Does seniority count?

[temporaryupser]

I'm a part-time package handler and in my hub we are sent to help on the belts after the sort, however lately I've been getting sent home while lower seniority or seasonal workers are being kept for longer hours. Today when i talked to management i was told seniority had nothing to do with who was picked to stay but my union steward and some of the guys with higher seniority said i have the right to work who is correct?

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I'm a part-time package handler and in my hub we are sent to help on the belts after the sort, however lately I've been getting sent home while lower seniority or seasonal workers are being kept for longer hours. Today when i talked to management i was told seniority had nothing to do with who was picked to stay but my union steward and some of the guys with higher seniority said i have the right to work who is correct?

Yes, if you are in an area, and a seasonal or less seniority person is going to help others while you are sent home, you should fight this.

 

[tieguy]

common question.

requires more detail.

what is your normal job assignment what is the job of the junior person staying.

would your staying end up being overtime for you while the junior person is still on straight time?

If jobs and start times are the same then senior man has the rights.

 

[temporaryupser]

Thanks I thought i had the right to the job and management was just trying to double talk to save money. I have a new question though if a person of higher seniority wants to leave after their required job is the finished are they allowed to or would this be job abandonment? For example if a person in the unload area wants to go home after the sort do they have the option of leaving if there are enough people with lower seniority who wish to stay and finish the additional work?

 

[cachsux]

Thanks I thought i had the right to the job and management was just trying to double talk to save money. I have a new question though if a person of higher seniority wants to leave after their required job is the finished are they allowed to or would this be job abandonment?

One,never leave without managments knowledge and/or ok.

For example if a person in the unload area wants to go home after the sort do they have the option of leaving if there are enough people with lower seniority who wish to stay and finish the additional work?

While generally higher seniority people usually are the ones who want to stay your seniority does prevail in this instance also. Let your sup know you would like to leave when possible. If they say we need "job" to get done first say ok and tell him you would like to be the first to go home (seniority eligible).

 

[evilleace]

Seniority does count but only if you hold management accountable because they do not care about seniority I has this situation last week. With management being lazy.

 

[UPS Lifer]

The key word in every post is seniority. Have you reached seniority? If not you may have a hard time with this.

There are also ways around keeping you by staggering shifts. For example, you may start at 4 PM and you work your guarantee plus 15 minutes... a less senior employee starts one hour later and works the guarantee and goes home. If that employee works less than you you have no case.

Two areas to follow up on...
1. Are you a senior employee?
2. Are you working more hours than those who have less seniority than you?

If less senior employees are getting more time than you take your shop steward to your manager and tell him to make it right or you will file a grievance for the time you lost.

 

[temporaryupser]

Thanks again for your responses. I've worked at ups for a yr and a 1/2 so i knew i had seniority on guys that had been working 7mths or less i filed a grievance before i left work Friday but i just wanted to be prepared for any bs management would try to sling my way. The only reason I asked if higher seniority people had the option of leaving was because there where a couple of people with higher senority that were semi-forced into staying even though there were others willing to take their spot.

Also I think someone wanted more details so i'll describe the whole event. My clock in time as well as everyone elses in the unload area was 2:55. After the sort went down I overheard atleast 5 lower senoirity/seasonal workers being assgined addtional work on the belts,but when i asked where i was going i was told home. I asked for an explaination I was told they needed a certain lower seniority employee when i asked why they needed him I was told by my imediate supervisor to ask the maneger so i did. The maneger told me senoirity had nothing to do with the process and that the employee had more experience on that particular belt I knew that was bs because i'd worked that belt since i started and did everything but supervise it after telling the maneger this we went to the belt to see what the employee was actually doing which was an add/cut. I've also worked as a preloader something the other employee had never done so that wouldn't have been a problem. After he saw the employee was only doing an add/cut he said he'd just send us all home because he didn't need that many people on the belt. Even though every loader on the belt was heavly stacked out and there was still plenty of work on the belt to be done by atleast two people the manger left the belt with absolutely no help and walked us to the clock and watched us clock out. Anyway me and the other employee sat in the break room for about an hour venting and making plans for the friday night when another unload employee walked in talking about how beat he was. Apparently the guy had been working on a different belt even though he only started working at ups 7mths ago thats when I failed my grevience.

 

[kingOFchester]

From what I have observed...
Some buildings (management) do follow the contract. Probably because the hourly's are more educated on the contract and make sure management adheres to the contract.
In my building I think it may be a little more sporadic. I know 4 hourly’s that have signed all bids for driving since they came to UPS.
Subject A) 1 year 1 month went to driving school.
Subject B) 1 year 2 months still waiting to be called.
Subject C) 6 months went to driving school.
Subject D) 3 years before driving school.
Now, I may not have all the facts....such as perhaps some were not eligible.