It seems that there is a lot more to this story then what we have heard. It also seems that your have had a bull eyes painted on you and it's not going away any time soon. I would talk to your steward or BA they are the only ones that are / can help you. I hope you haven't been burning bridges with the union.
I most certainly have not been burning bridges with the union (what could I do that would burn bridges with the union?) As far as I can tell, the steward is glad that someone is filing supervisors working grievances, since he said that if he was doing it, management would push the attendance issue in the building, and he would possibly end up having to fire some people (even if only temporarily).
What do you mean by "there is a lot more to this story than what we have heard"? All I can really admit that I have not said is that I used to be the "star loader", the one you may have in your building that literally (and I do mean literally) runs from truck to truck loading at a rate that no one else could possibly match (and with no misloads to boot). This was before.
Here is something important that I have not stated before either. Stating this (or not stating it) will either make or break the perception that some people on this board have of me, which is why I am stating it now. I have always known about the supervisors working language in the contract. I have asked my steward how I would go about filing supervisors working grievances several times in the five years that I have worked at UPS. I usually did this when management was pushing back staggers to unreasonable times, or was being very anal about production or misloads (rather, production and misloads, since it is really difficult to accomplish good numbers in both at the same time). I also had a major problem with management barking at us to "get off of their clock", only to have supervisors do our work instead, while having supervisors work throughout the day. However, I never had the balls to file because I feared termination (and what is happening to me now).
Here is something else that I have not said. I recently got injured at work, about 2-3 months ago. I hurt my wrist attempting to lift a heavy strapped package that was caught on some rollers. My full-time supervisor at the time said that she wanted me to get better, no matter how long it took, etc. etc. (the general bullspit you would get from the typical member of management). I signed off on having "no restrictions" at the doctor's appointment with the full-time supervisor in tow, because she seemed to be genuinely concerned about my injury (I only realized later how big of a mistake that was). I regret to admit that I was rather naive back then.
When I was screwed over by being forced to go back to my regular work after only about one and a half weeks, without the full-time supervisor even doing so much as asking if I was better (or even telling me that I was to go back to my regular work, she told my part-time supervisor to tell me instead), I realized just how much UPS cares about me and its employees. I have been wearing wrist braces to work ever since, since they help with the pain when I lift heavier packages. This was the incident where I grew balls, and started holding UPS accountable to the contract, just as they would hold me and everyone else accountable to do their jobs. I thought for a bit: What is the biggest contract violation that I can see with my own eyes that I can fight? Obviously, it is supervisors working. Again, I will state that I have had a problem with the way management uses their supervisors to make their numbers look good, all the while essentially robbing the bargaining unit employees who are supposed to do the work. This is why I am not ever going to let up on filing for supervisors working.
After my injury, I am no longer so naive as to think that UPS will take care of me if I injure myself at work again. This is where the (production) harassment stems. I will admit that I could avoid the production harassment if I simply continued to work at my old, ridiculous, and totally unsafe pace. I will admit that I could keep any load area clean, while following the methods, while getting no misloads, but like I said, it will require that I work at an extremely unsafe pace. Knowing how well UPS will take care of me if I get injured again, I do not work at that pace any longer. However, I have always taken offense at the fact that there are obvious slackers working at UPS (both on the hourly and the management side). I am not talking about "slow" loaders, I am talking about loaders that are clearly intentionally moving at a pace that no one would consider reasonable. Therefore, I refuse to work at such a pace, even if theoretically it is the safest pace.
I was a hard worker in the past, and I am a hard worker now. I just work at a much safer pace now, but I am still working faster than the vast majority of the people in the building, and I absolutely guarantee that no one could watch me work and say that I am not working hard. It is not good enough for management because they are taking issue with my grievances. I have told them several times that they could watch me work, all day if they have to, to see if I am working hard (and I stress that they can watch if I am
working hard throughout the day, every minute of the day, while still getting backed up). They have refused every single time. I am not ashamed of the pace at which I work, and management knows that they would have to shut up if they were trying to prove the reason that I am backed up in 1200-1300 package load areas was that I was being lazy (if they actually bothered to watch me work). They know that they would have to revise their silly expectations of "240 packages per hour" and "0 misloads". I can get 0 misloads (which I feel is more important than production, if management actually cares about providing service to their customers over a bonus check for production). I cannot hit 240 packages per hour, while getting 0 misloads, while working at a safe (but brisk) pace. No one else can either, at least, not with the way things are in the facility in which I work. I have demonstrated as much, and they know it.
Knowing this, management knows that all they can do is continue to harass and (attempt) to intimidate me. It will not work. I know that my cause is just. I know that I am not in the wrong with anything that I am doing. I can go home with a good conscience every single day, knowing that I put in a fair day's work by anyone's standard.
That is all I have to say. Now you (and everyone else) know about my history, and my motives for what I am doing. Perhaps some people will lose some respect for me after hearing the whole story. But if anyone feels that what is currently happening to me is just, then that is their opinion. I have nothing to say to them.
