Being pushed to resign

Fishbulb

Well-Known Member
If any of you have read my other threads you're already aware of my on going battle with Liberty Mutual. herniated a disc, they sent me to quack doctors who gave me anti-inflammatory pills, cortizone shots & phys therapy. All of which did nothing. finally had surgery, was told it was a 95% success rate. got better for awhile, then started having muscle spasms down my left leg to the point where I couldnt walk. Did another 6 months in phys therapy. Felt much better but still had some pain in my left calf right where the sciatic nerve is. Doc told me that I may need to start looking for another career & sent me back to work, full duty. Put in 4 days, came in on a Weds & asked if I could bump one of the rookies who was gonna go home anyway so I could sit on the heating pad & relax & stretch all day cause my left leg was feeling sore. woke up Thurs & couldnt walk or make a bowel movement, called it in & they referred me back to Liberty. Liberty sent me to a neurosurgeon for a 2nd opinion, he wants another MRI done because the 3 I had for him werent visible enough for him. He then told me that manual labor may not be for me & that depending on what the MRI shows I'll either be going for surgery again or I'll have to deal with the pain for the rest of my life with medications. Callled my lawyer directly afterwards & gave him the scoop & explained to him that if they think they can push me out of UPS I have every intention of fighting them to the bloody friend'ing death over it. I'm your typical UPS driver, some days I love my job & other days I hate it but I wouldnt trade it for the world because there is no better place to be for a blue collar schlub like myself with no college education. My lawyer seems to think they can put me in a light-duty position if it comes down to it. I told him I think he's wrong due to the union & seniority & bid rules. So my question is: if I'm disqualyfied from work by the doctors & I'm out of a job comepletely?
 

drewed

Shankman
Thats a toughy, since UPS doesnt really have any "light duty" duty jobs, Ive always seen it your a 100% or you need to find another job....you could be a clerk BUT it would be hard to keep your rate
 

Mike Hawk

Well-Known Member
SPA is pretty gravy, as long as you have someone to face the boxes there is very little work involved, if there is no facer then you get to flip over 100 lbs boxes to find the label, with 3 more face down boxes stacked on top of it. Small sort also, although I don't know much about that, we don't have one on the preload. DECAP i guess it's called is also pretty gravy, although you sometimes have to handle large/heavy boxes. You are probably on rollers though so you just have to push/pull, not a lot of lifting.
 

Hawaii50

Well-Known Member
If you read the new contract. Somewhere it states, if you are driver and a doctor declares you medically unfit to drive, you have the right to bump a 22.3 employee and take that position.
 

drewed

Shankman
If you read the new contract. Somewhere it stats, if you are driver and a doctor declares you medically unfit to drive, you have the right to bump a 22.3 employee and take that position.

the new contract in many cases isnt in affect yet, and im pretty sure the company would want to grandfather things like this in....
 

Fnix

Well-Known Member
You could SPA. Most of the SPA people in my building are women and people with back problems. Your unloader will do all the lifting for you or assist you if you need it. You could also do data aquasition.
 
L

Load Stand

Guest
There are no gaurantees for anyone when something like this happens...you can inquire with HR, but UPS and all employers are not obligated to provide you a permanent light duty job...your best bet if you want to keep working is to get released and bid into something easier as described above...

Medically, would surgery help or not? If you have nerve involvement confirmed by EMGs you would think a little surgery to shave that disc would help you..happens periodically and people return to their jobs...your case is surely not that unique? Did you have EMGs or nerve conduction studies done to confirm your complaints?
 
L

Load Stand

Guest
Sorry, had to re-read your post..I see you already had surgery...they may or may not want to go in again...this too happens, and sometimes you will have to live with it and avoid a heavy Labor job...you can take my advice previously about calling HR, but there are no gaurantees...as there are no gaurantees you would continue to work for us if this did not happen...

If you cannot somehow manage to get an easier job at UPS that a doctor would agree that you can do, you should have an option to settle your comp claim and pursue a different line of work...again, this happens occasionally....most states have a comp law in which you could probably get good size settlement if you were FT, but you will still need to pursue gainful employment in a less laborious job, preferably with benefits...you can ask for help in Vocational training from Liberty Mutual or ask them to account for the costs of such in your settlement, if you would pursue that on your own after you settle. I know it is upsetting, first goal shoudl be to get released if they are not going to have surgery, and bid on an easier job if you have the whiskers..if not, for your own health, it is best that you move on to an easier line of work.
 
W

westsideworma

Guest
the new contract in many cases isnt in affect yet, and im pretty sure the company would want to grandfather things like this in....

I have been told the only thing not in effect yet are the economics...everything else (opt in/opt out list for OT and such) went into effect the day it was approved or soon after.
 

drewed

Shankman
I have been told the only thing not in effect yet are the economics...everything else (opt in/opt out list for OT and such) went into effect the day it was approved or soon after.

Well I was pretty much told the same thing except it went live Jan 1 but Ive seen some people try to use the old contract for diff things (both management and union) so i dunno we re just a week a way anyways......

my thoughts are this still happened sometime last yr??? and theyll grandfaher it into the old contract
 

mattwtrs

Retired Senior Member
I've known quite a few drivers that were bought out by the company when they couldn't perform their regular job. The smart ones had UPS pay for their schooling to get them started in a new career. The not so bright ones wasted the opportunity to get on with life & spent the lump sum in a hurry.
 
