UPS would not allow me to leave...

[tieguy]

do the words "false arrest", "false imprisonment" or, perhaps, "kidnapping" mean anything to anyone?
call your county district attorney's office.....I bet he can define those words for you.

LOL what an idiot. No one imprisoned the guy. He could leave . He just would not have a job if he left. No shackles , no chains.

You crap house lawyers are great for helping people get fired.

 

[HazMatMan]

What happened to 5 and out?? Once part-timers did their 5 hours they could leave. I am just asking about it please don't attack me on this issue...

 

[canon]

LOL what an idiot. No one imprisoned the guy. He could leave . He just would not have a job if he left. No shackles , no chains.

You crap house lawyers are great for helping people get fired.

Translated: It would be an occurance, but please stay and help.

Talk to your shop steward and call the union hall.

 

[cino321]

bro... leave who cares what they think... don't even waste your time explaining why it's none of their business... they give you problems the next day go find a steward... worst case scenario they write you up.

 

[trickpony1]

LOL what an idiot. No one imprisoned the guy. He could leave . He just would not have a job if he left. No shackles , no chains.

You crap house lawyers are great for helping people get fired.

You crap house management people are great at extortion, veiled threats and evading the laws that apply to everyone else in the world.
I would ask, "did that supervisor physically block the door to prevent PT'ers from leaving so he wouldn't have to do the work himself?", but I'm sure our management team would NEVER do that!
Also, Mr. Scholarly Supervisor, would you quote the article and section of the contract that references management being allowed to falsely imprison employees against their will?

 

[cachsux]

At our building sups will go around with a sign up sheet before the end of the shift to ask PTs to sign up for overtime. They do not have to sign and can leave if they need to. If someone has fullfilled their contract by working their shift then they cannot involuntarily be forced to work another. To tell someone who has completed their shift that they will be fired if they leave is coercion,and against the law. I would have said that I worked my shift and now have to get home to my kids. You all should file a group grievance.

 

[tieguy]

You crap house management people are great at extortion, veiled threats and evading the laws that apply to everyone else in the world.
I would ask, "did that supervisor physically block the door to prevent PT'ers from leaving so he wouldn't have to do the work himself?", but I'm sure our management team would NEVER do that!
Also, Mr. Scholarly Supervisor, would you quote the article and section of the contract that references management being allowed to falsely imprison employees against their will?

I'm not sure who you phrased that question to but I'll try to help you with your question.

Your rhetoric of false imprisonment is cute but totally out of line and perhaps a little too dramatic as a discription of this particular event.

There is a basic relationship here which has always been suppported by your union as long as the rules of seniority are applied. I don't keep a contract book at home so I will not be able to share scripture from the good book at this time.

The employee is not done until the employer says the employee is done.

Leaving before the employer says you can leave is job abandonment.

The principles of the language is pretty consistent. Its why the package driver can't just stop delivering when he feels like it and the feeder driver can't do the same.

In this case the employee is not released from his job assignment and is kept into or through the next shift. There is no language that supports the concept that a part timer only has to work 5 hours.

A part time job is still a real job that means you do face situations of forced overtime like you do with other ups jobs.

I hope I was able to provide a little insight on behalf of the scholarly supervisor you originally addressed your question to.

 

[drcolossus]

Tightguy, you and others who think like you are the reason so many of us have no respect for UPS. Our Union would never stand for this. There is no place for threats like these in any company. UPS usually creates there own problems. If workers don't want to stay or do anything extra it is simply a reflection on the way UPS treats their employees. You people act like criminals and we are supposed to bend over backwards to help you. Wake up, the world doesn't revolve around UPS! Joopster, next time go to your steward immediately. Nobody can keep you from leaving. If you get no satisfaction, call the hall. If you still get none, call the police!

 

[trickpony1]

Mr. Scholarly Supervisor-
If what you say is true then the company is, apparently, free to build a mobile home park or tent city just outside the guard shack for the employees to live in and be at the disposal for instantaneous activation at the whim of supervision.........as a condition of employment.
As far as there being nothing in the language about being threatened with one's job for leaving at the end of one's shift, I'm sorry but I disagree. I can't quote the precise article number but it's got to do with "over supervision", "respect", "dignity" and, I think, "threats" as well as something to the effect of Federal and state laws will supercede contract language which might include the prohibition of "hostile work environments".
But what could I know, I don't wear a tie..........

