Need advice from other stewards

[Buru]

i had it out with a sort manager over settling article 3s. He told me he'd settle them whenever he felt like it.
No witnesses(accept part time sup who will clearly side with him)
He threatened my job(without probable cause)
lost his temper(i kept my cool the entire time.. Im a teamster, baby)
Told me my grievances werent accurate( is that calling me a liar? I asked him that, and that is when he said he would walk me out.)
I can win this if i apply myself. im a young motivated new steward.
8 years deep vs 20+ manager. I have come to find out he has been transfered betwen hubs for sexual harassment in past.
Is it worth trying to take this guy on? Or am i biting more than i can chew?

 

[Bubblehead]

i had it out with a sort manager over settling article 3s. He told me he'd settle them whenever he felt like it.
No witnesses(accept part time sup who will clearly side with him)
He threatened my job(without probable cause)
lost his temper(i kept my cool the entire time.. Im a teamster, baby)
Told me my grievances werent accurate( is that calling me a liar? I asked him that, and that is when he said he would walk me out.)
I can win this if i apply myself. im a young motivated new steward.
8 years deep vs 20+ manager. I have come to find out he has been transfered betwen hubs for sexual harassment in past.
Is it worth trying to take this guy on? Or am i biting more than i can chew?

Never back down to a bully, unless you want more of the same.

File an Art 4/21/37 grievance, as well as labor charges with the NLRB.
It will cost the company thousands of dollars and this manager a significant amount of time.
In the end, the NLRB will defer to the grievance procedure, but the paper trail will begin on this guy in the event of further altercations.

https://www.nlrb.gov

In the future, avoid conversations with managers when you don't have a member or your business agent present as a witness, especially about active grievances.
Technically, if they were your grievances, he shouldn't have been talking to you about them without your BA anyway.
Perhaps the BA will file charges as well?

 

[PiedmontSteward]

Remember you work in a glass house. When things get hot, all the little you do that you might typically get away with might be an issue.

If he threatened your job over a grievance, slam him in the nuts with a labor charge. Retaliation for protected, concerted activity. Sometimes you have to launch a missile to remind these guys to stay in bounds. Yelling and getting pissy over a few supervisor working grievances? OK. Threatening the steward for filing them? them.

 

[BigUnionGuy]

i had it out with a sort manager over settling article 3s. He told me he'd settle them whenever he felt like it.

That's not his call to make.

Grievances should be settled with your BA and the company Labor person.

I can win this if i apply myself. i'm a young motivated new steward.
Is it worth trying to take this guy on? Or am i biting more than i can chew?

Never back down to a bully, unless you want more of the same.

File an Art 4/21/37 grievance, as well as labor charges with the NLRB.
It will cost the company thousands of dollars and this manager a significant amount of time.
In the end, the NLRB will defer to the grievance procedure, but the paper trail will begin on this guy in the event of further altercations.

https://www.nlrb.gov

In the future, avoid conversations with managers when you don't have a member or your business agent present as a witness, especially about active grievances.
Technically, if they were your grievances, he shouldn't have been talking to you about them without your BA anyway.
Perhaps the BA will file charges as well?

Remember you work in a glass house. When things get hot, all the little you do that you might typically get away with might be an issue.

If he threatened your job over a grievance, slam him in the nuts with a labor charge. Retaliation for protected, concerted activity. Sometimes you have to launch a missile to remind these guys to stay in bounds. Yelling and getting pissy over a few supervisor working grievances? OK. Threatening the steward for filing them? them.

There is advice from 2, well known Brown Cafe UPS stewards.

Both.... right on the mark.



-Bug-

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Excellent advice...usually from what I have seen, the sort mgr/Cms come in guns blazing when transferred for sexual harrasment or similar charges. We've seen more than a few.

 

[Buru]

I would like to add we are currently without a BA due to him resigning when he learned of election results.. He was no good anyway, and we will have a new one at the start of the year. I was given the go ahead during this period, to settle my own and other hourlys grievances with sort manager directly

 

[Bubblehead]

I would like to add we are currently without a BA due to him resigning when he learned of election results.. He was no good anyway, and we will have a new one at the start of the year. I was given the go ahead during this period, to settle my own and other hourlys grievances with sort manager directly

That's completely irresponsible for your local to suggest such a thing and puts them in a position of considerable liability.
What a bush league move for an elected official to resign in the wake of losing reelection.

Stand down and wait until the new administration takes over.
It's not your place as a steward to settle grievances once they are filed.

