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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-0564.Woodcock and Alstine.82-06-16Between: IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION Under THE CROWN EMPLOYEES COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ACT Before THE GRIEVANCE SETTLEMENT BOARD OLBEU (S. WOODCOCK & J. VAN ALSTINE) Grievors and The Crown in Right of Ontario (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) Employer Before: J.W. Samuels, I Vi7ie;hairman I. Thomson G. Walker - Member For the Grievors: Mr. G. Beaulieu Consultant Union Consulting Services For the Employer: Ms. J. Baker, Counsel Hicks, Morley, Hamilton, Stewart & Storie Date of Hearing: June 4/82 -2- Introduction The grievors work in the Mail and Multigraph Department preparing all the printed material required by the Employer in its operations. They are classified as Clerk 3, and say that they should'be classified as Clerk 4, primarily because they do the same work as Mr. C, another employee who was so classified (he has now been promoted, and his position has been posted). This case is perhaps the worst example of the pro- blems which face this Board in classification matters. In fact, as we shall see, the class standards for Clerks 3 and 4 bear hardly any resemblance whatsoever to the jobs done by the grievors, or anyone in the multigraph side of their department. However, there are no class standards which do fit their jobs. Hence, we are asked to take an orange in one hand, and a Delicious apple and a Spy apple in the other hand, and to say which apple the orange most closely re- sembles. And the jurisprudence does not permit us to say that the job is impossible! With this in mind, let us turn to our task. The ~Classification Guide The L.C.B.O. and L.L.B.O. Classification Guide provides as is shown on the following Table for Clerks Grade 3 and 4. - 3 - -4- -5- The Job 'of Mrs. S. Woodcock In the job description prepared for the audit of her position, Mrs. Woodcock said the following about her job: A. POSITION SUMMARY To provide all printing services needed by LCBO/LLBO. This involves the operation, maintenance h repair of IBM Copier, Xerox Copiers, Collator, Jogger-Sticher, Addresso- graph & Addressograph Platemaker. Must be able to communicate with all Head Office staff, understand & fulfill their printing requirements. B. DDTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Approximate (i) Regular or Major Duties: % of Time 1. Printing Forms, Bulletins, 6 Letters: 70% - decide job priorities - inspect form original - check for errors - return for correction if necessary - go over requisition for specifica- tions, paper size, colour, weight, letterhead, etc. - select and prepare stock - program Xerox 9400 - run job - monitor quality - make necessary adjustments - clear jams - make minor repairs and do routine maintenance - collate, staple, box & label job - inform supervisor of stock shortages - file requisition - originals on completion of each job. 2. IBM Photocopying: 15% - make photocopies of various documents for Head Office staff - keep a constant count of the copies made - minor repairs & maintenance on IBM 3. Padding, Cutting & Addressograph: 10% - refer to job description of J. Van Alstine I -6- Answering Telephone Inquiries Fill in for Supervisor when Absent Fill in for Mail Room Staff when Absent C. DECISION MAKING/COMPLEXITY (i) Keeping in mind the duties you have described, describe the typical problems you are faced with. Mechanical problems - I am trained for trouble-shooting, repairs & maintenance, must place service calls & work with .technicians over the telephone. Re-run jobs which were sent down with errors beyond our control (ie. prices) (ii) Describe the types of,decisions you are required to make. Priority of work, materials to be used, decide when service calls are needed, decide if jobs have gone through proper channels and are finalized for printing. (iii) Describe the types of decisions or Pro- blems which are referred to your super- visor. Ordering of supplies Procedure on new or unusual work. F. SUPERVISION RECEIVED (i) Describe the extent to which your super- visor outlines methods and procedures to be followed. My supervisor gives direction on any new procedures. (ii) How often do you receive guidance and direction? Rarely. (iii) How is your work checked and by whom? I check my own work. If a job is not correct I rectify the problem myself. 