WHAT IS A GRIEVANCE?
The definition per our negotiated contractual agreement by and between the Union and Pierce Transit states or defines it as such; a claim by an “employee” that the terms of this agreement have been violated, or that a dispute exists concerning the proper application or interpretation of this agreement. While our contract states the above, a grievance can also apply to a dispute concerning the proper application or interpretation of an agency policy (ies) or State or Federal law(s) or regulation(s). Arbitrators have stated that the term “grievance” as it appears in the average contract refers to “a formal complaint” by persons who believe they have been wronged.
Another interpretation is; whether an individual has a grievance or not is primarily his /her own feeling about the matter. Generally speaking, if he/she thinks they have a grievance, “they have a grievance”. This interpretation comes from a court case Forrest Industries vs. Woodworkers Local 3. The court explained that “a liberal and broad construction should be given to the term ‘grievance’ in the interest of encouraging the use of machinery which the parties themselves (Union & Mgmt) have set up for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
This brings me to another issue. Do you have a grievance or a “gripe”? I was approached by a member with a concern which they felt may be a grievance. After further discussion the reason this member thought that there may be a grievance was because an individual who serves in the position of Shop Steward of this local, made statements to the effect that the Union should do something about a particular issue (file a grievance). This was very disappointing to me as the President of this local. First a grievance can be filed by “any member” of this local and most assuredly an individual in the position of Shop steward. No grievance should be presented unless there is a real basis for complaint or need for decision, and much responsibility belongs directly to the Union Steward, and indirectly to the Union, to screen out complaints that have no real merit.
Secondly a grievance helps management discover and correct sore spots in agency operations before they cause serious troubles, and members/employees should be encouraged and supported by their stewards and further encouraged to present them while they are still “warm”.
This makes me wonder why someone in that position would fail to act on the member’s behalf or fail to take on the issue themselves which they are empowered to do. What is their motivation?
Grievance machinery provides a mechanism for the Union to enforce the rules it has worked for, and achieved through collective bargaining.
If you feel you may have a grieveable issue contact the Steward(s) to discuss the merits of your issue and if there is something you don’t understand or is not explained to you by the Steward don’t hesitate to contact this office to discuss the response of the Steward. I will try to further explain or reiterate the Steward and the Union’s position.
If you have a question regarding your working conditions or contractual agreement, policy issue or a question in general regarding your rights as Union members and employees of Pierce Transit, don’t hesitate to contact a Steward.
It’s the little things that erode our strength as a Union and sometimes it’s our own members who by working on their own self interest contribute to that deterioration.
Welcome to “new” Executive Board Officer Larry Green for the Relief Operator Position. Larry will begin his new role at the June 1, 2006 E-Board meeting. Welcome Aboard and thanks for your commitment.
Below is a letter I sent out, on you the member’s behalf, the response letter follows:
May 22, 2006
Judge Heller
Municipal Court
City of Lakewood
6000 Main St. SW
Lakewood, WA 98499
RE: Photo Infractions
Honorable Judge Heller,
First to introduce myself, I am Isaac O. Tate President/ Business Agent of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 758 Tacoma, WA. In my position I represent the hourly workers employed by Pierce Transit, a transit agency that employs Bus Operators, Specialized Transportation Operators, Road Service Supervisors, Mechanics, Maintenance Road Crews, and Administration Personnel.
The issue/concern that I would like to address is specific to members that operate motorized vehicles in the county of Pierce and specifically Lakewood. In March of 2006 the City of Lakewood began the education of the public by issuing “warning infractions” to citizens that transverse school zones. I laud the city’s effort to educate first, and then enforce, I feel this to be more than fair.
However Pierce Transit as an employer has chosen to treat the warning infractions the same as a moving violation resulting in disciplinary action against our members. This I understand is Pierce Transit policy and would not expect you to address this issue, but there is another issue that I hope you can lend some clarity to. Quite a few of our Operators to include fixed route (buses), Specialized Transportation Operators, and Service Supervisors received warning infraction notices when traveling “Westbound” on 108th between Lakeview Dr and Bridgeport SW.