 

[Joopster]

My biggest problem was that I told him that I was feeling unsafe to work. How do you force someone to work who feels unsafe and could potentially hurt themselves?

Oh yeah, they don't care.

If it ever happens again, I won't even give them a look, I'll walk right by and hope someone puts a hand on me.

 

[cino321]

It's funny reading this thread I feel like I'm still at the building... lol

 

[Channahon]

Joopster, was a union steward available during this tense situation? Any immediate direction given, besides management stating no one can leave?

Understanding weather was the catalyst that caused this situation, has this issue
been addressed by the union or UPS management? Just wondering if any follow up advice was given.

I would think both the union and UPS management would want to avoid a situation like this in the future. Too much stress for everyone involved.

 

[Channahon]

Rocky,
I appreciate your point of view regarding the police. I don't think the police would have responded to a situation like this, if an employee called and said he supervisor would not allow him to leave work. And to state a hostage situation occurred, the SWAT team would have probably shown up. In my opinion this was a tense situation for both parties. Management trying to get enough employees to work the next sort, and the hourlies already tired from working their sort. I think the solution should have been management to work with the stewards, advise them of their situation and then approach the employees who would have been willing to take the extra hours. Those of us that have been around know that UPS will do everything possible to make service on as many packages during bad weather.

 

[cachsux]

Yes I am a part timer. I am not familiar with the contract, although I should be I have been under it for over 5 years. This is the first time that they have actually stood in front of the doors, turning people around and sending them back to work./quote]
I`ve been thinking of this and wonder,why were you allowed to punch out before anything was said about staying extra? It sounds like you finished your shift and all that entails,cleaned up?,put on your outside clothes?,and made it to the exit before you were stopped. I admit I don`t know how big your hub is but usually at the end of a shift as people finish sups will weed out their employees number as the work is completed. The last couple do stuff like sweep ,etc. Anybody dismissed before them are long gone. If this happened here they would be coming back in before the last people were done. I`m just wondering why your PT shift wasn`t informed earlier that they were needed,if they waited until you got to the gate it was way to late. By then you were punched out and therefore could not be acused of job abandonment. Someone had to give you the ok to walk out. One thing I would check into is the fact hat if people were not allowed to leave and threatened with job abandonment then they should be paid from their original start time. Regardless if you were punched out and going home,if you were turned around ,then you were still on the clock even if you stood around waiting on the next sort. It can`t be both ways,imo,either your off the clock and allowed to leave or your on the clock and have to stay.

 

[disneyworld]

After coming in a half hour early for my shift, working my shift and then trying to leave, we were informed that if we left we would be at a hearing for Job abandonment.

We had some snow here in Ohio. What are the rules on this. Night shift guys were calling off left and right. I worked for 6.5 hrs. I was tired. I told the center manager that I was going home because I was tired and it could potentially be unsafe. I told him that they force habits down our throats, but the company would only follow them when it was convenient for them.

Needless to say I eventually got to leave. Part time supervisor on nights took care of me.

Where is this gray area in the contract that allows them to barracade us in and be threatened with our jobs?

Isn't there a steward(or stewart for some people) out there that can chime in on this?

 

[RockyRogue]

Rocky,
I appreciate your point of view regarding the police. I don't think the police would have responded to a situation like this, if an employee called and said he supervisor would not allow him to leave work. And to state a hostage situation occurred, the SWAT team would have probably shown up. In my opinion this was a tense situation for both parties. Management trying to get enough employees to work the next sort, and the hourlies already tired from working their sort. I think the solution should have been management to work with the stewards, advise them of their situation and then approach the employees who would have been willing to take the extra hours. Those of us that have been around know that UPS will do everything possible to make service on as many packages during bad weather.

I think you're wrong, Channa. Police have a responsibility to respond to ALL calls for assistance.

You're right, working with stewards to get staffing to appropriate levels would be the appropriate thing to do. However...apparently management skipped that step in this situation. I worked at Addison during the storm that nailed Chicago's suburbs to the WALL the day/night before Thanksgiving 2004. Management howled and put out a general call for doublers. No problems.

