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Re: UP to begin installing inward-facing Cab Cams
Author: OPRRMS
Date: 08-23-2013 - 13:21
Dr Zarkoff Wrote:
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> I heard the previous attempt (10-12 years ago ??)
> was five ballots short of the number required for
> their being opened and counted. Have finnies
> crossed for this time.
The June 1997 vote (the first one after the UP-SP merger) failed to pass by 7 votes. Prior to the merger, SP's dispatchers were unionized, UP and MoP's weren't. Or so I've been told by current and former dispatchers.
One of the more interesting tactics used by UP was to hold a fancy bar-b-que off-property for dispatchers prior to the vote. Attendees were "encouraged" to throw their un-completed ballots into the fire. Sort of a B.Y.O.B. - Burn Your Own Ballot - party.
UP's dispatchers are "Exempt" employees; i.e., quasi-management. As such, they have no scope or work rules, or uniform discipline procedures. This is off-set by possible bonuses. But the bonuses are not uniformely distributed. For example, dispatchers who were leaders in prior movements to unionized often had their evaluations downgraded, which negatively affects their potential for a bonus and brands them as a trouble-maker. The latter in particularl isn't good, since bonuses, promotions or dismissals are at the whim of the company; the employee has no recourse (except maybe to file a wrongful termination or EEO lawsuit).
But I've heard UP is no longer in a kill-the-union-at-all-costs mode now that Barkley's out and Hunt's in, so it'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I heard the previous attempt (10-12 years ago ??)
> was five ballots short of the number required for
> their being opened and counted. Have finnies
> crossed for this time.
The June 1997 vote (the first one after the UP-SP merger) failed to pass by 7 votes. Prior to the merger, SP's dispatchers were unionized, UP and MoP's weren't. Or so I've been told by current and former dispatchers.
One of the more interesting tactics used by UP was to hold a fancy bar-b-que off-property for dispatchers prior to the vote. Attendees were "encouraged" to throw their un-completed ballots into the fire. Sort of a B.Y.O.B. - Burn Your Own Ballot - party.
UP's dispatchers are "Exempt" employees; i.e., quasi-management. As such, they have no scope or work rules, or uniform discipline procedures. This is off-set by possible bonuses. But the bonuses are not uniformely distributed. For example, dispatchers who were leaders in prior movements to unionized often had their evaluations downgraded, which negatively affects their potential for a bonus and brands them as a trouble-maker. The latter in particularl isn't good, since bonuses, promotions or dismissals are at the whim of the company; the employee has no recourse (except maybe to file a wrongful termination or EEO lawsuit).
But I've heard UP is no longer in a kill-the-union-at-all-costs mode now that Barkley's out and Hunt's in, so it'll be interesting to see how this all shakes out.
