terminated couple weeks ago, what to expect?

[cornfed]

Someone else heard you say something not nice to the other employee that should have been said in the work place. As I said it had to have racial or sexual overtones. Now you add that someone touch the other person.

The story is slowly starting to come together and it's not looking good on you end...

Sexual overtones, yes. Total bs metaphor though. Doesn't justify it, but it's the type of comment i've heard from nearly every person in our building at one point or another. No joke, most of the drivers have approached me since and said it totally needed to be said and it may have been them before long. There is definitely more to the story on both sides that i am not sure if i should be voicing on a forum but yeah the guy i said the comment to was poking me in the chest and i yelled at him "do not touch me again". Doesn't seem to matter too much to management, and voila, no witnesses. The person who overheard it did NOT report it, he was simply used as the solo witness and he wasn't even clear on the quote. They fed him the quote, he said yeah something along those lines was said. It's called leading a witness.

At the end of the day it really was just a guy in the crony club getting what he wanted by putting up an 8 hour over mine after management called him in a measly hour early a couple days early because i needed to go to the dr. Seeing how i had never been granted an 8 hour request even when nobody else put one up the entire time i had been there(never had under a 9.7 on those days, shoot, i've gotten 11 hour days on 8 hour requests, such a joke), i was pissed. i made some comments to him, he got into it too, at one point poking me in the chest, and i insulted him with a metaphor. It will be 5 weeks unpaid by the time i go to the panel. Never a warning letter or anything reported about me before. No accidents on my record. I would just find it amazing that one little comment in my career and no second chances....sheesh.

 

[cornfed]

If i wanted to seek some legal advice on the assualt, is this something i should wait to do until after all of the panels, etc.? To my knowledge, there has been no formal investigation into my reporting this assault.

 

[cornfed]

Could someone address this please? One of the reasons i popped on here is to get a better idea of what is ahead because i am getting more and more nervous about the prospect of not getting my job back, then i have wasted so many weeks not trying to get a solid job. Kind of hard to land some job(or 2) then ask for the day off a couple weeks in not to mention quitting that job a few weeks in if i am to return to driving for ups. Kind of just juggling so many things it burns you out so much emotionally.

I have filed for unemployment, although obviously only as a tactic to cost the company a little money. Beyond that, it's not even a thought in my mind because i am not a taker. Disclaimer: I am of course contacting companies about getting work in the meantime.

What to do, what to do?

 

[Dracula]

Could someone address this please? One of the reasons i popped on here is to get a better idea of what is ahead because i am getting more and more nervous about the prospect of not getting my job back, then i have wasted so many weeks not trying to get a solid job. Kind of hard to land some job(or 2) then ask for the day off a couple weeks in not to mention quitting that job a few weeks in if i am to return to driving for ups. Kind of just juggling so many things it burns you out so much emotionally.

I have filed for unemployment, although obviously only as a tactic to cost the company a little money. Beyond that, it's not even a thought in my mind because i am not a taker. Disclaimer: I am of course contacting companies about getting work in the meantime.

What to do, what to do?

Uh, don't call another guy a ferret or ******...or queer or ********. etc....you have to know better at work, man....Not to get on you, but you better know damn good and well who you are insulting. On the CB, we say all kinds of crazy things, but by the time you get to feeders, things have changed, you know these guys very, very well....Probably, more than anything, it is an age thing. You got to watch yourself.

Just relax, and put your faith into your panel...hopefully it is better than mine....

 

[cornfed]

Uh, don't call another guy a ferret or ******...or queer or ***********. etc....you have to know better at work, man....Not to get on you, but you better know damn good and well who you are insulting. On the CB, we say all kinds of crazy things, but by the time you get to feeders, things have changed, you know these guys very, very well....Probably, more than anything, it is an age thing. You got to watch yourself.

Just relax, and put your faith into your panel...hopefully it is better than mine....

Yea, i understand all that...now. Didn't specifically call him a name, more asked him if he particular things to get all of the preferential treatment he gets. Obviously i know he doesn't, he's got kids and a wife....the point of an insult is it is untrue.

