Front Page | International Report | Weingarten rights | Conservatives | In Memoriam & Got an O.U.C.H. | Grievance Roster IN MEMORIAM At the end of October, Vernon Carpenter, member at the Secretary of State’s Office, lost his mother Evaline Marie. In November, Robert Adams of OSU Medical Center and his wife Mae Adams from the Secretary of States Office lost Robert’s father Sherman;  Stacy Collins, from OSU Medical Center Facilities Services, lost her father Leslie Armstrong; and Johnetta Miller passed away, leaving two members: daughter Weada Collins and granddaughter Abigail Williams, both from OSU Medical Center. December saw the loss of OSU Medical Center member Geraldine Bumper, as well as Debra K. “Debbie” Sorrell, the sister of member and activist, Terry Sorrell, from FOD. In January, we tragically laid to rest Kenneth Eugene Littler, known to many of us in FOD as “Whitey” because of his prematurely white hair.  Also from FOD, Kenny Spencer lost his mother, Dorothy.  William Brown, from Student Affairs lost his mother Mary Williams. And in February, Roger Williams, union activist from Transportation and Parking, lost his mother Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie).  And Jaquietta Radford, of OSU Medical Center, lost her sister Ethel Larhanda Turner. GOOD AND WELFARE Secretary of State’s Office member Mary Purnell is ill and we wish her a speedy recovery.   GOT AN O.U.C.H.?  Remember to think “Our Union Can Help” On January 11 of this year, Terryl Davis, FOD, fought a grievance for a member who was accusing his manager of speaking to him in an inappropriate and rude manner.  The situation stemmed from a supervisor who wished to give the employee an incident report without waiting for the steward to show up.  Management stated that they had two witnesses to attest to the fact that it was not the supervisor, but the member, who was shouting.   The Union wanted the supervisor suspended. After the hearing the hearing officer, Shannon Washington, interviewed a third witness who said he knew nothing,  Ms. Washington also discovered that “on January 3 management issued an amended Level 1 decision to the grievance stating, ‘[The grievant] is recognized for not turning the referenced incident into a shouting match.  [The supervisor] has been counseled regarding his behavior and has restated his desire to maintain a proper work environment in the...office, consistent with departmental and university policy.’ ” LEVEL 2 DECISION:  The grievance was denied. REASONING:  Though their were two witnesses saying the grievant escalated the yelling, FOD upper management released the statement that the grievant did not escalate the situation.  I am not privy to the details of how things went behind closed doors, but certainly Terryl and his ability to dig and find the truth shed light on the original Level one decision so it could not stand.  The more light an officer, steward, or member can shed on a case, the less management will be able to keep in the dark.  Ms. Washington concluded that counseling was the right way to go for this supervisor, and that the situation is appropriately addressed. The case is being considered for arbitration because we’re not sure we agree. Ask Terryl for more on this case.