[Grammar] Union contract sentence interpretation

[Lauren87burns]

Hello. I have a question regarding my union contract. There is a sentence that my supevisor, union rep and I each have different interpretations of. I realize that my opinion may be biased and so I bring the question to you. A little background: I am a flight atttendant. We complete annual training in the month of our hire date anniversary. If, for some reason, training is not completed in the due month one must then complete it in the following month (grace month). Flight attendants bid on desired training dates which are supposed to happen on days off but might be scheduled in place of a work day. I failed to bid for my due month in April. I was awarded an April date anyway. I believe that I should be placed in my grace month, May. But I'm not sure if I'm correct. Here is the sentence that pertains to this situation straight from the contract:

"A lineholder who fails to bid for, or is not awarded a training assignment in her/his due month will be assigned a training date in her/his grace month on a day off or a scheduled work day if no training is available on the linholder's day off."

The reason I interpret the above to mean that I should be placed in my grace month is that if one of two events occur, failing to bid (I failed to bid) OR not being awarding a training assignment in my due month then I'm to be placed in my grace month. I believe that everything worded after "grace month" pertains to the grace month. But I may not be correct there either. Please let me know your thoughts, what your opinion of the actual intent is in this sentence and if it could be worded better.

Thanks!
Lauren

 

[SoothingDave]

It does indeed say that if you fail to bid for an assignment in your due month that you will be awarded one in the grace month.

It does not seem to address the situation where one fails to bid and is given an assignment in one's due month nonetheless.

Why are you so opposed to doing this in your due month?

 

[Lauren87burns]

It does indeed say that if you fail to bid for an assignment in your due month that you will be awarded one in the grace month.

It does not seem to address the situation where one fails to bid and is given an assignment in one's due month nonetheless.

Why are you so opposed to doing this in your due month?

The reason is that I was awarded the day after Easter and I prefer to see family/friends over the holiday. It's not a huge deal, actually. It's just that our contract is full of items that could be clarified or worded better.

 

[MikeNewYork]

As I read the document, you can be scheduled for training either in your grace month or in your due month.

 

[Lauren87burns]

Thank you, MikeNewYork. Can you explain why?

 

[MikeNewYork]

There is an OR in the regulation.

 

[Lauren87burns]

I see. It's just that once the sentence started referring to the grace month, I thought we were still talking about the grace month unless specified otherwise. For the record, I was assigned to an off day in the due month, April.

 

[MikeNewYork]

As I read it, that is allowed.

 

[Lauren87burns]

Ok. Do you read it to mean that I must take the assignment or should have the option to bid in my grace month? Thank you for your input.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I can't find anything that specific. You should ask.

 

[SoothingDave]

There is an OR in the regulation.

What "or" are you talking about? I see:

will be assigned a training date in her/his grace month

I don't see any language that allows for scheduling in her due month. (If she "fails to bid" or is not "awarded" such a schedule.)

It says she will be assigned a date in the grace month. This date will either be on a day off or on a scheduled work day.

 

[MikeNewYork]

"A lineholder who fails to bid for, or is not awarded a training assignment in her/his due month will be assigned a training date in her/his grace month on a day off a scheduled work day if no training is available on the linholder's day off."

As I read that, this employees WAS awarded a training assignment in the due month. It just was not the day that was desired,

 

[SoothingDave]

I see your point. I think it matters what "awarded" means. I think you have to bid and then, if you win the bid you are "awarded" the date you had bid on.

Note the later language that states "assigned." This is management simply assigning a date. The other way, the employees bid for the dates they want, then are "awarded" their date if they have seniority over others who have also bid for that date.


Say there are ten seats for the training and 12 people apply. The ten with the most seniority will be "awarded" the date. The other two would have bid for it, but not been "awarded."

In sum, I don't think you can be "awarded" something that you did not bid for. That's my interpretation of the word "awarded." So I don't think that "or" is relevant.

The OP here did not bid for any dates in her due month. Therefore she will be assigned a date in her grace month.

This language does not seem to contemplate that management might want to assign such an employee to a training date that is in the due month.

It seems to only contemplate what happens after the due month is over.

I would counsel the OP to take the date she is assigned. She could insist that she can only be assigned a training date in the grace month. But she has no say in that grace month date ("will be assigned") and management would surely schedule the worst possible date for her.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I think the "or" is important. The word "awarded" might be company jargon. In this case, the employee did not bid and I think the contract then allows management to place her in any slot they have open. But I agree with you that it is a bit vague.

 

[Lauren87burns]

Thank you Dave & Mike. I am in fact going to roll with the date I was assigned. It's true that there's a difference between awarded and assigned. Same goes for other situations such as when we bid on bases during initial hire, transfers or during base openings/closures, furloughs, etc. I already knew that I would suck it up and take the date. Mostly because I try to always fly below the radar with management and because it's my own fault for not bidding. I just came here for some validation since both my sup and rep disagreed with me but for different reasoning in their own interpretations. Good news is we've recently experienced a merger and, with that a new working contract is on the table. I will look for this language, and more examples like it, to be cleaned up when I vote. Thank you again for your help.