ups fires man with colon cancer?

[pickup]

Just got out of the shower and was shaving, with the a news am radio station waiting to hear the weather . With the water running, my ears perked up at the word "ups" being mentioned. I turned off the water and turned up the volume.

the jist of the story was that a ups facility in uniondale (long island), ny fired a man (driver?, didn't pick up on that ) who is suffering from a bad case of colon cancer. UPS is claiming that they fired him for failure to attend an anger management class in relation to a bad encounter with a customer. Checked online including with the website of the radio station and found nothing. Anyone "out there on the island" know more?

 

[pickup]

heard the story again and paid better attention, the driver's last name is Mussina or Messina, and says that he was fired because of his cancer diagnosis. Messina says that ups claims he was fired because of "failure to attend anger management classes in relation to an on the job incident". He wants his job back as well as the back pay. UPS refused to comment on the story.


I used the guy's last name because if it was mentioned on the news, it is public knowledge.

 

[Catatonic]

Messina says that ups claims he was fired because of "failure to attend anger management classes in relation to an on the job incident".

Jim Messina - Angry Eyes

[video=youtube;oowuyzxgmtg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oowuyzxgmtg[/video]

version off the Live album "On Stage" is very, very good ... a medley with "Golden Ribbons".

 

[trickpony1]

Hoax-
after a tough day at the office do you roll a big fat doobie, sit in the recliner and listen to Loggins and Messina?

OH Wait........you aren't subject to DOT mandated, "random" drug testing.

I forgot.

 

[Catatonic]

Hoax-
after a tough day at the office do you roll a big fat doobie, sit in the recliner and listen to Loggins and Messina?

OH Wait........you aren't subject to DOT mandated, "random" drug testing.

I forgot.

Not subject to DOT but subject to UPS and the LAW.
However, in days past and maybe after I retire? and this would be one of those songs.

 

[terrymac]

I remember in the old days, a drug screen, was something to keep ashes out of your mouth................ great song, had to listen to it again............

 

[Babagounj]

Saw my doctor this week and he claims that my kidneys & liver are just fine.
Unlike popular wisdom that claim they both have been pickled.

 

[City Driver]

getting colon cancer is against the smith system rules, so yes, he should of been terminated long ago

 

[dannyboy]

LEmme state the obvious.

Driver gets into a heated/physical altercation with a customer. As part of the agreement to be able to keep his job, he has to attend anger management classes. He chooses not to go, so UPS fires him. That simple.

But since it just happens that he has cancer, that makes it so easy to spread the story about cruel UPS that got rid of him just because he has cancer.

How many times have we heard the same BS. UPS fired me because (you fill in the blank) only to finally get to the truth later on.

But it makes good press for the bum, who by now probably is begining to even believe his story himself.

d

 

[trplnkl]

LEmme state the obvious.

Driver gets into a heated/physical altercation with a customer. As part of the agreement to be able to keep his job, he has to attend anger management classes. He chooses not to go, so UPS fires him. That simple.

But since it just happens that he has cancer, that makes it so easy to spread the story about cruel UPS that got rid of him just because he has cancer.

How many times have we heard the same BS. UPS fired me because (you fill in the blank) only to finally get to the truth later on.

But it makes good press for the bum, who by now probably is begining to even believe his story himself.

d

Do you KNOW any of this to be fact and any other details or are you speculating on what you call the "obvious?
There could well be circumstances we don't know of why he didn't attend the anger management class, maybe not. I don't know, do you?

You know as well as every one else that UPS has "found" a reason to fire someone regardless of the real reason. How many times have you heard UPS give a reason to fire someone and when they get to panel they change the reason to another one they think will stick better?

Although it may be as you suggested, but do you have any facts?

 

[dannyboy]

TPL

Really, you have proof of someone getting a warning letter, then suspension and termination for one reason, then before the panel, they give another reason instead? I dont believe that is possible.

And you obviously are right, UPS is terminating him because of his cancer. That has to be the reason. And how long do you think that is going to hold up?

I guess there are people that will take every newscast at face value. I have learned though, that if it sounds to screwy to be true, then there is something else going on.

d

 

[raceanoncr]

Jim Messina - Angry Eyes

version off the Live album "On Stage" is very, very good ... a medley with "Golden Ribbons".

Jim Messina-formerly with:

Buffalo Springfield

Poco IMHO, one of the best country rock, rock, ballad bands there ever was. Why not? From Poco also came Timothy B. Schmid, current bass player for The Eagles.

 

[over9five]

Couldn't find the story. Anyone have a link?

 

[pickup]

Couldn't find the story. Anyone have a link?

