State of the union

[Apwu133]

“STATE OF THE UNION”

Recently, at the last union meeting, it was discussed that some time ago local union officers wrote articles with updates on issues they were currently involved with.  We decided that this would be a great opportunity to inform members of what we are doing currently and how we are combating the issues we face daily as brothers and sisters.  

 

Our intent is that members will come out with a better understanding of what happens after you leave the union office and the door closes.  There will be articles on everything from custodial Line H settlements, pending class action grievances, health plan information, upcoming union activities and whateverelse falls in between.  With that being said, here we go……..

 

You were just made aware by a co-worker that you were grieved last week.  What do you do?  The first thing you do after finding out you were grieved is IMMEDIATELY ask your supervisor to see your union representative.  Management is to release you to see a union representative, normally, within two (2) hours of your request.  If this cannot happen, THE SUPERVISOR is to notify yourself or the steward as to why this request is delayed.  Normally, if the request does not happen immediately, it should happen by the end of your tour.  If you’re not released upon request or during your tour, you are to be IMMEDDIATELY released at the beginning of your next tour.  Management has a long-standing history of kicking the can down the road in hopes that the employee will give up or just forget.  We fight this through being informed and being persistent, both as employees and union representatives.  If you’ve asked once already, ask again.  Inform the supervisor you have the right to have your complaint heard today.  Take notes of the conversation and what was said as to why you are being denied.  If you do not get to see your steward that day you are to be released upon the beginning of the tour the next day.  Make sure to remind your supervisor once again that you did not receive the time you requested yesterday, and they are obligated to give you the time today at the beginning of your tour.  The union has multiple ways to fight management in the denial of steward time and we have been successful in the past.    

 

Upon your union time with the steward, be sure to have as much information available.  Have a statement, notes or anything you think may help in an investigation.  Oftentimes, we can look at  clock rings to see if the information you have been told is correct, finding out if there is a grievance immediately.  From there, the steward investigates, looking through clock rings, interviewing management or employees and reviewing all the information that will help prove your case.                

 

At this point the union must complete its investigation and conduct a Step 1 meeting within fourteen (14) days of learningof its cause.  From there, the steward meets with the immediate supervisor and presents her/his argument.  Unfortunately, moreoften, grievances are denied at Step 1 regardless of how much evidence the steward has in support of the claim.

Upon receipt of the Step 1 denial, the steward now has ten (10) days to appeal that decision to Step 2.  After completing the Step 2 appeal form, your craft director meets with their corresponding management representative.  This meeting further discusses the grievance, delves deeper into contractual provisions and examines any new information added to the case after Step 1.  Often time case law arbitrations revolving around the issues are discussed and argued.  This is the last opportunity the union has to settle the grievance “locally”.

 

If the union and management fail to come to an agreement at Step 2, management must respond to the union in writing as to why the grievance was denied.  Upon receipt of this denial, the union must complete its “additions and corrections” within 10days and submit them to both labor and the unions’ NBA(National Business Agent).   At this moment the grievance is completely out of your local unions hands and relies solely on the NBA to settle the case.  The timeline to a possible settlementis a lengthy process due to managements ill-faired philosophy of deny, deny, deny .  This ultimately leads to the monstrous backlog of Step 3’s, Step 4’s and pending arbitrations we have across the nation.    

 

So, what does the union do?  We continue to fight to protect workers’ rights and advance the interest of our cause.  We fight for health care and retirement benefits.  We consistently aim for safer working conditions for our members, and non-members as well.  We negotiate through a collective bargaining agreement, often against corporations and businesses that do not want to pay feasible wages to their employees and constantly want more for less, while breaking the exact contract they have agreed upon. So what do we do, WE FIGHT BACK and continue with what you have elected us to do.  

 

There has never been a better time to fight and join the union.  A member does not always have to fulfill the role of a steward or elected officer.  Ask your steward or any officer as to what you can do to help in this fight.

 

For the members in this fight with us, we say thank you, and if you are not a member, please ask your steward for a union sign-up sheet and join us!

 

 

Tim Holstein

Vice President APWU #133