Opinion ID: 789622
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Feldscher's Union Position

Text: 33 On December 18, 2000, during one of his pre-election visits to the Indianapolis West facility, Cicchini met one-on-one with employee Allen Feldscher, a service attendant who had been employed by Ryder since 1979. Cicchini identified himself, explained that the Union had filed a petition, and said that he wanted to speak to the employees because he did not want them to go union. Cicchini asked Feldscher about his problems with the company. Feldscher responded that the evaluation system was unfair and was used to prevent employees from receiving a raise. He also complained about being disciplined in May 2000 because he took leave to deal with his wife's illness. Cicchini took notes during the meeting. He indicated that he agreed with Feldscher and said that management could work out the problems without a union. 34 Managers Herlihy and Buckley also met with Feldscher individually to discuss the new company vacation policy. Herlihy brought a folder containing notes with Feldscher's name on it. In addition to discussing the vacation policy, the managers and Feldscher reviewed the disciplinary action taken against Feldscher for being late when he had taken his wife to the emergency room. Feldscher told Herlihy and Buckley that he thought the employees needed a third party to represent their interests. Buckley responded that management was not that hard-nosed and that some changes were going to be made — for example, employees were going to be evaluated every six months instead of every year. 35 During the last week of January 2001, after the Union withdrew its election petition, Feldscher heard that Ryder was going to make changes to the new vacation program that had been promised to employees. Feldscher told fellow employees that he was dissatisfied with the modifications to the vacation program and planned to raise the issue at the safety meeting scheduled for February 20, 2001.