All
I was finally able to convince the Company that a replacement is needed when I'm out of town. Jay Koreny is the Steward that will be performing this task. Jay has been training with me for a while and is doing a great job. When I'm not in town please direct your concerns to Jay. His email is arcangl7@aol.com.
As far as a grievance report we currently have three grievances waiting for third step and four grievances waiting for second step hearings. These grievances are all language violations and none are for discipline or discharge.
The Stewards had a conference call on Friday and we discussed the Joint Counseling program. If you're not aware, Joint Counseling is discussed in LOA 82-2 and its purpose is to try to address possible member issues prior to discipline being imposed. The idea is that the supervisor will tell the steward the concerns he has with a member, then the steward will talk with that member to determine if there is a legitimate concern and if there is, see if there are any factors that are contributing to the issue. After the steward and the member discuss the issue and determine whether or not there is a legitimate concern they then will discuss the matter with the supervisor. Nothing will be recorded in the member's file as a result of any of these sessions.
The last negotiation session in December went well and I am looking forward to getting back to the table. Like you, it is my hope that we finish soon, and it now seems like that is possible.
That's all for now,
Bob Fisher
