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jalcam2006

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Hey all,

Im one of those guys that has been on the fence but leaning towards the union for a bit now. Heres a true situation taking place at my barn right now............there is a guy in my barn with 16.5 years, thats correct, 16.5 years of loyal, dedicated, work to OVNT and now UPSF. Long storey short is this guy runs the road and was told to put his uniform shirt on before he could get his trailers by a super. that he has had minor issues with before. Well words were said and at some point she claimed she felt "threatened" for her safety and the police are called and this guy is told to leave.

He is now being investigated, cant work, cant use any of his 4weeks vacation time and like all of us he has a family to feed. He has basically been told he is all done after 16.5 years over this. All of this started over a tee shirt which is not mandated until you leave the gates, not when you are hooking sets or doing dock work. Im sure there is more to the tale but the point is what lots of folks have been saying and that is we need some type of protection. This was not even UPS people but overnite people that did this to him. Im now 100% for the union coming in here and soon.
 
jalcam2006 said:
Hey all,

Im one of those guys that has been on the fence but leaning towards the union...the point is what lots of folks have been saying and that is we need some type of protection... Im now 100% for the union coming in here and soon.
Click to expand...

jalcam2006, Welcome to the side that would like a say in our wages, some security, and protection too. Sure beats flexiblity and being an at will employee!:bgroovy: :party-smiley-017:
 
If we were Teamsters what could they do for this guy?

Words are like swords sometimes very cutting.

In my last full time Teamsters job I was fired because I got into a heated argument with my TM.
My union steward didn't want any part of it.
I got myself into this trouble I could get myself out.

Well it was a friday night just after I pucnhed out.
I wasn't an Apostolic P.Born Again Christian at this time.
I had a real bad temper.
Anyway I thought about what happened over the weekend.
Early monday morning I called into the terminal,got a hold of the TM told him I was on my own time when we got into it.
Than told him I was sorry.
He told me to forget about it,and come to work on my shift.

All my co-workers told me to watch my mouth from now on.
Now that was good advice,but where was my union help?
 
Do you think if he came to work at UPS package which is union...that he would have been treated different? Nope. You are to report to work uniform on and ready to go. Union or not UPS demands it. And we don't know if this driver made some off comments either. So if he was union that would change his attitude and make his being out of uniform ok? Nope again. The clothes are free put them on and act civil. that seems reasonable to me.
 
Apostolic said:
Words are like swords sometimes very cutting.

In my last full time Teamsters job I was fired because I got into a heated argument with my TM.
My union steward didn't want any part of it.
I got myself into this trouble I could get myself out.

Well it was a friday night just after I pucnhed out.
I wasn't an Apostolic P.Born Again Christian at this time.
I had a real bad temper.
Anyway I thought about what happened over the weekend.
Early monday morning I called into the terminal,got a hold of the TM told him I was on my own time when we got into it.
Than told him I was sorry.
He told me to forget about it,and come to work on my shift.

All my co-workers told me to watch my mouth from now on.
Now that was good advice,but where was my union help?
Click to expand...

Like every situation in life there are good aples and not so good apples. A good steward would have heard about your situation from the TM, and then discussed it with you. He would have seen that you were remorseful and apologetic to the TM and probably would have squashed the whole incident. The fact that you were able to resolve the situation on your own is a good thing, however, if discipline or discharge had been he outcome, the steward should always be there to defend your position.

As far as the first post about a super that has been giving the road man previous problems, it sounds to me like a personal vendetta. Again, a good steward would be aware of the situation and defend the workers position that he was in the yard and making his hooks. His answer should have been, I didn't want to put on the uniform shirt till I was done with the hooks in order to keep a neat and professional appearence. This situation would have never gone further than the TM's office and the guy would probably still have a job. A far as terminations go, there are a few cardinal sins as we call them that call for termination without recourse. Those sins are....
using drugs or alcohol or under the influence while on duty
Stealing property or money
unauthorized use of company vehicle
unauthorized passengers
striking a coworker or supe while on company property

Anything else can usually be dealt with in a greivence hearing.
 
upsfreightnate said:
Do you think if he came to work at UPS package which is union...that he would have been treated different? Nope. You are to report to work uniform on and ready to go. Union or not UPS demands it. And we don't know if this driver made some off comments either. So if he was union that would change his attitude and make his being out of uniform ok? Nope again. The clothes are free put them on and act civil. that seems reasonable to me.
Click to expand...

