NOTICE: ALL M&C Employees -- 12 hour shifts are voluntary

[Sherman]

*** Please forward this to everyone you know in M&C ***

FYI:

WMATA management and Local 689 (Mr. Francis and Jackie Jeter) signed
an agreement regarding inauguration coverage on 12-15-08, which states
that only those techs/mechanics who _volunteer_ to work the north/
south security zones downtown will work 12 hour shifts -- everyone
else is supposed to follow the contract (regular shifts with OT
assigned in the usual manner). Within days after signing the
agreement (excerpt below) management then unilaterally decided to
violate both that agreement and the contract.

According to union officers and management personnel I've spoken with,
the 12 hour shifts and working on your day off (ADO) are completely
voluntary.

You may work your regular shift if you want to. All you need to do is
notify your supervisor.

Management is supposed to be making employees aware of this but it's
not clear whether or not they are doing so.

Forcing people to work these arbitrary 12 hour shifts is completely
unnecessary and a blatant violation of the contract -- so is
attempting to force employees to work on their day off.

Hopefully, this will not set a precedent but it is entirely possible
that from now on, anytime there is a major event (July 4th, concert,
ball game, etc) management will say, "Well nobody complained when we
forced employees to change locations and work odd 12 hour shifts for
the inauguration -- why should this be any different?"

To everyone on the OT list:

Prepare to file huge class-action grievances. All of the OT assigned
to employees who are not on the OT list should have gone to those of
you who are on the list. Hundreds of hours of OT are going to be
given away to people who are not signed up for overtime. Don't let
management get away with this. All staffing requirements could have
been handled by simply following the contract. File a grievance and
make them pay what's rightfully yours.

#####

The following is directly from the agreement signed by Mr. Gerald
Francis and Ms. Jackie Jeter on 12-15-08:

"...TSSM will require a designated number of employees dedicated to
working 12 hour shifts in the designated North and South coverage area
commencing Monday, 1-19-09, at 0600 hours and concluding Wednesday,
1-21-09, at 0600 hours. These employees shall be selected from a
group of volunteers who will select assignments based on seniority
order from the posted list of positions advertised by job category."

"All remaining employees in the M&C Seniority District will work their
normal assignment schedule during the 1-17-09 through 1-21-09 time
frame, with standard OT rotational practices remaining in place
pursuant to Section 304 of the CBA [contract] to facilitate manpower
adjustments. All OT pay requirements will remain subject to Section
305 of the CBA."

#####

The above letter of understanding is crystal clear and is being
blatantly violated.

Whether or not this affects you personally (positively or negatively),
it is wrong. Every time Local 689 allows management to get away with
disregarding the contract it weakens the union and our future
bargaining strength.

If these 12 hour shifts and forcing (or 'expecting') employees to work
their ADO were deemed necessary by both management and Local 689 that
would be one thing, but the fact is that whatever additional staffing
is required could be accomplished by simply following the contract and
abiding by the agreement between management and Local 689.

At the very least, if both Local 689 and management had agreed that it
was necessary to disregard the contract there should have been a
letter of understanding to that effect and it should spell out that it
does not set any precedent of any kind whatsoever.