Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneyland
Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneyland
As of last week, Lara, AKA Purpura, is no longer is employed as a Disneyland Cast Member. She was terminated for the ever dreaded unspecified violation of company policy (IME, code for looking for an excuse to get rid of someone under California's 'At Will Employment' law.) While we're hoping to try and get her reinstated with the help of the union, We're both honestly pessimistic as to this, as the new foods union seems to be doing spit for the cast members.
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darph nader
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Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
Oh No. There goes our plan to 'pester' her on our next trip. 
Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
Good luck with that. In the termination reprimand and separation agreement, there should be a clear statement of the exact violation. While you go through the union steps process, I would get a lawyer. Make sure that the lawyer is up to speed regarding employment law. Nothing is better than dragging your lawyer to Employment Relations Office to prove a bias when they cannot quantify the exact violation.
At least get a status of "Rehire", "Do Not Rehire" is a red flag to other potential employers when they call for employment verification.
Good luck....it is possible to win....
mapo
At least get a status of "Rehire", "Do Not Rehire" is a red flag to other potential employers when they call for employment verification.
Good luck....it is possible to win....
mapo
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Zazu
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Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
Yeah; she was ever so 'pesterable' on my last visit!darph nader wrote:Oh No. There goes our plan to 'pester' her on our next trip.
Kick some Union butt; you at least deserve to know the cause, and the Union contract means they have to provide one.
Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
The only paperwork she received on termination did not specify any details, and she was given a Do Not Rehire status. At this time, a lawyer, unless we go through a Legal Aid society, is out of the question. There were also a couple of other issues. When she was called in for the meeting prior to her suspension (two days prior to her termination,) she was not given a chance to request a Shop Steward. In addition, no explanation of her COBRA benefits has been provided.mapo wrote:Good luck with that. In the termination reprimand and separation agreement, there should be a clear statement of the exact violation. While you go through the union steps process, I would get a lawyer. Make sure that the lawyer is up to speed regarding employment law. Nothing is better than dragging your lawyer to Employment Relations Office to prove a bias when they cannot quantify the exact violation.
At least get a status of "Rehire", "Do Not Rehire" is a red flag to other potential employers when they call for employment verification.
Good luck....it is possible to win....
mapo
One issue is that she IS disabled in a manner that affects her judgement, especially with regards to guest interactions. Not that she is insulting or anything intentionally, but sometimes she does speak without thinking. This latest incident, a guest complaint, which I do agree she should have been disciplined for (but not terminated,) was such an instance (suggesting that a mother wake up a sleeping baby for lunch.) However, this followed closely on no fewer than two incidents where she was accused of harrassment by cast members, one of which involved congratulating a manager from another department who was wearing a headscarf, for being a cancer survivor, the other of which being another unspecific complaint which she couldn't even remember what was said. In the former (although chronologically the later) of these two instances, she was disciplined for a 'lapse in judgement,' which would fall squarely into the effects of her diagnosed neurological issues. Unfortunately, as we were unaware at the time of her hire that paperwork relating to said neurological issues was available here in California, we were unable to make Disney aware of this disability.
Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
Here in Florida under STCU contract (and every other union agreement), if management does not provide access to a Union Steward then the Union can get the action, up to and including termination, nullified.
If Purpura is a member of a Union class, get a hold of a Business Agent for the Union now. Business Agent contact information should be listed on the Union board for your work area. And YES, there should be a number of Union boards for her particular union in cast areas at DL.
Union Business Agents typically have an on going relationship with Employee Relations and Labor Relations. This is not necessarily a bad thing ... the clock is not your friend though. Get in touch with the Business Agent and Employee Relations asap. I would call the Business Agent first and ask how to proceed. Get DL Management on their failure to afford Purpura her legal right to Union Representation. Purpura does NOT have to ask for a Union Steward...MANAGEMENT must ask if Purpura would like a Union steward! If Purpura says she wanted one then they MUST stop and WAIT for a steward to be present.
Let me say it again to be clear....The easiest and fastest way to get Purpura reinstated is hammering them on the fact that they did not offer her a Union Steward.
