Cardinal sins

Key Phrase: The following shall be causes for immediate suspension or discharge of an employee: drinking, or proven or admitted dishonesty. In cases not involving the theft of money or merchandise an employee will remain on the job until a hearing is held with the business agent. Such hearing will take place within seventy-two (72) hours.

Discipline shall be for Just Cause. For non-cardinal infractions the employee shall be allowed to remain on the job consistent with Article 7 of the National Master Agreement, without loss of pay unless and until the discharge or suspension is sustained under the grievance procedure.

Problem:

Being fired is not as tricky as it seemed when worried about productions. So many different scenarios can play out, but the one thing that has not changed in my nearly 25 years is the Cardinal Sins in which one way one can instantly get fired. Everything is not as critical as some will make you believe. The Cardinal Sins are things that a reasonable thinking person will not do; but I have seen reasonable people slip and commit one of these acts.

Example:

If a person comes into work smelling like alcohol, they will obviously be tested. A bad example is a situation when a driver came to work after being a party hours before. Management already observed the individuals as being lethargic and having red eyes. They waited until he drove his truck five (5) feet before stopping him. Asked him how he was doing. The answer does matter, a “NO”, could mean discharge after alcohol test comes back positive. He would be deemed as lying and coming to work drunk. The other situation is that he is in trouble for operating a vehicle under the influence. Discharge is the only way this situation is going to end.

Master Article 6, section 6; Technology and lying Supervisor approaches you with some question about something you may have done the day before. First of all, no question is innocent, if being asked in the first place, especially the any more than a day after you did something. So as an example, a supervisor ask you a Next Day Air. You answer knowing you had sheeted it up earlier at a different location. Right there you falsified records and now the situation is one of whether you are going to lie to management. The use of technology allowed them to know that you committed a dishonest act. During this conversation, your union representative should have been present to help you in this precarious situation.

Every year UPS fires employees who don’t notify the company that their license has been revoked or suspended during the year. The famous “MVCD” we fill out every year. This is not a slip the mind moment that one will survive. One way or another we get tickets or have accidents. Maybe no insurance, who knows. The company will eventually find out and when they do, they will fire you. Of course hoping your union representation is able to get you out of this bind is VERY long odds. This issue is one of the most serious issues the company is not in the least bit understanding.

Opinion: Honesty is the best way to handle business. Whatever you do, get you proverbial “spanking”; let your union representative handle the infraction. When you get creative in trying to get out of the situation in your explanation or changing of paperwork, then you open up the door for being fired. integrity and lying are the key words. If you dont have an issue with these two words, then most situations can be worked out. As simple as the examples above may easy to avoid, they happen year in and out. Fear or not knowing any better allow individuals to constantly fall into this “Ant Lion” trap.

Questions, Comments, and Suggestions

The New 804: 21st Century Approach to Unionism

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