can't be a steward?

[ogrelord]

last night i come walking back from break to hear pcm and my sup. ask if anyone want to be the union steward for the reload? so i chimed in "i would love to do it." she told me there is no way that i could be the steward and that i was bias againt the sups. i don't think i'm bias, it's just that things are done wrong and i speak up..

my question is, does my evening sup have a right to tell me that i can not be the steward? (it's only been 4 years since the last steward)

 

[brett636]

last night i come walking back from break to hear pcm and my sup. ask if anyone want to be the union steward for the reload? so i chimed in "i would love to do it." she told me there is no way that i could be the steward and that i was bias againt the sups. i don't think i'm bias, it's just that things are done wrong and i speak up..

my question is, does my evening sup have a right to tell me that i can not be the steward? (it's only been 4 years since the last steward)

Your supervisor has no say in who is steward. If management could control who is a union steward then they would look for the biggest brown noser they could find and appoint them as union steward. Union stewards are supposed to be voted on, but in my local they just get appointed by the BA.

 

[scratch]

Your Shop Steward should always be voted on by the hourly employees, that is who they represent. Your Supervisor or Manager has no say in the matter. If you want to be Shop Steward, talk to your fellow employees and have them vote you in. You should talk to other Stewards and the Local's Business Agent and see exactly what you are getting into, it is sometimes a thankless job. It takes a certain type of person who will stand up and enforce the Contract effectively.

 

[ogrelord]

ok i'm trying to understand the voting part. is this something that my local needs to take care of, or can we start the ball rolling by making up are own ballots for the shift?

 

[30andout]

The center that I am in we just did a show of hands for who ever wanted the job.

 

[Channahon]

You should contact your local Business Agent and share your desire to be the steward. I would not get the ball rolling at UPS on the clock making ballots. You may be starting off on the wrong foot with UPS management and the Union.

 

[local804]

The Business agent will conduct the vote with everyone before the start of your shift. Usually Stewards are only elected April-May ( for what reason I have no clue) Get in touch with the BA to let him know you are interested and take it from there.

 

[ogrelord]

contact my BA that's funny. i bet in the last 3 years i've called my BA at least 10 times and he's never called me back once. we'll see how he answer this weekend when i show up at the union meeting this weekend, there's no voice mail when your standing face to face...

ps. thanks for your help guys/dolls

 

[local804]

I have no idea why he wouldnt call you back. Every single time I ever called the Union hall I get a phone call back within 24 hours. Did you confront him when you see him why he didnt call you back? Lets be serious please....

 

[raceanoncr]

contact my BA that's funny. i bet in the last 3 years i've called my BA at least 10 times and he's never called me back once. we'll see how he answer this weekend when i show up at the union meeting this weekend, there's no voice mail when your standing face to face...

ps. thanks for your help guys/dolls

Ogre, I've had to contact my steward or BA several times in the last couple yrs. Both have ALWAYS called back, met me at the building, wrote me...whatever it took. You know why? Cuz, we held their feet to the fire!

We made em answer to our questions! And you know what? My win-loss grievance ratio is now 9/10 with 10 being withdrawn for the time being.

 

[ogrelord]

not jokeing about it at all... we are the forgotten shift. by that i mean they hire these kids still in school who would rather keep there 5 dollars in there pocket then be in the union ( i'm in a right to work state). so on the reload i would bet maybe half is in the union. i remeber my frist day my steward came up introduced themselves to me, let me know they were my steward so on and so on. well we haven't had a steward in four years so these kids would see the money comming out of there checks and not know who the union was and they would drop out. i see my BA once a year when they hand us a free hot dog and a soda, funny how they want there drive money at the same time. i know i might sound like some one who hates the union, but that not the case. i just want fair and equal treatment. the preload has a steward and the drives have 3. i just can't understand why the reload can't have one.