5% -7- Then an audit of the job was done by Ms. Gail Chapman, a Senior Job Analyst with the L.C.B.O. She de- scribed the job as follows: Xerox 9400 - 70% of time a course from Xerox is required to operate this machine receives "Requisit~ion for Forms” and for memoranda along with original to be copied sets job priorities according to "Date Re- quested" on the requisition and re-occuring standing orders checks requisition for type of letterhead, paper size, colour, weight, etc. and whether it is to be collated, stapled and/or punched select and prepare stock by fanning, placing paper for correct curve if two sided copying is requested program the machine for number of copies, collation, two-sided copying, etc. run the job, monitoring quality and making necessary adjustments if the job is to be padded, removing the sheets at prescribed intervals and separating each with cardboard if job is to be collated, removing each group so as to not overlap .men job is completed, it is boxed and labelled Upkeep and Maintenance of Xerox 9400 on an ongoing basis: - fills machines with ink - clears' paper jams if the machine is not operating the digital display panel lights up with a code this code along with repairing methods are contained in a manual there are some repairs, that according to the code, are to be referred to a serviceman, which can be corrected on site. These have been taught to the operators which in turn reduces service calls (i.e. how to operate the machine with the doors open - this en- ables problem areas to be checked on during production) repairs of a more major nature are called in and sometimes repaired by relay over the phone senior clerk decides if service calls are needed -a- IBM Photocopier - 15% of time -, receives information to be copied usually from people waiting at wicket operator is told size of paper, number of copies and whether to collate machine is set for number, size of paper, etc. copies are run and handed to person waiting and a record is kept of number of copies for each department maintenance and minor repairs are performed, adding ink, paper, clearing jams, re- $Ling service calls Collator used for jobs with two to ten originals with 500 to 1,000 copies to be run of each machine has ten bins, the correct number of copies is placed in each bin and the bins are set by a gage to the thickness of the copies the copies are collated automatically and are either stapled or jogged (each set is on an angle to readily identify the individual sets) clears staple and paper jams the machine is turn on collated material is fed into the machine and stapled and if necessary jogged the wire which is formed by the machine into a staple may need straightening and rewiring through the machine Occasional Duties -~ 10% of time operates the Addressograph, Addressograph Plate Maker, padder and cutter. And she classified the job as a "strong 3". From the testimony at our hearing, it appears that these descriptions are accurate. In short, ~lrs. Woodcock runs one of the two Xerox 9400 printing machines. She - 9 - establishes her own work priorities, and keeps the machine running. When the machine breaks down, its computer will say so and indicate the problem. There is a set of cards which tell the operator how to respond to the problem. How- ever, in many cases these cards say merely "Call your Xerox technician", but the grievor fixes the machine herself, because she is trained to do so and knows how. So that she is not simply responding to the machine's commands, but is called upon to make up her own mind on the course of repair. She has a certificate from Xerox. The physical demands of the job are fairly heavy, but there is no place in the classification system for taking this into consideration. The Jobs of Mrs. J. Van Alstine In the job description prepared for the audit of her job, Mrs. Van Alstine said the following: A. POSITION SUMMARY We provide the majority of printing required by the L.C.B.O. h L.L.B.O. This involves the operation, maintenance & repair of an IBM Copier, Xerox Copiers, Collator, Jogger Stitcher, Addressograph Plate Maker & Ad- dressograph. We must be able to communicate with all Head Office staff, understand, and fulfill their printing requirements. B. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (i) Regular or Major Duties: Approximate % of Time PADDING - Forms must be stacked straight 40% - 10 - - Glue is applied - When dry, the pads are separated and either cut into the requested dimensions or boxed directly - The products are now directed to their specific departments ADDRE.SSOGR?