In checking the RCW 46.61.400 Maximum speed limit when passing school or playground crosswalks; it states the speed zone at the crosswalk shall extend three hundred feet (300 ft.) in either direction from the marked crosswalk. Westbound on 108th the speed limit drops from 35 mph to 20 mph and the school zone “only” extends 190 ft. (signage to crosswalk), doesn’t this defy the definition of a school zone? Eastbound on 108th the signage extends approximately 312 ft., within the guidelines established by RCW 46.61.400 and incidentally none of our members violated the speed zone limits eastbound. Also per documentation received from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission defining what is a School Zone? The 600 ft. school zone is designated by two signs both 300 ft. on either side of a marked crosswalk.
Is someone who enters this zone without the parameters defined by both the RCW and the Washington Traffic Safety Commission in violation of the law? One would also think that the 300 ft. zone if properly posted would allow motorist to slow down properly before entering the school zone. The infractions were noted by hand held or the tripod mounted camera method.
In closing I would like your opinion on whether a person should be issued an infraction and held liable if the City does not follow the RCW or Safety Commission standards that are also clearly defined. I would also encourage you to drive the aforementioned area (108th between Lakeview and end of school zone) westbound to note the rapid reduction in speed and the quickness with which you are in and out of said school zone. (Lakeview Elementary) Your response to this matter would and will be greatly appreciated.
Below is the response letter:
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Lane Chase, Vice President/A.B.A.
V.president@atu758.org
Smoking Initiative I-901 and YOU
Last months newsletter had the actual letter I wrote to transit regarding Smoking Initiative I-901 and two policies of transits, (Smoking Policy Statement/Catastrophic Disease Policy). I can honestly say the response was overwhelming and very positive. The issues brought up in the letter were discussed at length at the Labor Management meeting on Tuesday May 9, 2006. The concerns of the letter were addressed and discussed at length and Transit has committed to addressing the issues brought up in my letter. Transit has already developed some proto type “no-smoking signage” for the buses and transit centers. They have also committed to rewriting the two policies mentioned in my letter as soon as possible. The problem areas in I-901, in regards to transit and its facilities are many and complicated. What has come to light is that the Attorney General has finally issued a guide on the extent of the impact of the law. Some of the issues that need to be addressed are:
What is a building?
Is a bus shelter a public place?
Is a parking garage a public place?
Can an employer put up a smoking shelter that complies with I-901?
What effect does I-901 have on collective bargaining agreements?
Is an employer allowed to designate a smoking room?
Is the 25 foot law an absolute minimum distance?
The initiative has created a number of problems that will need to be dealt with. Management has committed to working with the Union in figuring out these complex issues. Many of the problems arising do not just affect the public, your passengers. In fact a great number of the items that will be addressed directly effect you our smoking members. Management has agreed to issue more about “Transit’s Smoking Cessation Program”, and how to be reimbursed for the cost of the program. There is more about the actual discussion of these matters in the labor management meeting notes dated, Tuesday May 9, 2006. I encourage you to read them when posted.
“Pandemic?”
First a pandemic is when a very large number of our members become ill at the same time. This can include just ordinary illness or worse. For example, if a pandemic occurs as much as 50% or more of the work force can be missing at one time. Transit has indicated that it has a good inventory of supplies, masks, disinfectant etc. An event of this nature can cause major problems for everyone involved and shortages of various items, both at work and at home. I encourage you to take an inventory and prepare an emergency kit for you and your family. If an emergency of this type occurs it will come down to essential and non-essential personnel. It should be pretty simple to figure out which half you fall into. The unfortunate thing about this, is a pandemic doesn’t just affect some it hits virtually everyone, hence the name, “pandemic.” The real rub will come when your whole family is ill and transit is going to expect you to show up to work because service needs to be provided and you’ll be reminded which group that you fall into. Yes they are going to expect you to go out and possibly be exposed, “to what ever it may be?” Remember your health comes first, protect it!
“It’s Elementary Watson!”
Have you ever really looked at the accident report for Pierce Transit, now called the “Occurrence Report”? This article is an attempt to try to educate before you are caught up in the process of trying to make decisions while under stress and the heat of the moment. One of the worst things you can do is try to learn a process while directly involved in it. One of the most prominent examples I see time after time is our members not realizing they may reschedule their review, “You can ask to have your accident review rescheduled, so you can be there.” A couple of good examples are if you’re going to be gone on vacation, or are on the sick board. I sit on the accident review board every month as a non-voting member. I watch month after month, and our members don’t bother to come for what ever reason. They leave their fate up to what the accident review board can decipher out of their report. Many times there are questions that could have been answered if our member had been at the review board. The first thing you have to ask yourself is; are you really deciding preventability?
