The grievor was directed to perform his work in a certain way by a supervisor. It was discovered that he had done it in a different way. The arbitrator found that his refusal was insubordination and his termination was upheld.
A welder was fired after he ignored specific instructions on how to redo a deficient weld.
E.R. was a certified and experienced journeyman welder. He began working for a large heavy equipment supplier in 2008.
There were a number of incidents of discipline on E.R.’s record. He received two verbal warnings and a letter of expectation regarding safety lapses. There was a written warning for failure to follow proper absence reporting procedures. There were also two three-day suspensions: one was for reading a newspaper in the lunchroom during working hours, the other was for a failure to follow proper lock-out procedures.
During the overnight shift on June 29, 2011, E.R. was working to repair a crack in the box of a dump truck. During their rounds, two supervisors inspected E.R.’s work and asked him to stop.
The supervisors told E.R. that he was not making the repair correctly. They directed him to undo his work and then redo it in the way that they said. There was some discussion because E.R. expressed concerns about whether or not he would be able to get into position to make the weld in the way that the supervisors were requesting.
The supervisors addressed E.R.’s concerns and reiterated their directions. They asked E.R. directly if he understood what he was being asked to do. E.R. affirmed that he understood.
Directions ignored
The repair that E.R. made was the opposite of what his supervisors had asked for. The backing strip was on the inside instead of the outside; the weld was horizontal instead of vertical and there were no run-off tabs.
The next day, the supervisor asked E.R. why he had done the repair that way. E.R. responded that the supervisor was wrong about how to do the repair.
E.R. then met with the supervisors. E.R. was asked to prepare a written statement explaining why he did the weld the way he did. E.R. then insisted on a shop steward being present. When it was explained that no shop steward was available, E.R. left the meeting without providing a statement.
The next day E.R. was fired. The union grieved.
Questions were raised about the integrity of the weld E.R. had produced, the employer said. He was given specific directions on how to redo the weld. He ignored those directions. This was not an error but rather a deliberate act of insubordination, the employer said. Moreover, E.R. was confrontational when he was questioned about his decision. E.R. was not a long-service employee and he had a significant disciplinary record. Termination was warranted, the employer said.
Contract violation alleged
The employer violated the collective agreement when E.R. was denied union representation. Such a breach of the contract was cause to nullify the discipline altogether, the union said. Even if discipline was warranted, termination was excessive in the circumstances. E.R.’s lack of fluency in English had a bearing on his actions. E.R. was a journeyman welder and he was under the impression that he had the discretion to do the job in the way that he thought best.
The Arbitrator said the termination was warranted.
E.R. did not accept that he was directed to perform the task in question in a particular way. Neither did he accept that his supervisors had the right to direct how he did his work. This was insubordination, the Arbitrator said, and it was not an isolated incident.
The incidents that that prompted E.R.’s previous disciplinary sanctions betrayed similar failures to follow procedures.
“[E.R.] has not accepted responsibility for ignoring his supervisors’ specific directions and has not made any commitment in the future to follow such directions and the Company’s other policies and procedures.”
The Arbitrator made no ruling on whether or not E.R.’s contractual rights to union representation had been violated because that claim was not raised in the grievance.
The grievance was dismissed.