@H 40% - Printing of all envelopes requested by LCBO & LLBO on the addressograph - Full responsibility for main- tenance and upkeep on the plates used in the Addressograph - Printing of all new and replacing of all old plates on the Addressograph Plate Maker - Responsible for most maintenance of machines and call for service - Keep inventory on all varieties of envelopes in stock - Order glue - Must be able to work with little supervision XEROX PRINTING '& IBM COPIER & COLLATOR 15% - Please refer to the Job Descrio- tion done by Mrs. S. Woodcock‘ (Clerk III) (ii) Occasional or Minor Duties: - Answering telephone - Typing monthly reports - Fill in for Mail Room staff who are absent - Train new & temporary staff - Supervise the occasional small b large job being sent out from the Mail Room - Selling stamps to LLBO & LCBO staff C. DECISION MAKING/COMPLEXITY (i) Keeping in mind the duties you have described, describe the typical problems you are faced with. - Mechanical problems - Keeping proper amounts of stock on hand (i.e. large order comes in and depletes present supply of envelopes) 5% .,. - 11 - (ii) Describe the.types of decisions you are required to make. - Priorities of work - Material to be used - When to call for service - Organization of time (~iii) .Describe the types of decisions or problems which are referred to your supervisor. - Purchasing of supplies F. SUPERVISION RECEIVED (i) Describe the extent to which your supervisor outlines methods and proce- dures to be followed. - Only on new or unusual jobs will the supervisor help to set up procedures, but after a short time usually leaves the majority of work to workers. (ii) How often do you receive guidance and direction? - Rarely (iii) How is your work checked and by whom? - Check by self or - Checked by department receiving work And Ms. Chapman described the job as follows after her audit: Padding - 40% of time either collects or receives forms from Multi- graph section the correct number of pages are in place and divided by a piece of cardboard the stacks are put on the gluing table, straightened and placed under pressure by pulling a handle that presses an arm onto the stack - 12 - once in place, glue is applied to one end of the stack with a paint brush - this takes approximately 20 minutes to dry at any one time there could be six stacks drying when dry, the pads are put in a box, labelled and sent to Central Supply or specific de- partments if the pads need cutting, for example Action Requests, where there are four pads to a page, the pads are placed on the cutting table, measured and cut in half. The loose half is then placed back on the table for gluing and the glued half is measured and cut in half again. 'Addressograph Machine - 40% of time receives requests from various departments throughout the LCBO and LLBO or automatically addresses envelopes (i.e. one envelope per store twice a week) when requests are received they are checked for correct completion, if there is any ques- tion, the requesting department or person is contacted the requests contain the following informa- tion: 1. the department i: person address required Ii: date ordered and date required number, size and type of envelope plans own work schedule by integrating the requests with automatic repeat orders places the address plates into the machine either separately or by "drawer" the machine is operated by three pedals: 1. changes plate after each envelope, 2. maintains same plate as a specific number of envelopes is run through, 3. used for manual feed of envelopes the machine automatically feeds 14 cm. x 29 cm. envelopes; constant check must be kept for envelopes that are missed or printed inappro- priately, if this occurs when envelopes are fed through automatically, the operator has to remember stores that are missed and do them individually at the end when addressing larger envelopes (i.e. 23 cm. x 30.48 cm. size) the automatic envelope feed must be disconnected and each envelope must be hand fed by positioning it correctly over address plate opening and pushing the third pedal to imprint - 13 - the machine automatically counts the number of imprints but is reset manually by operator after each run if plates are worn out, new ones are placed in the Addressograph Plate Maker and the operator types out the address - this is performed at the operators discretion Stock maintains an adequate level of envelopes when ordering the operator contacts different departments to ascertain if large orders are to be expected orders stock of envelopes and glue as needed through Supervisor constant check on time must be maintained to charge the LLBO for time spent on their jobs Occasional Duties - 15%' of time operates Xerox 9400, IBM copier, collator, jogger-stitcher And she‘classified the job as a "weak 3". From the testimony.at our hearing, it would appear that these descriptions are accurate. In short, Mrs. Van