After having watched this process for some time I feel that it is not really preventability at all, but accountability. If the accident had truly been preventable then it would never have happened in the first place, that’s why they call them accidents. The preventability process is just a convenient way of deciding how much responsibility is yours. Sometime after the accident and before the review board you will have an interview with a safety and training person. During this interview you need to put yourself on double alert. If the accident is very serious this interview could be very soon after the accident, if not so serious then it may be a while. Be very careful of how you answer the questions they ask. One popular one is, “Is there anything you feel you could have done to prevent this accident?” If you say yes or indicate that there was, you just earned yourself a preventable accident? The thing to keep in mind is that this person is writing down how you respond, what you say, even your demeanor and attitude when being interviewed. This person is probably trying to put you at ease, so you will feel comfortable talking about your accident. Keep in mind they have a job to do and they are required to file a report whether it is to your benefit or not and it will record what you said whether you want it repeated or not. When you are filling out this report some of the questions can be very tricky. Be especially careful when filling out the back of the report, in the section covering speed and distances and when you first noticed the danger. This question is very serious. The first thing they will ask is, if you saw the danger why did you wait to take action, especially if your answers do not jive with each other then you risk the preventable ruling. There are twelve different spaces to fill in and it is easy to get them confused or mixed up especially when you have just been involved in an accident. The other section to watch for is the narrative section. This section is called “Description of Occurrence”. Many of you start your narrative way too early in the event, with information that has nothing to do with the accident. Stick to just prior to the accident to just after; you don’t need to tell everything from the beginning of the trip.
The next thing I want to address is a phenomenon that I call the, “I must be at fault complex.” Transit spends a great deal of time telling you how good you are and that you have received the very best training and that you are a professional. We recently reviewed an accident where the driver could not believe and would not accept that they actually were in the right, and took the blame for the accident, including the preventable ruling. This was in spite of witnesses statements that our member did not do anything wrong, and it was actually the other drivers fault. This amounts to what I call Pierce Transits brain washing to the point our members assume they must have some guilt even when they do not. When you are out there on the road you are expected to do everything perfect all the time and nothing less. You have a bus load of witnesses watching you. They can just as easily save you as hang you. Watch what you say when an event is about to occur, “That’s right before, during, and after.” You would be surprised what these supposed witnesses will remember or hear. For example if you say, “It’s my fault, it’s my fault!” Then that is what all those courtesy cards are going to say. It would be much better for you to say, “Look at what that idiot just did”, or “that idiot just pulled into or in front of me.” Probably one of the best things to do is not to say anything at all. When you report the accident on the radio do not say, “I just hit whatever!” You are tacitly admitting you hit something and indicating some fault, “Yours.” Instead say, “There has been an accident, that contact was made and what assistance is needed.” At the scene of an accident you will have various people ask what happened. If you are unsure of what to say, say that “You are very upset and unsure of what happened.” This will give you some time to think and collect your thoughts. This answer will only give you a short time before the person you are talking to is going to want some information. But, at least it will enable you to collect your thoughts. The only time you say someone hit anyone is when they hit you, then say it and get it recorded, it could save you later. Always get the license number before you do anything else, write it on a transfer or anything you can find you never know if that person is going to drive away leaving you holding the bag. Take heed just because it is called an “Occurrence Report” you should not assume a false sense of well being. Often when filling out an “Occurrence Report” some one may be assisting you. Remember it’s your report not theirs, and it’s your record not theirs, it’s your ultimate accountability. As a professional driver you can be held responsible if found to be negligent, so be very careful what you write or say especially in the heat of the moment after an accident.
It’s Not So Elementary Watson!
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Don McKnight
Financial Secretary/Treasurer
Beginning July 1, 2006, the monthly per capita tax for all active members (including members-at-large) is due to be increased by .35 cents to $10.10 from $9.75, based upon the percentage change (3.4946%) in the Consumer Price Index for the period between December 2004 and December 2005. Effective July 1st we will have to raise all member’s dues according to the International bylaws requirement. Most of you will see your dues increase .35 cents provided you are currently paying at least the minimum required dues. A second cost issue we face is paying for the Longen arbitration. This was a costly arbitration due to it running three days in length and the number of witnesses involved. Hopefully we’ll receive a favorable ruling in the near future which should help with the costs. Arbitrations must be paid for with a special assessment according to the bylaws and cannot be paid for from our operating funds. As soon as I have the final numbers I’ll let you know. Get involved in how our Union spends your money. Attend meetings and talk to your officers.
