Weekly Update: August 10 - August 16

June & July Grievance Resolves

It’s been since late May that I’ve mentioned some of our latest grievance resolves, so I thought I’d share some of the cases from June and July that we’ve reached settlements with our employers on. This isn’t a complete list as some cases are too sensitive or personal to be shared even in summary form:

A member with a lengthy commute sought modified scheduling because fatigue was creating safety concerns. After initially denying the request, the Company reconsidered following Union intervention and agreed to accommodate the member with split shifts.

A member received a suspension relating to performance concerns despite significant mitigating medical circumstances and a strong employment record. Following demonstrated improvement, the suspension was reduced to one day and one day’s pay was returned.

The Union identified errors in several years of vacation-pay calculations for a member who had been working full-time hours while classified part-time. Working directly with Payroll, approximately $1,800 in additional vacation pay was recovered.

A member received discipline following a workplace safety incident. The Union negotiated a substantially shorter sunset period and ensured that an extended leave would not delay the discipline’s removal from the member’s record.

A written warning stated that any further misconduct would result in termination. The Union successfully challenged this as inconsistent with the principle of progressive discipline, and the Company amended the wording and confirmed that any similar action would take progressive discipline into account.

A long-service member returning from disability leave after their workplace had closed was initially denied the severance opportunity previously offered to coworkers. After the Union advanced the matter to arbitration, the Company settled on equivalent terms, resulting in a payment to the member roughly equal to a VSP.

Finally, congratulations to one of our Shop Stewards for successfully resolving a serious disciplinary grievance. An eight-day suspension was reduced to five days, returning three days’ pay to the member. I can’t name the steward due to the grievor’s privacy, but you know who you are, and thank you.

In Solidarity,

Michael Phillips

President

USW Local 1944