B

Brown and Down

Guest
Hope you have a good lawyer. Early retirement,disability and workers comp. If UPS is the cause of your injury make them pony up. It could take a long time but I know of a few guys that got their pensions a few years early and were also entitled to comp or disability. I have even heard of a few guys getting all three. I would rather work and finish my 25-30 years and then move on but you gotta do what you gotta do........ Good Luck
 

Fishbulb

Well-Known Member
I've already gone through surgery, discectomy on the L5/S1. Went through the EMG, showed no nerve damage. The neurosurgeon Liberty has sent me to wants more MRI's done first before he decides whether to operate again or not. My lawyer is in contact with me at least once a week & he's getting together with his partner who handles these types of scenarios. I think he was like a employee discrimination specialist or something to that effect. I saw in the new contract, Article 20 I believe where it stated I could bump a 22.3 person. I could live with taking a pay cut, I'm a humble guy & I just want to pay my bills & support myself & my family. I worked in the sort aisle before driving & done misc. other jobs so I'm familiar with doing DCAP & smalls sort & a little clerk work. I would love to keep driving, I know we all complain about it alot but to me being out in the fresh air without a boss breathing down your neck every second is a pretty sweet deal. I wasnt aware of having Liberty pay for schooling if it came down to me losing my job, I'll have to discuss that with the lawyer. Thanks for the info, I've got some more research to do apparently.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
That is why I enjoy coming to this forum. There is always something new, or perhaps a different perspective on a subject that I may not have thought of, that I can learn while here. I try to ignore the bickering, the banal input from certain members, and the other distractions to get to the heart of the discussion.

As I understand, the new contract, except for the economics, is in place.
 

drewed

Shankman
That is why I enjoy coming to this forum. There is always something new, or perhaps a different perspective on a subject that I may not have thought of, that I can learn while here. I try to ignore the bickering, the banal input from certain members, and the other distractions to get to the heart of the discussion.

As I understand, the new contract, except for the economics, is in place.

Well would he grandfathered into the old contract, if this happened last year?
 

tieguy

Banned
I've already gone through surgery, discectomy on the L5/S1. Went through the EMG, showed no nerve damage. The neurosurgeon Liberty has sent me to wants more MRI's done first before he decides whether to operate again or not. My lawyer is in contact with me at least once a week & he's getting together with his partner who handles these types of scenarios. I think he was like a employee discrimination specialist or something to that effect. I saw in the new contract, Article 20 I believe where it stated I could bump a 22.3 person. I could live with taking a pay cut, I'm a humble guy & I just want to pay my bills & support myself & my family. I worked in the sort aisle before driving & done misc. other jobs so I'm familiar with doing DCAP & smalls sort & a little clerk work. I would love to keep driving, I know we all complain about it alot but to me being out in the fresh air without a boss breathing down your neck every second is a pretty sweet deal. I wasnt aware of having Liberty pay for schooling if it came down to me losing my job, I'll have to discuss that with the lawyer. Thanks for the info, I've got some more research to do apparently.

When your case gets to where you're at then it should be turned over to the lawyers. There are some cases where your union reps can negotiate to get you into a job position that you can handle. There are times when contractual language can help you and times it does not. If that does not work out then the laywer working the best deal available is probably the best option. In either case let me be the one to thank you for your contribution and to say that I am sorry that we were not able to find a better fit for you.
 
L

L5s1 too

Guest
I had the same surgery a few years ago. The surgery was a great success. I had a great surgeon. But, after going thru therapy my low back muscles would still go crazy and pull me so crooked it wasn't even funny. I thought man, how am I going to be able to do this. I don't know how long before you had surgery, but after my initial injury I was on the table a month later having microdisectomy. It happend at home but I know it was from job but didn't even bother. My surgeon said I was better off than dealing with workmans comp. I was back to work 4 weeks after surgery. My long point is you might have more nerve damage than I. My calf muslce still twitches a lot, I think from nerve damage to nerve, But it doesn't hurt. Ok after rambling here it goes.

You need to find someone who practices applied Kinesiology or a applied Kinesiologist. After seeing one He helped my low back muscles incredibly. I would see him about every couple weeks. They deal in muscle's and can identify muscle's that are not working properly and screwing your whole body up. After a couple years, I see him maybe every 3 months and I am like PAIN FREE! It's incredible. He's a bit of a fruit loop but he know's what he is doing.
 

Fishbulb

Well-Known Member
i'll have to look into kinesiology, never heard of it but what you're describing is pretty much my main problem. My lower back where they did the surgery isnt terribly painful, a little sore if I stay in one position too long. My main problem is the muscle spasms in my upper left thigh, I can feel them twitching & compressing on the nerve. I've been to a chiro & the adjustments didn't help at all, they actually made it feel worse. Howerver he did do something called accupressure where he would basically drive him thumb into a certain muscle & make me do extensions & that seemed to help alot. I'm just shocked & amazed that these worker comp docs are pretty much telling me I'm gonna be a cripple at the age of 31.
 

Braveheart

Well-Known Member
New contract has a provision I do not like. When the Doc says you are at MMI UPS can cut ou loose. Get a contract book to your lawyer. Every state is different. My state sucks. People heal at different speeds. I know that some people started in talks at $5,000 and gave up at $50,000 thinking they got 10 times what they started at.

That is what they want you to think. I also know a driver who got to like $75,000. Another that got over $100,000.

None of these amounts are worth a damn. Just do not settle for a small amount.

You have to think outside the box. Medical for you and your family, pension contributions, medical for your injury. If you were real close to retirenment I would push for advance contributions to get you to 25 or 30 years.

We had a guy who did that due to career ending due to UPS.

Drivers think running scratch is all that matters. They should talk to all those who are in pain the rest of their lives.
 
A

Aggravated Also

Guest
Dont let the company force you out of a job because of an injury! You have rights just like everyone else who works for this company which only care about numbers and packages! We are all grunts doing this tough work and getting alot of grief in the process!!!!!! Keep fighting for your rights to work and by all means never let them dictate what you need to do for your well being!!!!!!
 
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