This Teamster steward brought fairness to her yard

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmv_1RCpSgX9d2PStf-aPDmppcPjd8HMnH1mceve3OlBriATX36TPkpXb6jOHhte7dE4l0K1n6qFjP3ztY4eyf3Fjj0uWizBbVSB4uZnFc4P9hX-H2OYSoehowg5FHwpwivqxnEEx4kbB/s1600/Kim+Hafford+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmv_1RCpSgX9d2PStf-aPDmppcPjd8HMnH1mceve3OlBriATX36TPkpXb6jOHhte7dE4l0K1n6qFjP3ztY4eyf3Fjj0uWizBbVSB4uZnFc4P9hX-H2OYSoehowg5FHwpwivqxnEEx4kbB/s320/Kim+Hafford+pic.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><i>Here's yet another story about a Teamster shop steward who made life better for school bus drivers on the job. Last week we told you about our<a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/Teamster-steward-righted-wrong.html" rel="nofollow"> Teamster brother Clay Morrison, who brought justice for a driver who'd lost his son at the Baumann Bus Co. on Long Island</a>. This week we bring you Kim Hafford, who fought for fairness at Durham in Jacksonville, Fla., and won. Her story appeared in the Fall 2013 issue of the Drive Up Standards newsletter. To see her story and others, check out the newsletter <a href="http://www.teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/091713SchoolBusNewsFall2013.pdf">here</a>.</i><br /><i><br /></i>In 1994 when I became a bus driver, I never knew that an organization such as the Teamsters existed. After 14 years and relocating to Jacksonville, Fla., I began working for a private company called Durham.<br /><br />What a wake-up call I received. There were so many unfair and unsafe practices going on that I almost gave up the job I loved. But once I became active with our Teamsters Local 512 it became apparent that I had a voice, and boy did I use it.<br /><br />Favoritism was running rampant within the dispatch office at Durham and the supervisors would just look the other way.<br /><br />Instead of having a rotating charter wheel in order to give every driver a chance to get a charter, dispatch was allowing their friends and sometimes family members to take all the trips they wanted, usually with the most hours. Drivers at the bottom of the seniority list would never receive a trip at all. When an emergency charter became available it usually went to the same driver, sometimes twice in one day. This incident was a wake-up call to my fellow drivers.<br /><br />I contacted Teamsters Local 512’s business agent, Stewart Cauthan, and he immediately held a stewards election where I became chief steward at our yard. Now under the watchful eye of Teamsters Local 512, charters are being awarded fairly on a weekly basis. No longer are friends of management receiving all the trips. No longer are employees who disagree when they see something unfair or unsafe afraid to speak up.<br /><br />Durham is no longer treating drivers and attendants as if they have no rights. As one we came together to demand what is rightfully ours: a fair wage, a safe workplace and fair and honest treatment of workers. But most important of all, we became “one voice.”<br /><br />The voice of all united Teamsters was heard in Jacksonville and I could not be more proud to have been a part of it.<br /><br />

Durham school bus drivers shop stewards This Teamster steward brought fairness to her yard

Here's yet another story about a Teamster shop steward who made life better for school bus drivers on the job. Last week we told you abo...

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This Teamster shop steward righted a wrong

<i>Clay Morrison brought justice for a worker who was punished by his employer after he suffered the loss of his child. He is a shop steward for Teamsters <a href="http://www.teamsterslocal1205.org/" rel="nofollow">Local 1205</a> at the Baumann Bus Co. on Long Island.  This is his story, which was published in the Fall 2013 issue of the<a href="http://driveupstandards.org/" rel="nofollow"> Drive Up Standards</a> newsletter. To see his story and others, check out the newsletter <a href="http://www.teamster.org/sites/teamster.org/files/091713SchoolBusNewsFall2013.pdf">here</a>.</i><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeBPvoUX1fIAU5SkcdTfBHhPlxj2dhD28tlGOADTHzTzziM0zT5k0x_0VMAAWFI77UX9j68_go7brLIjcQJFWyRL4UA_iNQGBv7AQzOxpyfBuNJixVoPwRNTFA8knclnJ0gNq5CjCJieB/s1600/Clay+Morrison+pic.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaeBPvoUX1fIAU5SkcdTfBHhPlxj2dhD28tlGOADTHzTzziM0zT5k0x_0VMAAWFI77UX9j68_go7brLIjcQJFWyRL4UA_iNQGBv7AQzOxpyfBuNJixVoPwRNTFA8knclnJ0gNq5CjCJieB/s200/Clay+Morrison+pic.JPG" width="200" /></a>What can a shop steward do outside of the normal grievance process? Can anything be done when an employee is unjustly penalized, even though the company is technically in compliance with the collective bargaining agreement?</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">I am a driver and shop steward at Baumann Bus’s Copiague, N.Y., yard. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">A driver who had worked at Baumann Bus for 12 years lost his seniority last year. He is an excellent employee and had never been disciplined during his career. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">He and his family were devastated to learn their son had a rare form of cancer. The son lived in Arizona and the driver wanted to be at his side during his treatment. The company agreed to a leave of absence, but he found he needed to stay in Arizona beyond the approved time frame. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"> He had exhausted his FMLA. He returned to work as a rehire, with a total loss of seniority. He had hoped the treatment would succeed; however, his son passed away. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">The employee asked for my help. We did not technically have a case and a grievance was not the route to go. I told him I would help him draft a letter to our union president, Timothy Lynch, describing the situation. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">This action exceeded our expectations. Timothy felt this was a moral and ethical issue. The penalty to the driver for staying at his child’s bedside was draconian, to say the least. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Mr. Lynch, with passion and logic, doggedly pursued the issue with the company. He represented the feelings of hundreds of us, and he did not give up. Within a few months, Baumann restored the seniority. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">It was a win-win for everyone—the driver, the workers, the union and Mr. Baumann, because he has retained a good employee. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">I am glad I could help this gentleman by speaking up. You have to right wrongs. For the shop steward, sometimes you just have to take the extra step.</blockquote>

school bus drivers stewards This Teamster shop steward righted a wrong

Clay Morrison brought justice for a worker who was punished by his employer after he suffered the loss of his child. He is a shop steward fo...

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