 

[Channahon]

last night i come walking back from break to hear pcm and my sup. ask if anyone want to be the union steward for the reload? so i chimed in "i would love to do it." she told me there is no way that i could be the steward and that i was bias againt the sups. i don't think i'm bias, it's just that things are done wrong and i speak up..

my question is, does my evening sup have a right to tell me that i can not be the steward? (it's only been 4 years since the last steward)

Sounds to me like that's why the PCM was given to your group. Pursue your intention and good luck at the meeting. Face to face conversations go much better than phone or voice mail. You'll know if have the BA's attention.

 

[over9five]

If the company says there is no way you could be the steward, THEN YOU ARE THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB.

Thanks for stepping up!

 

[mattwtrs]

Why would the issue of shop steward be the topic of a PCM? I know our management team has never cared who the stewards were and I know it's a thank less job, been there & done it. As over9five says you just night be the right man for the job!

 

[ogrelord]

well after traveling to the union hall this weekend, i got to talk to my BA and he made it clear to me that they're not going to put a steward on my shift. the reasons they gave me were there are already 3 driver stewards. If you guys can think of anything else i can do over this i'd be happy to hear them..

 

[Channahon]

last night i come walking back from break to hear pcm and my sup. ask if anyone want to be the union steward for the reload? so i chimed in "i would love to do it." she told me there is no way that i could be the steward and that i was bias againt the sups. i don't think i'm bias, it's just that things are done wrong and i speak up..

my question is, does my evening sup have a right to tell me that i can not be the steward? (it's only been 4 years since the last steward)

Ask your supervisor or business manager why the PCM was given on your shift?
I can't speak from the union side, but just about every operation I had there was a steward for each shift, be it package or hub.

 

[ogrelord]

i know why, my center dosen't want to pay the drivers overtime to do union stuff.

 

[gandydancer]

well after traveling to the union hall this weekend, i got to talk to my BA and he made it clear to me that they're not going to put a steward on my shift. the reasons they gave me were there are already 3 driver stewards. If you guys can think of anything else i can do over this i'd be happy to hear them..

wtf! You need a new BA. Why SHOULD anyone on your shift join the union if they can't get Article 4 representation when they need it? Anyway, I can see why your management might want to have a steward -- "When requested by the Union or the employee, there shall be a steward present whenever the Employer meets with an employee concerning grievances or discipline or investigators interviews. In such cases, the meeting shall not be continued until the steward or alternate steward is present." So the only thing they can do on your shift is send letters? (Of course, the guys on your shift probably don't know their rights, either.)

The contract has provision for "alternate stewards". Maybe you can get your BA to name you that, if he's limited in the number of stewards he can name. Or maybe you need to start looking into a "failure to represent" complaint... Refusing to elect or name a steward for a shift is absurd.

 

[ogrelord]

ok maybe some one out there can point out that other centers are running with out a steward on certian shifts. because i'm running into a wall when i talk to my union hall.
if this is a case of failure to represent, who would i need to speak to? Fair and equal treatment, my foot. i've tried to be civil of this but it's getting me no where. I'd be glad to listen to any tips you all can offer me.

thanks, robert

 

[Fredless]

I sent you a PM ogrelord and since we're so close (in relativity) maybe we can combine our efforts and take this **** from Tampa and Orlando to Jacksonville (if they're having problems there as well) and I'm damn well ready to raise hell if I can get enough part timers to back me at the Joint Council if I have to.

However, I simply went around my hub asking the part timers about the 22.3's, about the clean in clean our procedures and everyone I talked to felt the same way I did but a few had that apathetic "somebody ought to do something" and I answered "thats what I'M trying to do. I'm sick of being treated unfairly" Apparantly quite a few part timers in my building talked to the head steward and called the Business Agent and asked for me to instated as a steward. This was NOT my intention at all, but if they come to me about it, I will gladly accept as it will be easy for me to get in contact with higher-ups in the Union and get part timers into the union who may have never been asked! I can't tell you the last time I saw anyone in the reload besides our 1 steward even have a face put on the local!