Please don’t clean up any bio-hazardous material or pick up syringes yourself. We have personnel specially trained as part of their normal job function to do this for you. It could be detrimental to you and your family’s health so ask for help.
Prevent the Discipline
Be sure you don’t operate your coach with “Not in Service” unless instructed to by your paddle or a supervisor. If you feel its necessary just call the Comm. Center and get clearance first.
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Executive Board Report
Last month President Tate wrote an article praising the shuttle Customer Service Representatives for their handling of a very stressful situation. While I share that sentiment, I would like to extend the same praises to the marketing CSR’s.
The inefficiency of the new shuttle scheduling/dispatch software program ADEPT/STRATAGEN caused hundreds of calls to be misrouted. The marketing CSR(s) were required to assist customers without having the proper equipment to do so. Additionally, they received and handled many calls complaining about the service. The marketing CSR’s fielded calls from hospitals, pastors, and doctors’ offices, all complaining about the service, or lack thereof, being provided by Pierce Transit. They adeptly handled these calls, calming customers, apologizing, and advising them of the problems with the new system.
Additionally, when Pierce Transit decided to provide 1,800+ free passes to shuttle users, the marketing CSR’s issued the passes to the customers. Many of you may not know that the passes were manually issued by the marketing CSR’s. One marketing CSR, Inez Thomas, is responsible for handling all mail requests for passes. The mail requests for passes were at least quadruple the normal amount. The volume of requests was so great that others in the department had to assist Inez in their “spare time.”
In closing, I extend my praises to all of the CSR’s who handled this situation professionally, competently and with great caring for the customers!
Ginny Stevens, E-Board Officer, Admin, CSR, Dev
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Thank you Ginny and thanks to the Marketing CSR’s also. As I stated “all” our members go a long way in making this agency work.
Isaac Tate
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This years ATU 758 Golf Tournament will be the best ever. We will offer lots of prizes and give-aways to the golfers. Time is running out so please turn in your team’s entry fee. Deadline is June 28th. The Tournament will be at Whispering Firs Golf Course at McChord AFB, with a scrambled format and a modified shot gun start. Entry fee includes green fees, cart, range balls and lunch.
Safety Committee News: The new gel seats will be retro fitted starting in June, also coaches 801 thru 827 cup holders will be installed in June. Two new Metro Mirror are coming in June when they arrive I will let you know so you can check them out. We need some feed back on the mirrors.
Please obey the speed limit in and around all school zones and around town. As we all know this is a new shake-up, so if you have problems with your new route please use the Route and Schedule form. Please submit your form within the first three weeks of the new shake-up to give the scheduler time to investigate the problems with the route or to schedule ride-checks.
Memorial Day thanks to all Vets past and present, and to all Active duty members, Thank you!
Dates to Remember:
July 9, 2006 - ATU Golf Tournament Whispering Firs Golf Course at McChord AFB.
July 15th and 16th, 2006 - Annual ATU Picnic/Camp-Out Tacoma Sportsman Club.
December 16th, 2006 - ATU 758 Annual Holiday Party King Oscar Hotel & Convention Center.
For any additional information please see me. Thank you.
In Solidarity!
Tyrone Ross, E-Board Officer, Operations Position II
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I am pleased to report that our Union, Local 758, has teamed up with the Food Banks of Pierce County. Food banks are first responders for those in need. During the week of July 9th, in conjunction with our golf tournament and annual summer picnic, there will be food barrels in the drivers' lobby and in the lunch room of the maintenance facility. Please support this vital need in our community by bringing nonperishable food items to these areas. These include, but are not limited to dry milk, soups, vegetables, tuna, oats, beans, rice, peanut butter, chili, stews and baby formula. It is a hand up, not a handout. 43% of food bank clients are from families who have at least one working family member, 49% are children and seniors, 98% fall below the national poverty guideline. Historically, donations are down during the summer months. Please give generously and often. Your small contribution has a BIG impact on someone’s life. No one should go to bed hungry. Thank you.
Barry Aiton, Executive Board Officer, Position III
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Grievances
Rex Longen - Specialized Transportation Dispatcher Demoted. Arbitration held, awaiting decision.
Syl Pelesasa - Transit Operator, 2 day suspension, alleged attendance violation, settlement discussions pending.
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