I am not versed on the differences between DL and WDW contracts BUT Weingarten rules apply to ALL union situations.
If Purpura works in a non Union role, such as Guest Relations here at WDW is Office and Technical, then the same protections do not apply. The management is scared of the notion of MEDIA and LAWYERS. You do not really need to HAVE a lawyer...frankly, a strong Business Agent is better at beating up Disney management than any lawyer.
Finally, if they choose to uphold Purpura's separation, all they can ever say is that DL would not hire her back into her last role. It sucks, but she can just say that her last role was not a good fit at the time.
Good luck...
mapo
If Purpura is a member of a Union class, get a hold of a Business Agent for the Union now. Business Agent contact information should be listed on the Union board for your work area. And YES, there should be a number of Union boards for her particular union in cast areas at DL.
Union Business Agents typically have an on going relationship with Employee Relations and Labor Relations. This is not necessarily a bad thing ... the clock is not your friend though. Get in touch with the Business Agent and Employee Relations asap. I would call the Business Agent first and ask how to proceed. Get DL Management on their failure to afford Purpura her legal right to Union Representation. Purpura does NOT have to ask for a Union Steward...MANAGEMENT must ask if Purpura would like a Union steward! If Purpura says she wanted one then they MUST stop and WAIT for a steward to be present.
Let me say it again to be clear....The easiest and fastest way to get Purpura reinstated is hammering them on the fact that they did not offer her a Union Steward.
I am not versed on the differences between DL and WDW contracts BUT Weingarten rules apply to ALL union situations.
If Purpura works in a non Union role, such as Guest Relations here at WDW is Office and Technical, then the same protections do not apply. The management is scared of the notion of MEDIA and LAWYERS. You do not really need to HAVE a lawyer...frankly, a strong Business Agent is better at beating up Disney management than any lawyer.
Finally, if they choose to uphold Purpura's separation, all they can ever say is that DL would not hire her back into her last role. It sucks, but she can just say that her last role was not a good fit at the time.
Good luck...
mapo
Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
The problem is that, while they did this at the initial suspension meeting, there WAS, by Purpura's arrangement, a Union Rep at the final termination meeting. If there had not been, I would think we could have pursued this.
Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
Doesn't this also have overtones of a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act? I don't have a neurological problem, but there have been times I've said something I should not have, and I was never fired for it. But then, I've never been a union member.
Would something like this have happened if Walt were alive? I realize in his day things were different, but still, would this even be an issue?
Then again, I have had my share of working with people whose heads definitely weren't screwed on straight regarding worker's rights, and I've know four women--including my mom--who were demonstratably wrong on what they believed, and it didn't end well. Three of those four--mom, a former boss, and a woman who went to the last church I attended as well as working at the Bible college I attended--did a lot of damage to me personally; the fourth, a former pastor's wife, damaged her relationships and destroyed her marriage, though she later came to realize what she had believed was wrong, it was too late for her marriage, as the divorce she instigated had been finalized. Mom chose to believe a bunch of B.S. that some "professionals" told her regarding what I could or could not (allegedly) do, mostly what I supposedly could not, and she swallowed that lie hook line and anchor. That, in brief, is why I can't really get a job that would allow me to get off food stamps and Cal-Optima. Or drive a car. Or live on my own without needing assistance in paying rent.
My former boss would sing a snatch of a hymn, and proclaim she was a Christian, even though I caught her doing some things--I forget what now--when I brought this up, she'd flash her trademark sunny smile and say, "I know I sometimes don't act like a Christian, but I really am!" I worked for her as her secretary--though I couldn't take dictation--and did basic payroll--no computers--until all of a sudden she made me stop doing the payroll, keeping track of how much each worker did, how many hours, pay rate, etc.. When the guy who went out to get contract assembly jobs for us confronted her, he was fired on the spot. When I protested, I was sent back on the assembly line. Later, after I'd left, I happened to run into a former co-worker, who told me that our former boss had been sent to prison for embezzlement. That's when I realized why she'd been acting the way she was.