So you say to relax....hmm....could you possibly elaborate a bit? Just literally enjoy it as time off or go find work and possibly piss them off when i leave in a few weeks? Don't get a job because i would have to take a day off right away a few weeks in? If i do nothing on the job front, it will only be until the panel later this month, if that were to be deadlocked, i'd probably go on with my life and chalk this up as a place i may not have lasted another 5 years anyway.

 

[UPSGUY72]

Sexual overtones, yes. Total bs metaphor though. Doesn't justify it, but it's the type of comment i've heard from nearly every person in our building at one point or another. No joke, most of the drivers have approached me since and said it totally needed to be said and it may have been them before long. There is definitely more to the story on both sides that i am not sure if i should be voicing on a forum but yeah the guy i said the comment to was poking me in the chest and i yelled at him "do not touch me again". Doesn't seem to matter too much to management, and voila, no witnesses. The person who overheard it did NOT report it, he was simply used as the solo witness and he wasn't even clear on the quote. They fed him the quote, he said yeah something along those lines was said. It's called leading a witness.

At the end of the day it really was just a guy in the crony club getting what he wanted by putting up an 8 hour over mine after management called him in a measly hour early a couple days early because i needed to go to the dr. Seeing how i had never been granted an 8 hour request even when nobody else put one up the entire time i had been there(never had under a 9.7 on those days, shoot, i've gotten 11 hour days on 8 hour requests, such a joke), i was pissed. i made some comments to him, he got into it too, at one point poking me in the chest, and i insulted him with a metaphor. It will be 5 weeks unpaid by the time i go to the panel. Never a warning letter or anything reported about me before. No accidents on my record. I would just find it amazing that one little comment in my career and no second chances....sheesh.

That's called sexual harassment whether you where kidding or not.

10 or 15 years ago it might not have been a big deal but these days it is. IF UPS didn't take the steps they did with you they could open themselves up to being sued because they didn't take any action the problem.

If you get your job back you better watch out what you say in the future kidding or not.

 

[anonymous6]

but yeah the guy i said the comment to was poking me in the chest and i yelled at him "do not touch me again". Doesn't seem to matter too much to management, and voila, no witnesses. The person who overheard it did NOT report it, he was simply used as the solo witness and he wasn't even clear on the quote. They fed him the quote, he said yeah something along those lines was said. It's called leading a witness.
/QUOTE]


you need to go on the offensive. if you can't file against the other employee for battery then contact an attorney and ask for advice . better yet contact an attorney and have them send the co a letter about workplace violence that is not being taken care of. maybe the co will want a quick resolution if they know you are seeking legal help.

at the very least, do talk to one or two attorneys that specialize in this. ususally intial visit is free.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

btw, what would you guys consider the line drawn between the "west" and "midwest"? lol.

Rockies?

 

[cornfed]

That's called sexual harassment whether you where kidding or not.

10 or 15 years ago it might not have been a big deal but these days it is. IF UPS didn't take the steps they did with you they could open themselves up to being sued because they didn't take any action the problem.

If you get your job back you better watch out what you say in the future kidding or not.

No joke. You can be sure i won't be speaking at all unless spoken to by management.

 

[cornfed]

but yeah the guy i said the comment to was poking me in the chest and i yelled at him "do not touch me again". Doesn't seem to matter too much to management, and voila, no witnesses. The person who overheard it did NOT report it, he was simply used as the solo witness and he wasn't even clear on the quote. They fed him the quote, he said yeah something along those lines was said. It's called leading a witness.
/QUOTE]


you need to go on the offensive. if you can't file against the other employee for battery then contact an attorney and ask for advice . better yet contact an attorney and have them send the co a letter about workplace violence that is not being taken care of. maybe the co will want a quick resolution if they know you are seeking legal help.

at the very least, do talk to one or two attorneys that specialize in this. ususally intial visit is free.

