Corrected Seniority Stops Surplus

As the surplussing activity at Boeing continues, it is critical for every member to have a work history that accurately reflects their correct seniority date, as well as the jobs they have held. Recently, several Stewards were able to correct members' work histories, which resulted in WARN notices being rescinded - saving the members' jobs.

Thanks to efforts of Union Steward Byron Petit, 751-member Stephanni Hoza now has an accurate seniority date with an additional eight months' seniority. More importantly, she is no longer facing layoff on April 19th. In fact, with the proper seniority date, she has approximately 55 people below her in her job title, which means she will probably survive the massive layoffs this year and remain on the active payroll.

Stephanni's problem involved an on-the-job injury that resulted in a leave of absence (LOA) in 1995. Stephanni had not noticed the Company had incorrectly slid her seniority date after she returned from her industrial LOA, so she did not pursue correcting it at that time. The record keeping error most likely occurred as Stephanni was initially placed on L&I time loss, then denied coverage by the Company, and then post-neck surgery ­ in a court-obtained reversal and was returned to industrial injury status. There was apparently an error in the type of LOA recorded. Industrial LOA's do not affect seniority.

When she received a WARN notice, she knew it was time for action. Stephanni presented her documentation to Byron who presented the information to the Company. With Byron's efforts, Stephanni received credit for an additional eight months' seniority due to an inaccurate account of her LOA. The bottom line was Stephanni's WARN notice was pulled and she will remain on the active payroll.

Stephanni noted, "The seniority date wasn't an issue until I received a WARN notice. I knew it was wrong and would eventually get corrected, but I certainly didn't need the stress that came with getting a WARN notice and the potentially long hassle of updating the Company records to accurately reflect my seniority. I appreciated having Byron as my Steward to take care of resolving the matter. Though I immediately recognized the likely cause of the inaccurate seniority record, it took the teamwork of the IAM, IRC HR, Boeing Legal Department, Workers' Compensation, and the LOA office to affect a rapid and efficient response."

Business Representative Jackie Boschok noted, "During the surplus times, every day on your seniority could mean the difference between having a job and getting laid-off. Byron knew the contract language, had proper documentation from the member, and followed through to ensure the correction was made and Stephanni's WARN rescinded."