New Attendance program

[P. REZ]

Rez

The language of sick pay will stick because it was voted on. The change in the system for discipline is definitely in question.My suggestion is for you to try and get the players together that were in the meeting where by you tried to get the point sys established a while back and present this to the ND08. If the company established the fact that a sys cannot be changed except thru negotiation ( ie sec 6 ) then why is it different at this point. ND08 I think needs this info/persons in case it is arbitrated.

Mike

Mike,

I was talking about the point system. I realize what the contract says. The TA says that Attendance will go into effect On 1-1-09. So if we were to get stuck with the point system, the west should not start until 1-1-09. This was brought up by the Grievance Committee here in PHX today with Bob Weston present. We'll let you know what the outcome is. Oh, by the way, a grievance has been filed here in PHX on the issue of when this point system should start if we are stuck with it.

P. Rez

 

[stockinluv]

The point is this should be a negotiated item. If the company came up with
a clever way to catch the irresponsible ones then they deserve to save money.
This is not clever nor IMO is it within our CBA. It has to be negotiated.
For instance if they want to do this then there has to be a dividend for FS
like full Vacation pay or a wage increase or five sations off the outsource
list.

Your point that it is hard for the company to enforce any sick policy is well
taken. However to not understand that this is an integral part of any CBA
is I think' short sighted.

I agree it is something that would work better if it was negotiated as part of a CBA

 

[wings396]

for the fleet side rest assured. YOUR UNION is on this like to paraphrase Nelson "2 coats of paint"

some very smart people are working on this as we speak..


sidnote: to all the young pups new to unions .. NEXT time your brothers and sisters tell you we need BETTER

Scope and Language . this is exactly what we are talking about. Yea the 3 pieces of silver are good for now

but won't help you when your points expire and are on the street because the company decides it wants

to change the rules mid stream..

NOW go to bed and repeat after me. SCOPE and LANGUAGE SCOPE and LANGUAGE

SCOPE and LANGUAGE

Since you are "in the know" about this, please put a bug in their ear to do someting about being late and being charged points. Many here fail to realize that this alone could bite you in the Butt given a few bad circumstances.

 

[The Man]

Here in Boston, one of the 7 cities with time clocks, we don't even park in the same city. We park in the next town over, Chelsea, and our bus route goes over a drawbridge, which your occasional oil tanker passes through. That can add an additioal half hour to your employee bus ride. When this was pointed out to management, their responce was, "Come to work earlier."

For the record, we've been told that's not an excuse, under the new attendance policy. If the bridge is up, and your late, too bad for you.

 

[Tim Nelson]

New Attendance Policy update

Your company has put out alot of silly information on its new attendance policy and there are some falsehoods that the membership has been told that I think need to be addresed. For the record, the current IAM leadership did not 'approve' this new policy even though shift managers are saying they have signed on to it. Hogwash! Don't believe everything your manager sez.

The simple truth is this. In a veiled attempt for productivity gains, your company is in fact attempting to subsidize all the no-shows, call offs, sick calls, etc., of probationary employees, with good hard working fleet service IAM members. My understanding is that the IAM mechanics wanted no part of this new discipline and will not be under it. Only the CWA has approved these new measures from what I understand. But the New Direction is not the CWA or Canale. As aside, this new policy switch will be a good test for us New Direction folks in DL141.

Nonetheless, I will respond to a few questions that you have pm'd me.

1. I did the training and the date has been moved up so that we must all complete the training by Nov 7th, with a December 1st implementation. But during the training I noticed that I can actually receive further occurances or termination in situations if I call in on December 20th and don't have a doctor's note? How can this be, this is Bu** S***!!!

Unfortunately, under key situations with this policy, if you call in on certain days leading up to what your manager might call a 'holiday period', and you fail to substantiate your illness with a Doctor's note, then you could get more than 1 pt, up to even being terminated. I'm pretty sure December 20th is one of those days. Basically, this new policy can bypass the single point system in alot of ways, this being just one.

2. I haven't heard anything from the New Direction, what is their stance on this restrictive sick policy?
The New Direction just got in last week so give them time to meet with the company. My gut feeling is that a meeting will take place with your company to make some things clear. I don't want to speak for the New Direction elected officials but my conversations with them lead me to believe they are not happy [to put it mildly] about the company's intentions of implementing a new policy and training prior to meeting with your new reps. Bad move of disrespecting the membership on your company's part. Your company was fully aware that new representatives would take office in October but instead decided unilaterally to go forward with the new discipline policy and train IAM members on it by attempting to deal with the voiceless and lame duck Canale on this matter. Canale is gone and I can assure you that Nicky Handlow, Mike Crowell, Frankie O, Mickey Hughes know when they and the membership have been disrespected. Let them meet with your company before you start believing your shift managers or other breakroom gossipers. I can assure you, if something can be done, these men will do it.

3. My shift manager told me that my shift trades are a privilige and can be suspended for up to 120 days under this new sick policy and that my contract allows this, is this true?
Hell no! Your shift trades are a 'right' and the only restrictions on them are found in your agreement. There are 'few' instances when shift trade rights can be revoked. This is a matter of contention as your company has suspended shift trades for any ole flimsy reason related to performance or attendance. Unfortunately, Canale never arbitrated these violations in his 8 year regime, but my understanding is that the New Direction folks in CLT have agreed that this matter needs arbitration and this process is already moving forward.