 

[Buru]

That's completely irresponsible for your local to suggest such a thing and puts them in a position of considerable liability.
What a bush league move for an elected official to resign in the wake of losing reelection.

Stand down and wait until the new administration takes over.
It's not your place as a steward to settle grievances once they are filed.

Thank you.. Your advice has been helpful. This is probably my best option anyway.. I just have a lot of hourlys who looked forward to their christmas bonus.. Many had to cut back on their kids christmases.. Sad to see, but i will see to it that this manager is handled using propper procedure.

 

[PiedmontSteward]

I would like to add we are currently without a BA due to him resigning when he learned of election results.. He was no good anyway, and we will have a new one at the start of the year. I was given the go ahead during this period, to settle my own and other hourlys grievances with sort manager directly

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

I filed a ton of sups working grievances one peak when the Division Manager refused to work doubles. The BA (at the time) had recently lost the local election, decided to stop doing his job, and withdrew every grievance that he had open at his office.

The Division Manager thought it was a great time to threaten me and my job in front of my entire work area. I ended up getting voted in as a steward less than 6 months later.

I won't go into specific details, but I've burned through a few managers over the last several years via labor charges, stacks of grievances, and OSHA complaints when they've absolutely refused to work with me. It's amazing how stressed out a stack of grievances getting filed every week can make a manager who can't make his business plan. It's even more amazing how you can nudge someone on edge into making a mistake that can get them transferred/demoted/fired.

 

[22.34life]

Our ba allows us to settle all monetary grievances with the manager and the grievant.most managers will not settle at the center level however.there is no reason why a steward should not be allowed to do such.the ba has enough on his plate,if u have a manager who will settle and the grievant is willing then by all means get them paid.

 

[zero]

I usually settle my griviences in center with center manager. Usually get what I ask for. He doesn't like griviences to get out of building lol.

 

[Bubblehead]

Our ba allows us to settle all monetary grievances with the manager and the grievant.most managers will not settle at the center level however.there is no reason why a steward should not be allowed to do such.the ba has enough on his plate,if u have a manager who will settle and the grievant is willing then by all means get them paid.

If the managers are willing to settle for everything that is asked for in the claim, sure, I guess???....but I ain't doing it.

I don't see where a steward has the authority to sign off on any grievance?
If at some point a member has a problem with anything less than what was listed in the claim, the local could be subject to labor charges and liable for the difference.
Failure to represent.

The stewards opportunity to settle a "dispute", in my opinion, is before it is reduced to writing in the form of a grievance.
After that, we are certainly to be involved, but it is the responsibility of the BA to facilitate a final and binding resolution.

 

[Jackburton]

If the managers are willing to settle for everything that is asked for in the claim, sure, I guess???....but I ain't doing it.

I don't see where a steward has the authority to sign off on any grievance?
If at some point a member has a problem with anything less than what was listed in the claim, the local could be subject to labor charges and liable for the difference.
Failure to represent.

The stewards opportunity to settle a "dispute", in my opinion, is before it is reduced to writing in the form of a grievance.
After that, we are certainly to be involved, but it is the responsibility of the BA to facilitate a final and binding resolution.

Stewards don't perform Union duties as their main job, as a BA does. Stewards settling greivances is a slippery slope that, as you say, can leave the local open to liabilities.

 

[Nimnim]

Aside from a couple payroll issue grievances every grievance that would result in a check to me I've filed I ended up in the sort manager office with a steward and we discussed it. All were sup working grievances and they either said they'd pay it or would pull up some documentation to show the sup wasn't "picking off but doing a scan audit." Both achieved the desired result in the short term that the sups would stop doing the work and I'd get paid for the time they couldn't reasonably defend.

Had I really contested it sure it'd gone on past the steward to the BA and probably the Labor Manager, but if you can get simple grievances where the grievant is present and all is agreed upon why not. I'm sure the final paperwork is sent to be simply signed off by the BA and LM, but they don't have to waste the time they should be spending on contested issues when they can just sign off something that all the lower and direct parties agree upon.

Of course if a grievant isn't present because they weren't told of such a meeting and it gets decided upon by just the steward and a lower manager I can definitely see a problem. If you're informed of a meeting over your grievance within a reasonable timeframe and you don't go that's your problem if it doesn't go your way.

Edit: Any serious grievances that involve discipline including verbal up to termination should require the BA in my opinion. Verbal, the steward is present and those grievances are pretty standard to just get done, but the BA should be present for the hearings for at the very least to show we're not rolling over.