SENIORITY 7.1 The purpose of seniority is to provide a policy governing layoffs and recalls.
7.2 In the event of a layoff, the Company shall consider:
(a) the equipment for the work that has to be performed;
(b) the seniority of the union member;
(c) in the event the qualifications of the Owner-Operator’s equipment are relatively equal, then the Owner-Operators’ seniority shall be the determining factor.
7.3 The Union will provide a bulletin board for each terminal in which the seniority list will be posted. The Company will provide the seniority list electronically to the Union office which will be updated and posted on a quarterly basis.
7.4 Owner-Operators shall be considered probationary until they have completed ninety (90) work days of contract, at which time they shall be placed on the seniority list, in accordance with dates.
7.5 Probationary Owner-Operators will work under the provisions of this Agreement during their probationary period, and they may be discharged or disciplined without recourse to the grievance procedure. Upon completion of the Owner-Operator’s probationary period all conditions of the Agreement will then apply, including the health and welfare provisions as provided in the Company’s policy documents.
7.6 Contract may be terminated for any of the following reasons; subject to the principals of progressive discipline and the reasonable application thereof:
(a) if an Owner-Operator voluntarily quits:
(b) if an Owner-Operator is discharged and not reinstated pursuant to the grievance procedure as provided for in the Agreement;
(c) if an Owner-Operator has been laid off and has refused to return to work within twenty-four (24) hours after being contacted personally by the Company. When the Owner-Operator cannot be contacted personally, or is employed elsewhere, then the Company will notify him by registered mail, to his last known address, to return to work. He will then be given a maximum of seven (7) consecutive days from the date of notification to report for duty;
(d) if an Owner-Operator is absent from work without securing a leave of absence for more than three (3) consecutive working days;
(e) if an Owner-Operator refuses a work or job assignment and that assignment has not violated this Collective Agreement or any provincial or federal regulations or other rules attached to this Agreement.
(f) If an Owner Operator or his driver commits any act, or fails to act, in circumstances that is a violation of the law, being unsafe for persons or property or being offensive to the Company’s customers, employees or other owner operators.
(g) If the Owner Operator’s accident record is unacceptable to the Company. Such determination and evaluation shall be carried out in a reasonable manner by the Company.
(h) If the Owner Operator or his driver fails to comply with any of the instructions, policies or procedures of the Company as may be issued from time to time in bulletins, memoranda, notices, manuals or other forms of announcement or directives which shall be reasonable and will have been properly communicated and enforced by the Company.
(i) If an Owner Operator is discovered to have pulled any load other than one dispatched by Highland Operations, without prior written approval by Highland senior management, he/she is subject to immediate contract termination. A grievance may be processed; however an arbitrator will be limited to determining if the infraction occurred and if so, no substitution of penalty will be permitted.
SENIORITY, LAYOFF AND RECALL A. “University seniority” is the employee’s length of continuous service with the University from the employee’s most recent date of hire into a Bargaining Unit position. This date will be considered the date that the employee begins active pay status in a Bargaining Unit position.
B. An employee’s seniority shall terminate:
1. If the employee quits.
2. If the employee retires.
3. If the employee is discharged.
4. If the employee who has completed the new hire probationary period fails to report to work as scheduled or fails to report after any authorized absence or layoff, the employee may be terminated effective on the 7th day following the date of mailing a letter from the University advising the employee that they may be terminated if the employee does not advise the University of the employee’s intention to report to work as scheduled. The letter shall be mailed via certified and regular U.S. Mail.
5. When an employee is assigned out of the Bargaining Unit the following provisions will apply:
a. If an employee is given a promotion out of the Bargaining Unit, and the employee is later found not to have met the posted qualifications, the employee may be returned to the employee’s prior position without a loss of seniority at any time during the employee’s probationary period.
b. If an employee leaves the Bargaining Unit to take a non-Bargaining Unit position and returns to the Bargaining Unit for reasons other than those set forth above during the employee’s probationary period, the employee shall be credited with the employee’s prior seniority and Bargaining Unit rights but shall not be credited with seniority for service outside the Bargaining Unit.
c. Except for laid-off employees who are awarded a non-Bargaining Unit position, once an employee has completed the employee’s probation in a non-Bargaining Unit position, the employee relinquishes all forms of Bargaining Unit seniority and shall be treated as a new employee in the event the employee returns to the unit.
d. Once a Bargaining Unit employee is promoted out of the Bargaining Unit, the employee does not retain any Bargaining Unit rights except those listed above (i.e., seniority rights).
e. This Agreement does not abridge Management’s rights nor guarantee that the employee shall be returned to his or her prior position.