This seems like some sort of situation that got out of hand. When uniforms are supplied by the company, even a Teamster is required to wear the uniform. But if it was common practice that a man could just wear a t shirt while doing hooks then his discharge was uncalled for. Not knowing the whole situation, all I can say is, that wouldn't have happened on most jobs.
 
Well Animo916 with my deal...

it was a friday evening all the drivers wanted to get going.
My Steward didn't want to get involved he just more,or lessed washed his hands of it.
Telling me I was on my own as he left the terminal.
Which this was right after my TM told me I was fired,and to get out.

Maybe if it was another day of the week,he may have taken interest in my termination.
I'll never know.

When I came back to work there till they went bankrupt.
I don't recall ever asking my steward for anymore of his help.

I just always worked it out with the TM directly by myself.
 
BusterNite theres got to be more to this story.

I live in New York State they have labor laws against firing workers without a just cause.
I never had to go to the board of labor,for anything .
But I knew a driver that was fired from Overnite at my terminal that was offered his job back,but insted he took a very large cash settelment,and went on his way.
I saw him working for some truckload company as a road driver.
He said he made a big mistake of taking the money insted of getting his Overnite P&D job back.
But there you go.
Also what about the peer review board Overnite had.
Is that still in place?

We live in America not Russia.
I still say theres got to be another side to this issue?
I do know that words said in anger without thinking whats being said can have a lot of power.
And once they've been said in some cases its very difficult to get relationships repaired.
 
Apostolic said:
I live in New York State they have labor laws against firing workers without a just cause.
I never had to go to the board of labor,for anything .
But I knew a driver that was fired from Overnite at my terminal that was offered his job back,but insted he took a very large cash settelment,and went on his way.
I saw him working for some truckload company as a road driver.
He said he made a big mistake of taking the money insted of getting his Overnite P&D job back.
But there you go.
Also what about the peer review board Overnite had.
Is that still in place?

We live in America not Russia.
I still say theres got to be another side to this issue?
I do know that words said in anger without thinking whats being said can have a lot of power.
And once they've been said in some cases its very difficult to get relationships repaired.
Click to expand...
If he lives in a right to work state there are no laws to protect him hes screwed.
 
Called a UPS Feeder Driver that I met on the road and asked him about this situation. He said that they have to report to work in their uniform and wear it at all times, including lunch and breaks until they punch out. Wearing a shirt seems like a small thing to argue 16.5 years over. Sounds like there is more to the story or someone was looking for a fight or to try and make a point.
 
We're all going to be waering the shirts soon. Union and non. Thats one of the GIVE and takes we have to get along with the company. Its worth it for the TAKES we get. I personal don't think its hard to swallow. But be damn sure I'll still gripe!:d6625240:
 
to all
difference on union jobs concerning uniforms is simply the company is responsible for cleaning them not the employee
both situations the clothes are free
 
Thanks for all the replys folks. This person was in fact allowed to come back to work last night. He had to agree to not fight the fact that he lost 5 days pay and just "be grateful" he kept his job. He also had to drop harrasment charges that he filed and the super had to do the same. They have to just learn to get alone for their jobs I guess.

I guess what concerned myself the most here was not the tee shirt or the words that were exchanged but the fact that there was no recourse what so ever for this driver had he indeed been fired with your job in the hands of a peer review board.
 
Glad to see the man got his job back. One thing to consider is when being fired from a job, sometimes you lose all pension credits and get squat. This here is another example of how a single entity pension enables tthe company to come out ahead. On a Teamster job, you can apply at another Teamster job and the pension will continue to grow.
 
When I was hired, I was told the only time the uniform is to be worn is when driving UPS Freight equipment. The driver should have put his shirt on and keep it moving.
 
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