In Joopster's situation, they skipped that step. Indeed, management just wouldn't allow employees to leave. Tie, I think its called a "lock-in" at that point and those, sir, to the best of knowledge are illegal. Yeah, yeah, work the 5 hours but DON'T disrespect your employees by forcing them to stay. With the roads in the condition they were, that's almost asking for some kind of lawsuit if the employee gets hurt going home because of the snow/ice. The consequences...that's something UPS and the union would have to decide on. Personally, if the roads were that bad to begin with and only getting worse by the minute, I'd never have left home. Then again, I'm not an "attendance problem." Again, to Tie: I've never even TRIED to drive an 18-wheeler, let alone down a mountain. Hat's off for doing it safely!!!

As a few posters have said, I'm only a "baby" in terms of UPS experience. I was a driver helper during Denver's blizzard(s). Trust me, I KNOW UPS'll do everything it can to make service on as many packages as possible. The day Denver's first blizzard hit, I woke up, looked outside and saw how much snow there was. I called the center and my dispatch was confirmed. I found out then just how far UPS'll go to get packages out on time. -Rocky

 

[Channahon]

Does anyone find it interesting that Joopster is not responding to some of these posts?

And no mention of what the union advised the employees to do, if there was respresentation in the sort.

We all have our opinions of what should have been done, could have been done, but only Joopster can tell us what was done and by whom

 

[tieguy]

Tightguy, you and others who think like you are the reason so many of us have no respect for UPS. Our Union would never stand for this. There is no place for threats like these in any company. UPS usually creates there own problems. If workers don't want to stay or do anything extra it is simply a reflection on the way UPS treats their employees. You people act like criminals and we are supposed to bend over backwards to help you. Wake up, the world doesn't revolve around UPS! Joopster, next time go to your steward immediately. Nobody can keep you from leaving. If you get no satisfaction, call the hall. If you still get none, call the police!

The fact is my misguided friend that your union does support this action in leau of our using management to do bargaining work and these threats could also be viewed as management informing a person who is about to vacate his job of the consequences.

 

[tieguy]

Mr. Scholarly Supervisor-
If what you say is true then the company is, apparently, free to build a mobile home park or tent city just outside the guard shack for the employees to live in and be at the disposal for instantaneous activation at the whim of supervision.........as a condition of employment.
As far as there being nothing in the language about being threatened with one's job for leaving at the end of one's shift, I'm sorry but I disagree. I can't quote the precise article number but it's got to do with "over supervision", "respect", "dignity" and, I think, "threats" as well as something to the effect of Federal and state laws will supercede contract language which might include the prohibition of "hostile work environments".
But what could I know, I don't wear a tie..........

Dude keep it real here and try to stay focused. We are talking about one night where you have a weather emergency and the part timers are forced to work overtime.

 

[tieguy]

I think you're wrong, Channa. Police have a responsibility to respond to ALL calls for assistance.

You're right, working with stewards to get staffing to appropriate levels would be the appropriate thing to do. However...apparently management skipped that step in this situation. I worked at Addison during the storm that nailed Chicago's suburbs to the WALL the day/night before Thanksgiving 2004. Management howled and put out a general call for doublers. No problems.

In Joopster's situation, they skipped that step. Indeed, management just wouldn't allow employees to leave. Tie, I think its called a "lock-in" at that point and those, sir, to the best of knowledge are illegal. Yeah, yeah, work the 5 hours but DON'T disrespect your employees by forcing them to stay. With the roads in the condition they were, that's almost asking for some kind of lawsuit if the employee gets hurt going home because of the snow/ice. The consequences...that's something UPS and the union would have to decide on. Personally, if the roads were that bad to begin with and only getting worse by the minute, I'd never have left home. Then again, I'm not an "attendance problem." Again, to Tie: I've never even TRIED to drive an 18-wheeler, let alone down a mountain. Hat's off for doing it safely!!!

As a few posters have said, I'm only a "baby" in terms of UPS experience. I was a driver helper during Denver's blizzard(s). Trust me, I KNOW UPS'll do everything it can to make service on as many packages as possible. The day Denver's first blizzard hit, I woke up, looked outside and saw how much snow there was. I called the center and my dispatch was confirmed. I found out then just how far UPS'll go to get packages out on time. -Rocky

There is no physical force being used to keep people locked in. I have seen this step used twice in my career where part timers were forced to work overtime.

Calling the police for what. The part timer could have left he would have been abandoning his job if he did so.

The supervisors are placed at the door to warn anyone trying to leave of the consequences of their actions.