On Call 24/7 ???

[gostillerz]

I'm the bottom seniority reg/temp driver at my center. I call at 7am for driving, then at 4pm for reload.

Here's the past two days, but it happens often...

Call at 7 Monday morning. Not needed to drive, told to call back at 4. At 1pm, I get called about 5 times saying I'm to report at 2pm to make a pickup, then do reload. When I get the message, I call back at 3:30 to tell them that I just got it, but I'll be there at 5:45 for reload. Finish reload at 10:30pm.

Today I get a call at 3am for me to work preload but don't answer. Call at 7am, no work, but I need to be there at 5:45 for reload. Get called again twice at 1pm with their other line. No message.

This is freaking insane. If they need me to drive, tell me when I call. When they say I'm not needed, I do other work until I call back at 4. I can't be on-call 24 hours a day on a hope that I might drive for 2 hours, or that some preload guy might call off.

How do you guys think I should handle this? I was quiet about other stuff they pulled thinking they can make my life crap if I bitch, but they're doing it either way.

 

[over9five]

I've never heard of on-call. How much do they pay you for that? Is it in the contract?

They are taking advantage of you.

 

[Shifting Contents]

this doesn't make any sense. When I am laid off I report to preload at start time and say "I am here for my four hours." Go home, shower, nap, play with the kids, let them nap, give the wife a little pickle tickle, show up 1730 for local sort and say, "I am here for my four hours." When they need me to drive, they tell me, "Shave and report at 0910 tomorrow."

Some of the laid off guys have on occasion had to brown up and run a route after preload in emergencies. I myself have been called in to take over for people that have gone down from heat stroke, but on call is bs IF you are full time.

 

[UPSGUY72]

If your a driver then you should be either driving or laid off not on call. If your laid off depending on your rider you might be able to work either the preload or local sort or both. I would read your rider and also talk to a stewart.

You are being used and abused and letting management do it to you.

 

[gostillerz]

I'm not full time or laid off. My steward doesn't know, and I tried calling and e-mailing my local, but nobody has got back to me. I'd rather be laid off so I can actually have another job until I get enough seniority or volume picks up.

 

[thelus]

gostillerz here is how you handle it call in once a day if they dont need you, take the day and relax and go to kennywood. you only need to call in once and make a note of what time you call and who you called. stop playing management's games. you are in a union be proud of it if they harass you for only calling in once file for harassment. get a steward involved if things go bad. one last thing don't be afraid of management.

 

[TheKid]

If you are laid off....they have to tell you the night before...."don't show up tomorrow"....if they do not tell you not to show up....you show up for work and you are entitled to 8 hrs. work....we don't do ON CALL

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Hopefully someone can answer this for me--we have a driver who coaches our local American Legion baseball team. He is out of days but needed a day off last week for a tournament and 3 days this week so the company laid him off on those days only. Is this an appropriate use of the layoff policy? How does this differ from taking a dead day? This "special treatment" is beginning to cause resentment as others with days who have tried to get days off have been denied due to staffing issues.

 

[Jones]

Hopefully someone can answer this for me--we have a driver who coaches our local American Legion baseball team. He is out of days but needed a day off last week for a tournament and 3 days this week so the company laid him off on those days only. Is this an appropriate use of the layoff policy? How does this differ from taking a dead day? This "special treatment" is beginning to cause resentment as others with days who have tried to get days off have been denied due to staffing issues.

It's absolutely inappropriate. His time off is no more or less important than anyone else's, regardless of how he chooses to spend it. Under our supplement voluntary time off must be offered in seniority order so this situation wouldn't fly. Even if you don't have that language, if past practice has been to let people go home in seniority order when you have extra drivers then it's certainly grievable.