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About The OSEA news. (Salem, Oregon) 1970-1981 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1981)
Page 8 OSEA News < Legal briefs by Peter DeLuca OSEA Attorney ---------------------------------------------- > One of the most common and difficult problems OSEA’s lawyers must deal with arises when a member has an ongoing the polk ,,county conflict with his or her supervisor. Frequently, as emotions run high and egos are bruised, - itemlzer-observer 147 S.E. Court Dallas, OR 97338 Books — Catalogs Stationery 'A complete printing and bindery shop equipped to handle all your needs. ” C a ll.. . 623-2373 T e r r a r iu m NOW SERVING The K a h a la B urger As Inspired by Hawaii's famed Kahala Hilton International Hotel '/s lb. extra lean handmade beef patty or ‘/s lb. fresh Opakapaka (Red Snapper) Served with our own specially baked honey-egg roll with Romaine lettuce, sliced Bermuda onion, Mrs. Neushin's pickles, tomato slice, condiment tray and our homemade seashell pasta salad, with $ 3 .5 0 melted cheese $ 3 .8 0 Served until 5 p.m. Tuesday • Saturday OPEN HOURS Tuesday • Friday............ 10 a.m. -1 0 p.m. Saturday........................... 8 a.m. -1 0 p.m. S u n d ay............................. 8 a.m. • 2 p.m. Closed Monday 156 Church Street -----> Don't yell at your boss; discipline may result Avoid warfare in office ( ------------------------------------------ ------------------------- > "" these conflicts culminate in open warfare. Conflicts which are escalated to this point become an absolute no win situation for the employe. But what if the supervisor is wrong? In the majority of cases, it makes little or no difference. The reason is simple. It is much more difficult to prove bad faith on the part of the supervisor than it is to prove th at the employe made mistakes. And if there is one thing to be learned from trying hundreds of cases, it is that just ab o u t ev ery o n e m akes mistakes. The problem is that if you make a mistake which could support discipline, there are only two major issues in your defense. The first is whether or not the mistake was actually made. Assuming that the mistake was made, and can be proven; the second issue is whether the discipline in question was taken in good faith. Showing that it was not taken in good faith is a very difficult p ro p o sitio n . R em em b er, alm ost everyone makes mistakes; if someone is “out to get you,” it makes almost no difference if that someone is not a nice person. The issue is whether or not you did the act complained of, not whether or not your accuser can win a popularity contest. By way of illustration, consider when you were a child. “It was never wise to throw rocks at the neigh borhood bully. You might hit him once; you might hit him twice. But sooner or later you were bound to run into him in the alley with nobody watching. I need not elaborate on the consequences. My advice: Unless you care more about principle than your job, don’t engage in warfare with your supervisor. It’s his ballgame, it’s his ball, and he or she sets the rules as you go along. Film series depicts labor The Portland Film Com mittee and the Plant Closure Organizing Committee are presenting a series of films on workers of the world. The films, which will run through February, are being presented each Friday a t 7:30 p.m. in the Carpenters Union Hall at 7515 N. Brandon Street, Portland. Admission is $2.50 with proceeds going to PCOO. THUHDERBIRD M otor Lodge 1015 South Riverside Medford, Oregon $4 Discount to OSEA Members $23/night single occupancy 2 blocks off 1-5 Adjacent to OSEA Phone 363-1611 I The Employment Relations Board has ruled that Eastern Oregon Hospital and Training Center management did not adequately substantiate its charge that an employe disobeyed an order. However, the ERB did rule that the worker had been insubordinate in responding to the order in an angry manner. The employe, Marque Brown, a food service worker at EOH & TC, was charged with insubordination by management, for refusing a cook’s order to help scrub the kitchen. “It is not clear from ERB’s opinion whether it is modifying its definition of insubordination to include yelling at a supervisor per se, since Brown had a work plan which required her to ac cept supervisory instruction ‘in a constructive and positive manner,’ ” said Bromleigh Lamb, the OSEA attorney who represented Brown. However, Lamb cautioned that it may be wise for state em ployes to note that yelling at a supervisor may be considered sufficient cause for discipline. w ERB found that the COID’s stated reasons for transferring an employe were mere pretexts for responding to union ac tivity. ERB ordered the district to return the employe to his former position, to compensate him for any financial loss and to write a letter to each customer of the district informing them that the employe had not been transferred for faulty perform ance as the district had previously explained. Employe: Noral Simmons, COID Business Agent: Jim Barnes Other OSEA staff: Alice Dale Violation: ORS Chapter 243 Per diem rules for dinner narrowed Dinner reimbursements were not granted to employes who were away from their permanently assigned work location for more than two hours after their regularly scheduled shift and who did not eat dinner until after they had gone off duty. Employes: Lyla Burnett, Ken Pringle and Larry VanVleck allEOH&TC Business Agent: Joe Roche Other OSEA staff: Bromleigh Lamb Contract issue: Central Contract, Article 52, Section 9 of the Letter Agreement on per diem Downward reclassification set aside Reclassification of employes from Administrative Analyst to Program Coordinator I when employes’ unit was transferred from Executive Department to Employment Division is set Employes: Doug Eden, Burl Lundy, Paul Maison, Dwight Reinwald and Mary Kathleen Stout, Manpower Planning, Employment Division Business Agent: June Wissmath Other OSEA staff: Alice Dale, Eleanor Meyers Contract issue & violation: Central Contract, Article 27; ORS Chapter 240; Personnel Rules Work in higher class awarded Employe compensated for days worked in higher job classification. Employe: Wanda Herigistad, Voc Rehab Business Agent: Jean Moyer Contract issue: Central Contract, Article 28 Regular work breaks reinstated Group will receive regularly scheduled 15-minute morning and afternoon breaks. Group: Salem Rehabilitation Facility, Voc Rehab Shop Steward: Wanda Herigistad Business Agent: Jean Moyer Contract issue: Voc Rehab Agency Contract, Article 9 Letter of reprimand removed L_ Reprimand removed from personnel file. Employe: Jim Kinzer, EOH & TC Shop Steward: Cara Jones Business Agent: Joe Roche Other OSEA staff: Bromleigh Lamb Contract issue: Central Contract, Article 13 -----------------------------------/ Chapters donate for bargaining Monies which Chapters 160 and 101 in Portland felt was in excess of their needs for planned activities has been donated to the OSEA General Fund for use in 1981 bargain ing. The donation from Chapter 160 was in the amount of $2,765, and will be used by 13 bargain ing teams. The donation from Chapter 101 was in the amount of $4,735. It will be designated for the central bargaining table negotiating team. In presenting the donations to OSEA treasurer June Blakley, Keith Wright said he hoped this would inspire other chapters to do the same. In addition to these dona tions, Chapter 228 (formerly Chapter 43), at the Oregon College of Education, donated their old work space certifi cate to the OSEA General Fund. The certificate was worth $200.
