Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Thanks for the "help," Boss...
We’re back in the SPEEA office at about 3:15 after our meeting yesterday, unpacking all our crap and staying out of Election Teller Larry Thompson’s way, as he goes about dealing with the ballot boxes from Century II. Shortly thereafter, one of our Area Reps comes charging in and just reams us out for not being at Century II for the vote. With great, justifiable moral outrage, he states that he was just there, with several other angry members, and the Negotiations Team were nowhere to be found, even though we said we’d be there until 4:00. He stated he wanted a [expletive] ballot, so he could vote before he quit the [expletive] union.
Perhaps it was our look of complete, utter dumfounded astonishment at his rant that shocks him and calms him down.
I mean, the Negotiation Team is responsible for all messages sent out under our name and while we’re more than willing to admit mistakes in our communication -- the Employee "Incident" Plan, for example -- there’s just no way the Negotiations Team published that alleged schedule. So I call up our two Meeting Announcement e-mails, from Friday and today, and read, aloud, that we only specified a start time, not a conclusion. I tell him that, while I don’t doubt he’d received somekind of e-mail listing a schedule, it wasn’t one we’d sent out and, if he was so kind, would he send a copy to our wichita.negotiations" @ddress, so we can investigate the communication breakdown and fix it if it was our fault.
Now, I imagine he then picked up a ballot from BJ or Larry and voted before he left the office, but I really couldn’t say that with any authority, because I immediately went searching for the cause of his confusion. Unfortunately, I can find nothing; even googling up Molly McMillin’s story in this morning’s Eagle finds it to mention only our 1:00 start time.
Well, the rest of the Team was working on today’s mass membership mailing, apologizing for the apparent miscommunication and explaining what went on today, thanking y’all for your amazing support. So, I probably should’ve stuck around to help weave the story, but I figure that if anyone needs to go to Century II and intercept others who may be showing up even later than the 2:30 Crowd it should probably be someone who can explain as much as possible, about the contract, the negotiations, the meeting… the whole stinkin’ history. And who has an ego big enough to, not having a satisfactory answer to their scheduling complaints, take the verbal abuse without getting angry. Well, as Charlie was really busy [grin] I take it upon myself to leave the office, hop in the little red Mustang, and trot my butt back to the Concert Hall. I get there a few minutes later, finding out the large parking lot to the south of Century II is thirty cents an hour cheaper than the small one to its east. But I digress…
I feed the meter a couple of dimes and head across the street and up the stairs to where over a thousand of us had met less than an hour earlier. Rushing in, my Chuck’s squeaking on the granite floor, I race between both entrances to the auditorium, gladly finding no one. I then continue pacing until, eventually, two coworkers show up, fifteen minutes apart, wondering where the vote was taking place. I explain the communication mixup, cause yet unknown, and tell them that they’ll still have the opportunity to vote: just go to the SPEEA office in the Lower Level of Parklane, Oliver and Lincoln, from Tuesday through Friday, during normal business hours, which are 8:30 to 5:00.
A lot like Century II, which also closes at 5:00, when one of the Administrators locked the doors and told me, with a grin, that _I_ could stay until 6:00, but no one else gets in. Needless to say, I left shortly thereafter, returning to the SPEEA office. I get there past closing time, but Staff is still working their side of Strike Planning so I log on to "wichita.negotiations" to find that the angry Area Rep has forwarded on the message giving our alleged schedule for our Century II meeting today. Imagine my laughter when it turns out that it’s not from SPEEA… it’s from Jeff Clark and the Company’s negotiating team!!
Perhaps it was our look of complete, utter dumfounded astonishment at his rant that shocks him and calms him down.
I mean, the Negotiation Team is responsible for all messages sent out under our name and while we’re more than willing to admit mistakes in our communication -- the Employee "Incident" Plan, for example -- there’s just no way the Negotiations Team published that alleged schedule. So I call up our two Meeting Announcement e-mails, from Friday and today, and read, aloud, that we only specified a start time, not a conclusion. I tell him that, while I don’t doubt he’d received somekind of e-mail listing a schedule, it wasn’t one we’d sent out and, if he was so kind, would he send a copy to our wichita.negotiations" @ddress, so we can investigate the communication breakdown and fix it if it was our fault.
Now, I imagine he then picked up a ballot from BJ or Larry and voted before he left the office, but I really couldn’t say that with any authority, because I immediately went searching for the cause of his confusion. Unfortunately, I can find nothing; even googling up Molly McMillin’s story in this morning’s Eagle finds it to mention only our 1:00 start time.
Well, the rest of the Team was working on today’s mass membership mailing, apologizing for the apparent miscommunication and explaining what went on today, thanking y’all for your amazing support. So, I probably should’ve stuck around to help weave the story, but I figure that if anyone needs to go to Century II and intercept others who may be showing up even later than the 2:30 Crowd it should probably be someone who can explain as much as possible, about the contract, the negotiations, the meeting… the whole stinkin’ history. And who has an ego big enough to, not having a satisfactory answer to their scheduling complaints, take the verbal abuse without getting angry. Well, as Charlie was really busy [grin] I take it upon myself to leave the office, hop in the little red Mustang, and trot my butt back to the Concert Hall. I get there a few minutes later, finding out the large parking lot to the south of Century II is thirty cents an hour cheaper than the small one to its east. But I digress…
I feed the meter a couple of dimes and head across the street and up the stairs to where over a thousand of us had met less than an hour earlier. Rushing in, my Chuck’s squeaking on the granite floor, I race between both entrances to the auditorium, gladly finding no one. I then continue pacing until, eventually, two coworkers show up, fifteen minutes apart, wondering where the vote was taking place. I explain the communication mixup, cause yet unknown, and tell them that they’ll still have the opportunity to vote: just go to the SPEEA office in the Lower Level of Parklane, Oliver and Lincoln, from Tuesday through Friday, during normal business hours, which are 8:30 to 5:00.
A lot like Century II, which also closes at 5:00, when one of the Administrators locked the doors and told me, with a grin, that _I_ could stay until 6:00, but no one else gets in. Needless to say, I left shortly thereafter, returning to the SPEEA office. I get there past closing time, but Staff is still working their side of Strike Planning so I log on to "wichita.negotiations" to find that the angry Area Rep has forwarded on the message giving our alleged schedule for our Century II meeting today. Imagine my laughter when it turns out that it’s not from SPEEA… it’s from Jeff Clark and the Company’s negotiating team!!
-- Bill, who couldn’t make this stuff up if he tried…
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