Thank you all for your replies. This has been a rollercoaster ordeal to say the least.....
On Monday when he went in they had his name moved up above the other tcd's to the bottom of full time. But they had him scheduled off to talk to the union steward. The steward told him that yes he was classified wrong be/c temp cover drivers aren't hired off the street so he should have been full time from the start. He said they were still working through the kinks but to be in Tuesday morning to work be/c his position wouldn't change. Well yesterday morning his name was still on fulltime and he had a route to do, but some of the other tcd's were off be/c they were going to the union about it. They were pissed. Well this morning they tell him that they're going over all of it again and they'd let him know. So while he's out on his route today his sup calls and tells him that it was all a mistake and he needs to report to preload in the morning, and now he's NOT full time.
I just don't understand how they can do this. He hired on from the street 2 years ago and went straight to driving. I don't see how it can be fair that they do this to him. Because now we're going to lose a lot. Probably our house. And no one can even give us a reason why. His sup couldn't tell him what his classification was, what his position was or anything. She said she was just the messenger. I understand where the other driver's were coming from. I completely understand why they would have been mad. But does that make it okay to put my husband through all of this? Yes you're full time, no you're not. It's cruel! Is there anything at all we can do? I feel that this was a case of who threw the biggest fit.
MRS UPS,
Please forgive me for having to be the bearer of bad news. Its not my intention to cause you bigger harm in your lives. Please note that I am a former Executive Officer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and I can only offer you the contractual explanations.
While your husband is probably a very honest and efficient driver, this situation is a difficult one.
I can only imagine how this affects you both at home and emotionally.
Lets start here:
First, in the national agreement, there is article 6. In article 6 its states that the Operators/managers/supervisors cannot go outside the contract and make a separate agreement. They cannot have an employee sign, or agree to, in part or collectively (ie: 5 temp cover drivers) sign any document that establishes an outside arrangement that bypasses AGREED contract language.
In this case, just because a manager/operator promised your husband a full time position after he worked as a temp cover driver, you must acknowledge that the manager had NO AUTHORITY to make such a promise.
No operator/manager can offer anything to any employee that by-passes contractual limitations and violates seniority.
It is a complicated situation with many liabilities to the company. When the company finds out that the liabilities can range in the thousands of dollars, the company is quick to either terminate the illegal hire or send to preload at the bottom of the seniority list.
I realize that this may cause you hardships at home, it doesnt factor into the decision between the Union and the Company.
The contract is very clear about one premise:
"The Employer recognizes that the principle of seniority shall be given prime consideration in the everyday operation of the business."
This agreement superceeds everything at UPS.
The reality of the situation should be a discussion between UPS and the Union to see whether or not your husband should have been hired as a permanent driver off the street if the company promoted the proper ratio of "inside" promotions from part time to full time during that time period.
There are many complications to this issue, and its not one that can be talked out without a deep investigation.
If the company did not hire the proper ratio during the time he was hired, then they CANNOT hire him permanently.
If they didnt and they hired him anyways, the most senior person on the full time list can grieve the company for every dime it payed your husband.
This is where the company would rather terminate him alltogether.
Unfortunately, and I know you dont want to hear this, the right thing to do is to put your husband in preload, have him pass his probationary period, then re-sign up for cover driving.
He will have to wait it out until he qualifies to drive. This is not a good time for this as volume is dropping quickly around the nation and cutbacks are coming.
To your question as to what you can do, well, there is no official recourse. The union is bound to enforce the contract and protect those seniority employees who were hired before your husband.
As for the company, the manager/operator who hired him improperly should be reprimanded for this and a demand for his term should be requested by the Union.
As I mentioned in my other post, you are not alone, this has occured in many hubs. Its a deceptive practice that UPS managers are using to conceal "Ghost" drivers and benefit from deliveries that dont count on the books as a full time driver.
They are only begining to get caught.
Once UPS realizes the totallity of backpay paidout, will the problem stop.
One thing you should consider asking your business agent.
"if my husband was working as a cover driver, was he paid correctly for the days he worked."
"my husband was entitled to TOP DRIVERS RATE of pay for any partial weeks worked"
"my husband was guaranteed a 40 hour week at cover driver pay when he reported on a monday and worked thru friday"
You see, if he was told on a friday to report on monday and he worked only three days, he was entitled to be paid at the top rate of pay for all hours worked on those three days. This is a considerable amount of money. ($28.81hr in so. california)
If they used him for 3 days and did not pay him properly, he is entitled to penalty pay for the infractions. This you have to discuss with your agent.
Its a shame things like this happen, but they do, and someone always gets burned.
I hope you can understand whats happening. Its not your husbands fault.
You may want to contact the Dept of labor in your area and ask if they would consider an UNFAIR labor practice against UPS for hiring him improperly and denying him a position promised.
Also, contact your local NLRB- National Labor Relations Board and ask to speak to an agent about your case. They may intervene with UPS and make something happen, or at the least, force UPS to pay up what is owed.
best of luck,
BrownShark.