I have had this feeling since this started. However, the one person i told them to specifically question about it as he was 2 feet away when it occurred said he thought the whole argument was a satirical duet and so he wasn't paying attention and didn't think he saw it get physical. So....he said-he said would be the case i suppose. I have thought it wouldn't hurt to talk to an attorney at least about options i have, but wasn't sure if i could do this during the current fight or not. What the previous poster said about the company taking action swiftly to protect themselves from lawsuits makes sense....why wouldn't they want to do the same with the assault claim? Perhaps i need to call HR and make a totally seperate specific claim? As of now, this has basically come up during this investigation because of me and has seemingly been poo-poo'd after the alleged assaulter lied about it and i have no other witnesses, but i don't think they questioned everyone, actually i'm fairly certain they didn't question everyone who was present. I have always thought i had some sort of case here either as leverage or justification to some degree but the union reps have been kind of hinting at me to drop it because it seems lightweight and perhaps like i'm trying to justify what i said instead of taking responsibility.

*shrug*

 

[cornfed]

quick question....when i came in to work on day 1 when i had no idea what was going on and they ended up sending me home, i was paid for 15 minutes, shouldn't that have been 8 hours? 8 hour guarantee?

 

[dragracer66]

If i wanted to seek some legal advice on the assualt, is this something i should wait to do until after all of the panels, etc.? To my knowledge, there has been no formal investigation into my reporting this assault.

First off you cant retain a lawyer until the grievence process runs its course. I have seen a few people do that and never come back. Secondly if what you are suspended for is indeed sexual harrassment it usually means the end for the accused. I'm not trying to ruin your day but I have been a stewart for over 22 years here and sexual harrasment is usually the hardest (beside stealing) to come back from. You have to remember a arbitrator is a neutral party and the company is going to paint a ugly picture about you and why they dont want you to come back. I wish you well and also it may not be a bad idea to maybe to go Fed Ex and apply now. They should be hiring for peak season soon. At least you will have something until panel...

 

[cornfed]

First off you cant retain a lawyer until the grievence process runs its course. I have seen a few people do that and never come back.

Thanks for the guidance. Don't want to jeopardize any chance i do have to get my job back. I am assuming a sit down conversation with a lawyer would be different than "retaining" one?

 

[BigUnionGuy]

I have been a stewart for over 22 years

Oh dear god....



-Bug-

 

[cornfed]

It's too bad companies and society in general have come to this. You're just not allowed to have a slip up without your entire life changing. Solid vacation cover driver who knows all of the routes and is healthy as a horse(a healthy one). Fired for a comment that didn't even offend the person who assaulted him. Wow.

 

[dragracer66]

My Bad!!!! STEWARD. I too had much labor on my labor day....

 

[Re-Raise]

Brown Guy, I assume you implied he was spending time under the dispatcher's desk performing duties which resulted in his lighter loads.

At my center we would lose half the workforce every month if they fired us for stuff like this.

I guess this should be a wake call for all of us. I think your best defense is to stick with the apology and say that your intention was to question why he was getting the lighter load and that you weren't trying to insult him personally.

My feeling is that they have to pursue this to show that they take it seriously, but that you will get your job back. Good luck brother, I think you will be fine.

 

[UPSGUY72]

quick question....when i came in to work on day 1 when i had no idea what was going on and they ended up sending me home, i was paid for 15 minutes, shouldn't that have been 8 hours? 8 hour guarantee?

I would concentrate on getting your job back first....

 

[brownmonster]

First, I truly do hope things work out well for you. Second, if they don't, I too am in the midwest and would relish the opportunity to make you a job offer. Wouldn't be UPS money, but probably much higher than any horror stories you might have heard.

I'll keep this in mind. Apparently they are trying to get rid of us old guys.

 

[ymelord]

hello Brown_guy, I'm one who has recently gone through a ups firing. You can't retain or be represented by a lawyer till the union is done with the case, however you can talk to one, and I suggest you do, their great help. You will be able to tell your story to the lawyer and let him give you an opinion about things to say or a way to say it as to not hang yourself. Do not forget the hostile environment ups has created, by giving special treatment to other drivers, recall other incedents and ask some of your supporters at work for a notarize letter if they witnessed anything before. U need a letter as they might try to back out under ups preasure, plan ahead, it's a method. File for unemployment now in case you don't get your job back, and even though I got mine changed to a suspension, I was able to draw unemployment, with the help of lawyer, the state found I was wrongfully suspended, and got paid unemployment for my suspension. I can't dwell enough on you, UPS creates a hostile environment. After this is over you will have a whole different opinion ups and probably the union. Good luck PS stress with wife thing, boy do I know what your talking about.