Brown,
Your case has more problems than solutions.
First, when you were arrested on route, you were "on leave" without permission or in simple terms, JOB ABANDONMENT.
We as drivers are responsible for the truck and its contents from punch to punch and your being arrested on duty places you in a position where you FAILED to meet that obligation. You can be terminated for this immediately.
Second, after you were arrested, you had an obligation to report to UPS whether you were going to work or miss work. You indicate your mother and family went to UPS to report for you. This is UNACCEPTABLE and again you fail to meet your obligations under our contract. When UPS sent you a certified letter asking for you to report within 48 hrs, this should explain to you that you failed to report.
The letter, suffices as notification by the company and complies with state law.
The fact that you were in jail does not give you and excuse to fail to report. It is not the companies job to track you down or figure out what jail you are in. They only have a legal obligation to provide you with notification and a time period where you either report for work or get terminated.
This failure is a terminable offense and the company exercised its legal authority to terminate you on this basis.
Third, your claim that UPS knew where you were and had no right to terminate you because your mother took them a letter from the sheriff is laughable at best.
The reality is simple, you were notified by cert mail, and given a time period to report, you didnt appear in person and you were fired. A letter cant run your route or deliver packages. You had an obligation to report in person, period.
Any appeal on the basis that your mother provided a letter demonstrating where you were will get you no where. A lawyer will tell you the same.
UPS knew where you were the moment you made the call just before you were arrested. This doesnt in itself give you a free pass to miss 30 days of work unauthorized.
The fault does not lay on the feet of UPS, it lays with you, it was YOU that failed to complete your community service, it was YOU that didnt make the time to complete it or go to court and ask for an extension.
Im going to guess and say that you probably already extended it before and were out of extensions and you just didnt bother to complete it.
Now, you want to blame the Union and the Company?
Take ownership young man, You have NO case against the company nor the Union. Your representation consisted of your BA going to a panel and asking for your job back, it was denied.
You could seek a lawyer and spend 5G's to hear the same advice or you could just find a new career, and stop committing crimes on your spare time.
As "Barretta" used to say "dont do the crime if you cant do the time".
You made some bad choices that put you in this position, dont make another one and become a paper tiger and fight for a job you cant possibly win.
The company has no obligation to hold your position for 30 days while you serve a jail sentence for something you did while off duty.
You would have to demonstrate that the company was either negligent or in violation of the contract and terminated you improperly. At this point, the only negligence present is all on your side.
As a former executive officer for the Teamsters and a business agent, I can tell you that back pay would have absolutely nothing to do with your case and your BA is just giving you an excuse to send you away without being honest.
I will tell you like it is. Your screwed.
Get your act together and find a new career. This one is history.
Peace.