Alstine spends most of her time on the padding machine and the addressograph. These machines are not nearly as com- plicated as the Xerox 9400, and the problems,she is called on to sort out are not oft the same complexity as fixing the Xerox. She acknowledged that she does not yet know the Xerox 9400 as well as Mrs. Woodcock. The Job of Mr. C The grievers say that they do the same job as was done by Mr. C, who has just been promoted to be their super- - 14 - visor and his position is now posted. It appears that he used to operate the.other Xerox 9400, and did essentially the same work as Mrs. Woodcock. However, Ms. Chapman in- dicated that he was classified as a Clerk 4 because it was her impression that, in addition to the work done by Mrs. Woodcock, he also did the following: taking over the department for short or longer periods when the supervisor was away from his post (if this was for more than 2 days, he was paid extra ) collecting the monthly output figures for the supervisor's report discussing bad work with the supervisor, and looking to its remedy. We are willing to accept the grievers' testimony that, in fact, there was virtually no difference between the ' jobs done by Mr. C and Mrs. Woodcock. However, on behalf of the Employer, Ms. Baker argued that the real point is why the Employer classified him as Clerk 4. If the employer was incorrect in what he did, then he was improperly classified. But the classification was correct, given the description of the job on which the classification was based. I agree with Ms. Baker in this. Therefore, the similarity with Mr. C is not really relevant. Conclusions In the first place, we must deal with a further argument made by the Union. That is that it was represented - 15 - to the grievors that they could advance to Clerk 4, and then they were told recently by senior management that Clerk 3 was the highest grade in the multigraph room. In our view, there is nothing in this argument of estoppel because the fact of the matter is that there is a Clerk 4 position. It was held by Mr. C and is now posted. There was no promise to the grievors that they themselves would necessarily ad- vance to Clerk 4. If there was a representation previously that one could be a Clerk 4 in multigraph, then this repre- sentation was correct. The recent statement by a member of senior management that one couldn't move to Clerk 4 in the multigraph room was simply incorrect. Turning to the critical issues, given the Classi- fication Guide with which we must work (and I have already commented on the ridiculous position in which this Board finds itself), are the grievors improperly classified as Clerk 3? The "Summary of Responsibility Level" offers little guidance. Neither grievor needs to know anything about the legislation, and they don't do clerical tasks. .The "Typical Duties" are likewise of little help. The grievors don't do any of this work. We do find some guidance in the "Decision Making/ Complexity". Mrs. Woodcock is required to do tasks which - 16 - vary from established guidelines in the way she orders her work and repairs the Xerox 9400. She makes decisions con- cerning work methods and procedures. This is like the Clerk 4. On the other hand, the padding and addressograph work of Mrs. Van Alstine is more routine. This is like the Clerk 3 work. "Contacts*, "Supervision Given" and "Entrance Qualifications" are of little help. With respect to "Supervision Received", the language for Clerk 4 fits both grievors. I In sum, we are of the view that the job of Mrs. Woodcock fits more closely with Clerk 4 than Clerk 3. Therefore, she is improperly classified. On the other hand, Mrs. Van Alstine's job fits Clerk 3 better than Clerk 4. Her grievance is denied. We order that Mrs. woodcock be classified as a Clerk 4 as of the date of her grievance, September 14, 1981. If the parties are unable to agree on the retroactive com- pensation due to the grievor, this Board will reconvene to decide the issue,. _ Before leaving this matter, I cannot refrain from saying that there ought to be new class standards developed - 17 - to cover the positions occupied by the grievors. Given the current Classification Guide, they are not Clerks at all and it is entirely artificial to say that they are. Done at London, Ontario, this/&day of J-, 1902. I. Thomson, Member G. Walker, Member - 18 - 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Report dated February 24, 1981 Job Description (Woodcock) Idem (Van Alstine) Requisition for Forms Organization Chart Audit (Woodcock) Idem (Van Alstine) Classification Guide - Clerk 2 IdesI - Clerk 3 Idem - Clerk 4 9400 Operator Addressograph