Next sick day I will be suspended?

LongIslandNewbie

Well-Known Member
I am a driver, started 07/16, made book 01/17. I called in sick yesterday. Previous to this I used 2 sick days earlier this month per my managers direction when I was bumped from OPD days. I used 1 sick day in February for a stomach bug. Today I get called in and get a letter for 47 lates? I have NEVER been late. I am at least a half hour early every day. Apparently if I get bumped from a route i need to re-clock in even though i already clocked in on the 1st route? Didn't know that anyway, didn't have my shop steward in there who is an ass anyway, there was a safety guy in there.

So I say to manager oh this is because of yesterday isn't it. He said well yeah i had 6 guys out yesterday. I am pissed off. I do not abuse time. I am early. I have been told i got letters before and never got them in the mail will I actually see a copy of this? How do I fight this from going on my record. Additionally he said if I use another sick day they will suspend me. So they give me days and then tell me I cant use them? But I cant schedule an OPD day cause I get bumped due to seniority? Does this make any Sense?
 

Daf

Well-Known Member
Warning letters need to be presented with a steward present. Grieve. Any interview that is leading to discipline has to have a steward present, and they cannot say you declined a steward unless you sign a waiver and give it to the steward.
 

SaladTosser

Kill me now
I'm not sure if this is country wide but for us to be suspended for sick calls, we'd need to have at least 8 separate occasions in a 9 month span
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
If you punch in on one DIAD and are bumped from that route you do have to either punch in on that route's DIAD or change the personal info if that board has already been punched in.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
You should ask your supe for the documentation on those 47 lates. Then file a grievance for back pay. If you clocked in on a board and someone bumped you and you did not punch in on that board till after start time, that is not a late, that is a clerical error. You should get paid for all those lates. 47 times could easily add up to a couple of hours.

Do it.
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
From this point on, keep better track of your hours. You should have noticed your check was short 47 times....

I realize it was probably only a matter of minutes, but it's easy to track your hours to the hundredths. I do.
 

LongIslandNewbie

Well-Known Member
I am not even arguing the fact that I am missing 10 minutes here and there. I am more concerned that it appears i was late so often. I am actually very anal with punctuality. Coming from a management background it was always a pet peeve of mine. I am at least 15 minutes early at all time. It makes my wife nuts.

On the sick calls, I have not called out 8 separate times. Where do I find Local 804 contract info to read up on this?
 

Ms.PacMan

Well-Known Member
You should ask your supe for the documentation on those 47 lates. Then file a grievance for back pay. If you clocked in on a board and someone bumped you and you did not punch in on that board till after start time, that is not a late, that is a clerical error. You should get paid for all those lates. 47 times could easily add up to a couple of hours.

Do it.
This, this, this!

I would grieve the letter and the pay in the same grievance and let them dig up the documentation for the local level hearing.

Push back or you will become a target all the time. I cannot stress this enough.
 

Indecisi0n

Well-Known Member
I am not even arguing the fact that I am missing 10 minutes here and there. I am more concerned that it appears i was late so often. I am actually very anal with punctuality. Coming from a management background it was always a pet peeve of mine. I am at least 15 minutes early at all time. It makes my wife nuts.

On the sick calls, I have not called out 8 separate times. Where do I find Local 804 contract info to read up on this?
How anal?
 

Ghost in the Darkness

Well-Known Member
Take being on time very seriously, I know technically you were on time but make it your priority because nobody else is going to. That means when switching routes or the occasional diad didn't upload because someone wasn't doing their job... thats your problem the only way it gets fixed is if you stay on top of it. Hound them until its fixed... let them show you. Double check, use time card viewer.... don't trust them when they say they will take care of it. MAKE SURE!!!
 

Cementups

Box Monkey
If you were on time but had to change DIADs because someone bumped you (which I would argue because the driver waited until after start time to bump you), you should communicate this to your nighttime OMS who does the timecards so they can properly adjust your timecard to reflect that you were indeed there on time. Not only are you showing up late but you are losing money because of having to punch in on a new board at a later time.
 

JustAnotherSup

Active Member
If you were on time but had to change DIADs because someone bumped you (which I would argue because the driver waited until after start time to bump you), you should communicate this to your nighttime OMS who does the timecards so they can properly adjust your timecard to reflect that you were indeed there on time. Not only are you showing up late but you are losing money because of having to punch in on a new board at a later time.

This. Always communicate anything that could even potentially be an issue.

The best way to communicate potential timecard issues with an evening OMS is to tell them verbally, and also write it down on a piece of paper. The evening OMS should already have such a paper available for their drivers, should strikethrough what is written once it has been handled, and should file it nightly into a binder. This is invaluable for when timecard audits occur.

However, if OP is having this issue, it means their evening OMS is not terribly competent when it comes to timecards. This is an issue that shouldn't ever occur, even if it is never specifically communicated to the OMS. OP punched into a board at a certain time. OP then either punched into another board (which would create a merge error, and the OMS would need to merge those cards if one driver did all the work, or delete one and manually enter all of the information for another driver... in the first case, report time = earliest time; in the second case, earliest report time must necessarily belong to OP and second card should be changed to reflect that... in either case, OMS can figure out who did the work via dispatch sheet and name on ODSe), or OP got a board from another driver that was already punched in (which wouldn't lead to OP being counted as late, unless the OMS who is deleting the cards assigned to the "wrong" driver and manually reentering them for the right driver... in which case, the report times from both boards need to stay with the original driver who punched in... because that's literally what the report time represents).
 

35years

Gravy route
No error will show up for the OMS to correct if he punches in on one board, then hands it to 2nd driver who enters his own info.

Then the OP grabs a DIAD loaded for the 2nd route after being bumped.
He then punches in and enters his own name and ID but it is after start time at this point.

Being a newbie driver no one probably told him he should be telling the evening OMS to change the punch in time on the 2nd DIAD. Management "overlooks" the supposed, repeated late punches because they get free labor.

Then the jerk center manager who is shorting him hours sees the supposed late punch-ins and tries to nail the driver even though he knows full well the driver is on time. This in retribution for a call in.

center manager is taking advantage of the driver. He must now stand up for himself or the jerk center manager will continue. And they wonder why drivers get a confrontational attitude.
 

JustAnotherSup

Active Member
The timecard will still populate on GTS under OP's name, as that's the ID number that was entered into the board when it was punched in. It doesn't matter what the second driver who gets the board changes. We have two drivers who have the AM OMS burn a new board for them to punch in on in situations like this, because they've been burned by a PM OMS who isn't paying attention before (attributing the work to a guy who just punched in... then went home, because that's how it populated in GTS).

Management generally doesn't care if drivers are a little bit late, so long as it doesn't impact the operation and doesn't make them look bad to anyone they deem important. I wouldn't attribute this to them knowing that OP was actually there early, and conspiring / looking the other way in order to short OP hours. A more reasonable explanation is the center manager is upset OP called in sick BECAUSE it negatively impacted the operation, and already has a view of an OP as a punctuality-challenged driver due to all of the late reports that were overlooked. And in response to this, they decided OP is a problem driver and needs discipline in order to shape up and not negatively impact the operation again. Could it be exactly as you describe it? Possibly, but it's not the most likely explanation, because it requires the center manager to have a better idea of what's going on than they probably do, as well as being petulant and unethical. Instead, not being fully aware of what's going on with respect to trivially-late reports and only caring about a driver with attendance issues when that behavior adversely impacts the operation or makes them look bad is pretty typical.
 
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