in pieces and out of context.
What I can tell you, is in talking with these guys, is that the war zone that was once 804/UPS has been significantly improved with their new panel system that has an arbitrator sitting.
What was taking a year or more, is now taking less than 2 months.
Sometimes taking you have to take a step back, to take two steps forward.
Perhaps there was a silver lining in this whole story after all?
