Opinion ID: 2192876
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Three Day Suspension April 1977

Text: UPI continued to be disappointed by, and critical of, Hubbard's job performance in the first quarter of 1977. Hubbard was finally suspended on April 28, 1977, for days without pay, and given a final warning that he had better shape up. The suspension was ordered because, in UPI's judgment, Hubbard was out-of-pocket the weekend of April 14, 1977. Out-of-pocket means that UPI could not contact him, and that he had not told the local news office and Chicago pictures that he could not be reached. UPI views being out-of-pocket as a cardinal sin. Hubbard contested the suspension and explained that he had talked to Macchini by phone a number of times on Friday, had called the Chicago office on Saturday, and had called his Minneapolis office on Sunday evening. Despite these communications, UPI still considered Hubbard out-of-pocket because, although he could call in, neither the local UPI office nor the Chicago office knew how to reach him. Hubbard filed a grievance regarding his suspension, and the matter finally went to arbitration in January of 1978.