The last one was a woman at the last church I went to before the one I now attend. At first she was friendly, then when I had problems getting steady employment and keeping up on my rent, she turned into a total Jezebel--too much to this story, so this is the Reader's Digest version--and she slandered me to everyone in the church--almost, anyway--and in the end I moved in with mom. That church no longer exists, it was taken over by a Spanish congregation.
Bottom line, if you mess with an innocent person, it's going to come back to you in spades. Disney, I'm afraid, has gotten too big for its britches and could end up destroying itself if it keep attacking its own people.
Would something like this have happened if Walt were alive? I realize in his day things were different, but still, would this even be an issue?
Then again, I have had my share of working with people whose heads definitely weren't screwed on straight regarding worker's rights, and I've know four women--including my mom--who were demonstratably wrong on what they believed, and it didn't end well. Three of those four--mom, a former boss, and a woman who went to the last church I attended as well as working at the Bible college I attended--did a lot of damage to me personally; the fourth, a former pastor's wife, damaged her relationships and destroyed her marriage, though she later came to realize what she had believed was wrong, it was too late for her marriage, as the divorce she instigated had been finalized. Mom chose to believe a bunch of B.S. that some "professionals" told her regarding what I could or could not (allegedly) do, mostly what I supposedly could not, and she swallowed that lie hook line and anchor. That, in brief, is why I can't really get a job that would allow me to get off food stamps and Cal-Optima. Or drive a car. Or live on my own without needing assistance in paying rent.
My former boss would sing a snatch of a hymn, and proclaim she was a Christian, even though I caught her doing some things--I forget what now--when I brought this up, she'd flash her trademark sunny smile and say, "I know I sometimes don't act like a Christian, but I really am!" I worked for her as her secretary--though I couldn't take dictation--and did basic payroll--no computers--until all of a sudden she made me stop doing the payroll, keeping track of how much each worker did, how many hours, pay rate, etc.. When the guy who went out to get contract assembly jobs for us confronted her, he was fired on the spot. When I protested, I was sent back on the assembly line. Later, after I'd left, I happened to run into a former co-worker, who told me that our former boss had been sent to prison for embezzlement. That's when I realized why she'd been acting the way she was.
The last one was a woman at the last church I went to before the one I now attend. At first she was friendly, then when I had problems getting steady employment and keeping up on my rent, she turned into a total Jezebel--too much to this story, so this is the Reader's Digest version--and she slandered me to everyone in the church--almost, anyway--and in the end I moved in with mom. That church no longer exists, it was taken over by a Spanish congregation.
Bottom line, if you mess with an innocent person, it's going to come back to you in spades. Disney, I'm afraid, has gotten too big for its britches and could end up destroying itself if it keep attacking its own people.
Re: Purpura will be down for breakfast, but not at Disneylan
I am sorry to hear that.
I would exhaust the options to appeal the decision anyway. Yes, I like making them squirm and force them to give me all the considerations that I am entitled. Ironically, I find that if they gave the Cast Member half of the consideration during one's tenure, these issues that can lead to separation would be negated. But, I would also not spend too much energy or time on it.
One of the most important things that a Cast Member *must* do in today's climate is learn the rules. You need to out Disney management at all levels. Most managers have no idea about the contract you work under and the policies of Disney Corp. Knowledge is power....
I wish you both nothing but the best. Lately, I think that the Company is the Titanic...and yes, many of us are looking at where a life boat can be found. Purpura may be leaving at a good time...I prefer to pick when I leave, but it may be for the best anyway.
mapo
I would exhaust the options to appeal the decision anyway. Yes, I like making them squirm and force them to give me all the considerations that I am entitled. Ironically, I find that if they gave the Cast Member half of the consideration during one's tenure, these issues that can lead to separation would be negated. But, I would also not spend too much energy or time on it.
One of the most important things that a Cast Member *must* do in today's climate is learn the rules. You need to out Disney management at all levels. Most managers have no idea about the contract you work under and the policies of Disney Corp. Knowledge is power....
I wish you both nothing but the best. Lately, I think that the Company is the Titanic...and yes, many of us are looking at where a life boat can be found. Purpura may be leaving at a good time...I prefer to pick when I leave, but it may be for the best anyway.
mapo