September 15, 2010 at 12:00 PM
The following are the minutes from a conference call between Jonathan Cristo and the Jazz District Chairpersons held on September 8, 2010. The dialogue concerned accommodations at Jazz Technical Services.
- A question that had been raised amongst the district officers was, “Are the accommodations treated equally system wide?” ‘Equally’ is too simplistic a term because of all the variables between bases – heavy and line – and the differences between each case. But to answer the question, basically yes. The Company has a policy and they follow it rather consistently. About 90% of all accommodations are temporary in nature and the Company has been reliable with these. It is the permanent accommodations where concerns may arise as the Company has taken the position that they do not have to make a separate position for a member who needs an accommodation. The base mangers can become frustrated as cases can be complex and they are not given adequate training to deal with the many issues that arise from a more difficult accommodation. However, HR relies on them to help identify work that an accommodated member can perform. The problem is when the Company states that they do not have any work that fits the accommodation, and that is where the Union will get the grievance process under way. Then it is up to us to prove that they do have things that our member could do within the restrictions. It appears that the Company’s main issue is that they do not seem to want employees on the floor with restrictions and are very hesitant to modify the jobs.
- It would be nice to have one person to deal with all the accommodations system wide. That idea might work if we were all in one location, but in our four time zone / 10 base world, that does not work. So for now we have Jonathan to look after our members when something goes wrong or they have a question. (Jonathan’s contact information goes out with the packages that Jazz sends someone going on Workers Compensation or a Great West Life claim). In addition, the District Chairs are another good resource for the members and are quite often the first point of contact for a member who feels distressed, which is fine since Jonathan works closely with the Distirct Officers. If a member comes back with a temporary accommodation, the District Chairperson may not be informed about it. The Company has done a satisfactory job in regards to respecting the employee’s right to privacy. When there is a permanent accommodation, or a member does not feel right about how a temporary accommodation is going, then for sure the District or Vice Chairperson needs to be involved. Some officers may have a sense of discomfort because of unfamiliarity with the process depending on how much experience and involvement they have been exposed to. But no one - including Jonathan - is such an expert that they know it all, but we have others to lean on for information. We have a layered system where if the District Chairperson or the member believes they need assistance, they can contact Jonathan. If Jonathan gets to the point of needing assistance because of a complex or difficult case he has the Local’s Executive Assistant Ashley Watkins to rely on. If it goes beyond his abilities he has legal firms that have fought for our members rights on behalf of the CAW. It was suggested that we could come up with a process map that could take some of the mystery out of the process for new officers, or for officers who have little experience with accommodations. There are many variables, but Jonathan and Don will try and draft a document to clarify these issues and procedures. Although we would argue that the Jazz policy on accommodations is weak, it is what the Company is working from and it is our job to call the Company on their actions when they are out of line with legislation.
- There are cases where the accommodation supersedes seniority. The Company has the ability to displace a senior employee if absolutely necessary to satisfy the accommodation. The courts have provided significant jurisprudence to make it nearly impossible to make the company create an extra position to satisfy an accommodation. The reality is that it can lead to some hard feelings within the membership. Jonathan has gone in to a location to do sensitivity training to counter these negative feelings. Once a permanent accommodation is done, it is just that - permanent - and does not change. And as much as people may joke, “how do I get an accommodation?”, the truth of the matter is that you never want to be in a position to need one! The best advice is to try to lead a healthy life style, work safe, play safe and don’t injure yourself!
- Jonathan warned of the dangers of trying to quote case law when you are arguing a case. For everyone that you find to support your claim, the company will find just as many arguing the opposite. You need to look at each case individually and hold it up to the legislation. Case law is good as a reference, but do not quote it.
- What is the main difference you see between a Great West Life claim and a Workers Compensation claim? If a member is injured at work, Workers Compensation gets involved and they are more organized, generate more of a paper trail, get more people involved, and generally are more professional. We have come a long way since Jonathan has started this position in taking on and winning Workers Compensation challenges.
Jonathan Cristo is our Benefits Representative who is based out of London, Ontario. He can be contacted via email at: [email protected]
In Solidarity,
Don Ross
CAW VP Local 2002
Jazz Technical Services
(800) 932-4564 ext: *5004