Stewards Dan Curtis and David Swan jumped into action after learning that Reeves was facing layoff. Upon reviewing his work history, they discovered it did not contain a job he had held for over four months. Immediately, the Stewards gathered documentation to demonstrate that David had indeed held the job for over 90 continuous days. Armed with documentation, they presented the case to HR. Within a few days, the work history was corrected and the WARN notice was pulled.
Instead of getting laid-off on
March 22, Reeves transferred to the Frederickson site and is again
working as a Grade 2 hand finisher. Within a month of arriving
at Frederickson, he was also able to move to third shift , which
eases his home situation as a single parent. Reeves, who spent four years on layoff in the early 1990's, was thankful for the Union support to ensure he remained on the payroll and stated, "These Stewards work hard to help the members. They never gave up on me. Their dedication and tireless efforts were greatly appreciated. I had actually forgotten they were working the issue. I would be laid-off today without the Union."
Union Steward Dan Curtis noted, "We didn't want to get his hopes up in case we couldn't get the change so we just worked the issue ourselves. It was great to be able to deliver the news that we had not only corrected his work history, but he was no longer facing layoff. That is the rewarding part of serving as a Union Steward."
Curtis added, "I want to compliment HR for doing the right thing and expediting the correction. It is much easier to handle the matter with the employee still on the active payroll rather than trying to reverse something after layoff."
This is just another example of the importance of having an accurate work history. If you are transferred to a new position, keep copies of the paperwork and make sure it is included in your transcripts.