All I can tell you is that I (the original poster) heard the news story(maybe 50 seconds long) on 1010 am wins radio (based out of new york) yesterday two times between 8 and 9 pm (east coast time). I went to their website and found that they have no references to the story. Sorry, I wish I can provide you a link, but I can't. but I bent over backwards especially on my second posting to present the story the way I heard it. This is all pretty much from the driver's perspective as ups refused to comment on the story.

In my first posting, I stated "due to a bad encounter with a customer" . Knowing that package drivers deal with many people throughout the day, I assumed (maybe rightfully so, maybe not) that it had something to do with a customer. My second posting had in quotes, in relation to an on the job incident. that snippet was pretty much verbatim what I picked up the second time around.

I report, you decide!


I suppose you can't successfully google a news story if it never was in print.

 

[chopstic]

Do you KNOW any of this to be fact and any other details or are you speculating on what you call the "obvious?
There could well be circumstances we don't know of why he didn't attend the anger management class, maybe not. I don't know, do you?

Well... this whole thread is mere speculation. No one has any solid facts yet. Are we not allowed to speculate now?

 

[soberups]

I am going to speculate that we are not hearing both sides of the story.

Firing an employee due to his/her having colon cancer would be a violation of the ADA -Americans with Disabilities Act.

I am quite sure that UPS is aware of this fact.

I am quite sure that UPS is a aware of the lawsuit they would be facing if they chose to violate this act.

So I agree with Dannyboy, I think the driver was fired for other reasons and is using his cancer to gain sympathy.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope that the driver (a) can beat the cancer (b) can get his job back and (c) can resolve whatever anger issues caused him to get terminated in the first place.

 

[trplnkl]

TPL

Really, you have proof of someone getting a warning letter, then suspension and termination for one reason, then before the panel, they give another reason instead? I dont believe that is possible.

Other than what I actually saw (and was somewhat involved in) happen, no I do not have "proof".
Two people I worked with were terminated for "job abandonment" (the reason given at time of termination and I was one of two witnesses), when they got to panel the company claimed they "resigned" their positions. When asked for proof of said resignation, the company changed back to " abandonment". According to the BA, the company did the switch back and forth all the way up to arbitration, at which point the company offered a deal rather than see the Arbitrator(because neither accusation was true). They both received almost a years back pay, reinstatement of full benefits and got credit for that year for pension.

And you obviously are right, UPS is terminating him because of his cancer. That has to be the reason. And how long do you think that is going to hold up?
I never said that. I simply asked you if you KNEW if this was not as the man is claiming? I did allude to the fact that I knew, and really figured that you also knew, that UPS is very capable of not being 100% honest. Sometimes they would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than stand on the ground with the truth.

I guess there are people that will take every newscast at face value. I have learned though, that if it sounds to screwy to be true, then there is something else going on.
And I guess there are people that really hate having their "judgment" on anything questioned.

d

You still didn't answer my question. Do you KNOW anything about this situation or are you just speculating?

 

[trplnkl]

Well... this whole thread is mere speculation. No one has any solid facts yet. Are we not allowed to speculate now?

I don't have a problem at all with speculation, but one should state that is what they are doing not post it as fact.

 

[trplnkl]

I am going to speculate that we are not hearing both sides of the story.

Firing an employee due to his/her having colon cancer would be a violation of the ADA -Americans with Disabilities Act.

I am quite sure that UPS is aware of this fact.

I am quite sure that UPS is a aware of the lawsuit they would be facing if they chose to violate this act.

So I agree with Dannyboy, I think the driver was fired for other reasons and is using his cancer to gain sympathy.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope that the driver (a) can beat the cancer (b) can get his job back and (c) can resolve whatever anger issues caused him to get terminated in the first place.

I agree with you last paragraph. If this were all happening to me ans the driver, taking care of (a) would go a long way in fixing (c).

Tell me Sober, have you ever seen UPS use a alternative excuse to terminate (whether it would stick or not) a union member for something other than their true reason for wanting them gone?
We had a center manager that would set most of the day reviewing a drivers records looking for something, anything, he could use to terminate them, just because they made the center manager mad. Hell, that center manager even bragged that he was so good at finding things on the computer that no one should dare to piss him off.

 

[soberups]

I agree with you last paragraph. If this were all happening to me ans the driver, taking care of (a) would go a long way in fixing (c).

Tell me Sober, have you ever seen UPS use a alternative excuse to terminate (whether it would stick or not) a union member for something other than their true reason for wanting them gone?
.

I have seen them try. I have not seen them succeed.

My local union (162) has excellent BA's and an active and involved workforce. The Secretary-Treasurer of our local was a 25 yr package driver and has been involved in all of the Western Conference and Joint Council contract negotiations. He knows his sh%$ and only hires BA's who also know their sh%$.

I can truthfully say that, in every case that I am aware of where an employee termination was upheld, the employee really did deserve to lose his/her job.

In my 22 years, I have yet to see a successful termination that was not justified.