4. Where does this new policy violate the agreement? My manager told me that the IAM already signed off on it and also that the agreement allows the company full jurisdiction of its policies?
First off, your company does not have full jurisdiction over its policies without being subject to the terms of your contract. At any rate, the contention is that the new policy violates two parts of your contract. It discrimminates against IAM members and it also discontinues previous policies.

policy states, "The Program applies only to those employees in the Customer Service and Fleet Service work groups who have completed their probationary period pursuant to applicable collective bargaining agreements."
Remember, probationary employees will not come under this restrictive policy and they are not required to be IAM members until they have completed 336 hours [42 days if and only if a probationary employee is working 8 hour shifts, if working part time then could be as many as 84 days].
However, your contract reads, "No [IAM member] will be...discrimminated against by the Company because of IAM membership." The fact that IAM members will be under this sick leave policy.

Application: On December 20th, both a probationary employee and an IAM member call in sick. Only the IAM member gets points for the occurance. This is inherently wrong and discrimmatory.
I can tell you as a Local Chairman in District 141 that it is inequitable if I have a member who does the same thing a probationary employee does and gets pegged with discipline even as the probationary employee doesn't. I would have a problem with that and run a grievance on it immediately based on discrimmination as a result of IAM membership. Any grievance along these lines should ask for rendering the discipline void based on the discrimmatory practices. if this includes termination, then any grievance along this line shoud ask for full back pay due to discrimmination of being an IAM member. An arbitrator would eventually have to decide.

Another violation is that your company's policies are subject to the 'continuing terms' of your agreement. Your agreement, like all Labor contracts, has 'continuity language' that protects the continuation of reasonable working conditions.

Therefore, any 'Bait & Switch' to more restrictive policies that gives the company the productivity gains it is wanting, must be subject to negotiations.

regards,
Tim Nelson
IAM Local Chairman, 1487, Chicago

 

[NevadaHP]

Timmy Nelson's BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[1Conehead]

Since you are giving up points do you still have to bring donuts when you are late?

 

[freedom]

Next week on both of my days off, I'm going to call in sick just to see how many points I'm awarded!

Rogue

actually if your going to call in SICK , the very best thing you could do is wait until after we get the second 50% ....

Thats right , after we have full pay given to us on oh what is it , nov 17th ? we have until DEC 31st where we can call in sick and get FULL PAY for each day that we call in sick , while still under the old system of TWU sick policy ..

So you COULD call in sick now , getting a lesser amount due to only having the first part of your raise , or you COULD wait until after we get the second 50% and then burn all of your sick days the way many an AWA worker used to do ... i mean why not right ? on JAN 1st you'll only get 50% pay for each sick day .... SO if your going to start banking them , best to put it off till the new year ...

 

[necigrad]

I found a loophole. You can call in and not get ANY points. Just call in dead! They'll never notice anyway.

 

[orioleman]

Since you are "in the know" about this, please put a bug in their ear to do someting about being late and being charged points. Many here fail to realize that this alone could bite you in the Butt given a few bad circumstances.

Not quit sure where I said "I was in the know".

 

[Black Magic]

You know ever since I have been introduced to this IAM union the company has always seemed to be one step ahead of it and the union always in 2nd place playing catch up...i'm hopeful for the ND team but wouldn't suprise me if the company has their number too!

 

[dexter]

Tim,

CWA did not agree to this ACP Policy nor did the Company present this to the Union leaders. In fact they told Canale and Hawthorne that they were not to release to Union leadership.

Fact remains that grievances will be filed as violations occur. What the employees have to accept is that what they should be doing right now is blaming the COMPANY. The COMPANY put this policy in place. The reason for the new policy was to merger the CAD (former AWA policy) and ECR (former Usairways) policies together as there was a deadline of 10/31/08 to merge technology together in transition agreements. Phoeeey on all employees to blame the Unions, blame your darling company. "Committment to Success"? Yeah right, the way I see it there are 162 days out of the year you can call off sick. Halloween was the icing on the cake. Pay the 20 bucks and get a "bonafide" medical note and move on.


DEX

 

[wings396]

Not quit sure where I said "I was in the know".

For some reason I thought that you had a way of communicating directly to those of the ND team based on your posts.
Thanks anyway....

 

[BlackTail]

Our station management is saying that they are going to transfer all existing writeups for the past year into levels under the new system. Basically they are stating that if you are on a:

IC = level I
CAD= Level II
CAD Follow up = Level III

I don't believe they can do this. Is anyone under west disciplinary policy hearing similar things or is everybody else starting at 0 under the new system? I cannot believe that this is fair at all considering what constituted a CAD under the old system may or may not equal a level II under the new system.

 

[Jester]

Our station management is saying that they are going to transfer all existing writeups for the past year into levels under the new system. Basically they are stating that if you are on a:

IC = level I
CAD= Level II
CAD Follow up = Level III

I don't believe they can do this. Is anyone under west disciplinary policy hearing similar things or is everybody else starting at 0 under the new system? I cannot believe that this is fair at all considering what constituted a CAD under the old system may or may not equal a level II under the new system.

That's what I am hearing. No blank slate for anyone which seems rather unfair to have a retroactive program based upon the employee's actions prior to the new policy's debut.

Here's a kicker for those under Workbrain. People have been using the 6 minute grace period to clock in after the start of their shift (since it did not count as being late). If those are counted retroactively at a half point each some people will be gone. Not to mention, some people have been leaving 2 minutes early as Workbrain has been recording it at a full shift to their paychecks.

There must be some time by which employees are informed of an issue, and not over 30 days later, not to mention, the past year.

So Computes Jester.