Is signing for a SALT a serious demeanor? (PT Loader)

(In case you don't want to read the long paragraph) In Short: Is signing a Service Test for a misloaded SALT normal? I have a hard time with confronting authority figures but in the future should I try to avoid signing, can refusing get me fired? Or is it not serious enough to begin with and just go with it?

Hi, I'm new to these forums so sorry if this seems too long or out of place or if it's been answered before! I tried browsing for answers beforehand but couldn't find anything online! I've been a PT loader for about a year now and had been moved to a new outbound about a few months ago. My original outbound is considered a cakewalk, (easy to manage, light packages, rarely any bulk) the supervisors there never even did SALT (s?) ((still not sure what exactly that stands for)) It took some adjusting to the new workload and ways but I'm starting deal with it a lot better. Recently they've started putting big emphasis on missorts and have been SALTing like crazy, I've done pretty good and have kept mine minimal for the most part except recently. In the past whenever there's been a missed SALT my new supervisors would give us a verbal warning (asking to be more careful, load slower, more SALTs) but recently I had a SALT misload happen and this other supervisor (I'm not sure what title they go by, but he basically oversees my supervisors and the whole outbound it seems?) made me sign this Service Test acknowledging the misorted SALT. I'm a bit of a pushover and probably should have asked more questions but I signed it anyway. Today it happened again only I had another person helping me since it was overflowing so there was no way of knowing who misloaded what. The same supervisor from before pulled me aside to sign even after I explained the situation and made it seem like it wasn't a big deal so I ended up signing anyway but now I feel like I made a stupid move and feel uncomfortable given I didn't agree or think it was fair. I'm not too familiar with the severity of misloads. I know about attendance and everything but I want to know if after a certain point, now that I have two failed service tests stacked up against me (with my initials) is there a limit to where I can get fired? Like three strikes I'm out kinda deal?

I appreciate any responses or input! thank you for taking the time to read regardless, hope you have a good day!
 

Feeder665

Go big or go home!
In my building they predominantly Salt the Hazmat responders and loaders to verify the Hazmats have been audited properly.

I’ve never heard of people being told to “sign” anything in regards to them other than Hazmat responders as that is an OSHA requirement.

So I guess the simple answer is no, they can’t do anything to you unless you’re a Hazmat responders, to which is sounds like you are not.
 
If you don't mind me asking, where would I be able to find out more information about this? I've heard about there being union representatives (stewards?) but I have no idea who they are or how to go about locating them on my location. I found out my local union number though, would calling them with questions like these be considered overkill? I don't want to cause a big stir by going to talk to a union representative, ideally I'd want to be upfront with my direct supervisors but from past experience they just tend to dodge any questions I raise and would prefer talking to someone else more reliable.

Sorry if I'm overthinking anything! My last job didn't tolerate any union talk so this whole thing is very unfamiliar to me. This winter I saw a supervisor try to fire my friend for not being able to come in during a serious snow storm where the majority of the people there couldn't show up either so witnissing that kind thing skewed my trust in the supervisors here and just don't want to be taken advantage of. Thank you for the response, I really appreciate it!
 

ihateloading

Active Member
PT sups will toss misloads in to the mix to make sure loafers are checking. If u miss the misloads, they have u sign you initial (or if u catch it). I’ve missed them and signed. Only when your dock/hub is having a serious misload issue will they make it a problem. Just tell them you didn’t have a zip code sheet in your trailer, works every time. :censored2: them. And if your sups are adamant on making you sign those papers, grieve their asses for :censored2: like loading any chance you get. :censored2: them. I had a sup who never wrote us up for missing SALTs. Just don’t make it a habit and he was cool.

But like I said, :censored2: them, but make sure you’re checking. Not for the sups, cause :censored2: THEM, but for the customer.
 
It is near impossible to get fired for performance, and misloads are a performance issue.


ahh, that's one of the biggest things I was worried about! I'll try to do better to avoid that situation and try to be more assertive if they approach me with that again. Thanks for the heads up, appreciate it!
 
PT sups will toss misloads in to the mix to make sure loafers are checking. If u miss the misloads, they have u sign you initial (or if u catch it). I’ve missed them and signed. Only when your dock/hub is having a serious misload issue will they make it a problem. Just tell them you didn’t have a zip code sheet in your trailer, works every time. :censored2: them. And if your sups are adamant on making you sign those papers, grieve their asses for :censored2: like loading any chance you get. :censored2: them. I had a sup who never wrote us up for missing SALTs. Just don’t make it a habit and he was cool.

But like I said, :censored2: them, but make sure you’re checking. Not for the sups, cause :censored2: THEM, but for the customer.

I've signed my initals before to those (if I've missed or caught any SALTs) in the past but I was worried with this specifically since this FT supervisor pulls me aside alone to sign with a different sheet I'm not familiar with. None of my PT Superviors know what it's about (or maybe they don't want to get involved?) or give me any information when I asked them directly. One went "Oh, I thought he got you for attendance" and had no idea what was going on either which is why it worried me. Thank you for your input!
 
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