Case-A Laid-off Glass Worker
The Issue: Did the company violate the Labor Agreement when Ronald Petrie was on layoff by working the remaining Glass Department employees on overtime and temporarily transferring other employees into the department without recalling Mr. Petrie?
Background: Following completion of his work on March 20, 1997, Glass department employee Ronald Petrie was laid off and from then through 3/2/1997. when Jeff Smith retried, thee were just four people in the glass room, as contrasted with five, counting Petrie, for the 2 weeks preceding March 20. Prior to this 2-week period, at least since the begining of January 1997, there had been four people there, again including Petrie. Following April 3, and for the rest of April, just three people( not including Petriea) worked in the glass room.
Beginning in May, the comany started having these three people work overtime, and whereas only 2 overtime hours had been worked by the entire glass rooom work force until then in 1997, the weekly totals thenceforth registered 10 such hours on May 2; 22 overtime hours for the week ending May 9;26 overtime hours for the week ending May16;9 for the week ending May 23;21.5 for that ending May30;30 for that ending June 6; and 16 for the June 8- June 11 period. In addition, temporary transfer hours in the room, nonexistent there in 1997 until May 14, then started to become frequent. They totaled 8 on May 14; 31.2 hours for the week ending May 23;24 for that ending May 30;56 for the one ending June 6; and 56 for the June 8-June 11 period.
on June 11, contending that these overtime(OT) and temporary transfer(TT) hours had gone too far and that there should instead have been Company acknowledgement that there was an opening and therefore, under Article 12, section 9, the need for a recall( of Petrie, as the senior person on layoff), the Union effected a first step meeting. It reduced its grievance to writing on June 18.
The OT and TT hours continued to be conspicuous, however. They added up, for the weeks ending as noted, to the following:
OT TT Week Ending
33 2 June 20
23 - June 27
10 43.3 July 4
24 24 July 11
23 19.5 July 18
13 -- July 15
(vacation shutdown July 27-August 8)
36 15.3 August 15
14 24 Aughust 22
35 -- Aughust 29
15 69.6 September 5
11 33 September 12
13.5 69.2 September 19
--- 34 Sep 26
--- 40 October 3
----- 24 October 10
In addition, 3.8 hours of temporary transfer overtime were worked during the week ending September19. The Union concedes that a layoff would have been justified beginning on the week of October 12. It consequently asks that employee Petrie be made whole for the period from June 11 to this latter date.