C. Departments/segments for the purpose of this Article are defined in Article 16 - Classifications.
D. The University will provide the Union with three (3) copies of a seniority list on March 1, and September 1, of each year showing the seniority of each employee in the Bargaining Unit by University Seniority. Any employee shall have ten (10) working days after the list is prepared and posted in the departments to question the employee’s position on that list. If no question is received within the time period, the list shall be deemed accurate for the remainder of the posting period; and if a question is received, the list will be reviewed and revised as appropriate. If two (2) or more employees have the same University Seniority date, their names shall be listed alphabetically last name first, first name last.
E. The University will provide the Union with a bi-weekly list of new hires, terminations, promotions, lateral moves, leaves of absence, and retirements in the Bargaining Unit. The list will include the name of the employee and the date of the action.
F. The University will continue its efforts to avoid layoffs and will discuss at least thirty (30) days prior to layoff any potential layoffs with the Union in a scheduled labor management meeting. However, the University and the Union recognize that due to lack of funds or lack of work, temporary and permanent layoffs may be required to effectively and efficiently operate the University.
G. For seasonal layoffs the following provisions will apply:
1. The University will continue its efforts to minimize seasonal layoffs; but if there is a seasonal layoff of employees in Residential Dining Services, ▇▇▇▇▇ University Center Culinary Services, and/or Central Food Facility of less than 120 days, the provisions of this Article regarding layoffs are not applicable.
H. Layoffs will take place according to seniority and in accordance with the specific provisions of this Article covering segments and/or specific classification series within each segment. The University retains the right to determine layoffs in a particular classification, departmental classification series, and/or segment, and the specifics of each layoff.
I. The University will lay off the employee with the least University seniority in a classification in a segment’s classification series. (Classification series defined in Article 16 – Classifications.)
J. An employee who is laid off will first have the right to displace another employee with less University Seniority in the same classification throughout the University. If there is no less senior employee within the classification, the employee may displace a less senior employee in any classification in which the employee has previously served, or an equivalent or lower classification that the employee is qualified to hold. If there is no other classification available, the employee may displace the full time employee with the least University seniority in the lowest classification University-wide who may then displace the part time employee with the least University seniority in the lowest classification University-wide. Part time employees may not bump full time employees but may bump less senior part time employees. After the exercise of a laid-off employee’s displacement rights, the employee shall not be considered to have further displacement rights until the employee would be subject to layoff again. Employees may choose layoff rather than exercise their displacement right. Such employees will not be considered to have waived their recall rights, nor negatively affect their employment rights.
K. An employee’s displacement rights shall be subject to fulfillment of qualifications for the position. Qualifications shall be determined by a thirty-day probationary period if the employee has bumped into a classification in which the employee has not previously served. If the employee does not meet the qualifications of the position at the end of 30 days, the affected employee will be laid off with recall rights.
L. Employees shall be notified of layoff in writing by the University at least fourteen (14) calendar days in advance of the layoff. Except for extraordinary circumstances such as acts of God or hospitalization, the employee shall have five (5) days after receipt of the fourteen (14) day notice, excluding weekends and holidays, to notify the University in writing of the employee’s intention to exercise the employee’s displacement rights and to notify the University in writing of the employee’s displacement selection. Failure to provide written notification of the employee’s intention/selection as specified above waives the employee’s displacement rights.
M. Employees will be recalled to work in reverse order of the layoff procedure specified herein. Employees shall have recall and reinstatement rights for the period of time equal to the length of their Bargaining Unit seniority from the date of the layoff. However, after two years the affected employee, if interested, will have the obligation to monitor job availabilities by utilizing employment resources available through University Human Resources. An employee who is reinstated shall not serve a probationary period upon reinstatement except where the employee was a probationary employee and the probationary period shall begin anew. Notice of recall to an employee shall be made by hand delivery, or certified mail, or by other carrier using return receipt, to the last known address of such employee. A copy shall be forwarded to the Union. If undeliverable, the University’s obligation shall be considered to be fulfilled. The recalled employee must notify the University within three (3) working days of the date of receipt of notice of his/her intention to return to work. The date for returning to work shall be no less than seven (7) calendar days from date of notice received unless mutually agreed upon with the Union. Failure to return from layoff shall subject the employee to termination of service.