Monday, September 18, 1978
'Red tape' upsets water workers
Staff Renorter
Bv JOHN FISCHER
Employees of the Lawrence Water Department are caught in the bureaucratic red tape of the city government over a grievance procedure and they can't seem to cut through it, two department employees said last week.
George Blevins Sr. and Phil Biera, water department employees, said they disbanded by the "run-around" the city of New York to create a campground gene Vendor, director of utilities.
The root of the problem seems to be a misunderstanding about terminology in the field. It is
The water workers listed their second grievance concerning Vogt as "misapplication of rules and regulations" as stated in the code.
However, the city wants the workers to make their grievance more specific by designating what rules and regulations were violated and how they were violated by Vogt. Then the city will accept the grievance and send it to those workers who signed the grievance, Kevin Burt, city personnel manager, said.
THE WORKERS, HOWEVER do not think they have to cite what rules and regulations were violated by Vogt because the code does not say they have to. Blevins said. The workers argue they will be specific about what they appear before the grievance board.
Burt disagreed.
"We want the specifics to see if the grievance can be solved at a lower level." Burt said. "If we don't know what the problem is, how can we do anything about it."
"We could find out after it goes to the grievance board that the problem could be the cause."
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"If we do something wrong, it doesn't matter if it hurts one employee or 200, we don't."
Burt said that he was concerned with the problem and that he was willing to meet with the water workers in preparing an acceptable eriewance.
THE PROBLEM STARTED when the water employees submitted two grievance forms to Burt, but Burt rejected both, and the second form forms did not comply with regulations.
The first grievance, submitted Aug. 17, was rejected, according to Blevins, because Burt said each grievance made by employees had to be filed on a separate form.
The form cited four grievances against Vogt. They were: inappropriate job assignments, age discrimination in hiring, improper employee promotion and unprofessional conduct. Vogt refused to comment on the charges.
Blevins said the workers had gone through all of the proper channels for filing a grievance. He said that after no resolutions were made at the lower levels, they decided to present their grievance to Burt to take before the board.
THE WORKERS then submitted the petition form to Burt first, to see whether it met the regulations before they went into effect. The response was no longer again. This is where the confusion started.
After the failure of the first grievance, the workers decided to submit another grievance. This time they listed their grievance as "misapplication of rules and regulations by Gene Vogt," Blevins and Biera said.
By listing their grievances under one category, the workers were able to cover all grievances under one area, which would have allowed the regulation laws, Blevins and Biera said.
However, Burt again rejected the form, saying it was not specific enough in its grievance and that some of the workers who signed the form were not aggrieved.
But Burt also said it did not comply because it had to be signed by one or two witnesses.
Blevis and Biera were upset over this because the employee's code says a grievance may be signed by one or more workers. They also said that in a letter to Blevis, Burt said more than one employee could sign the grievance.
THE LETTER stated, "As I told you in our three conversations, a group of aggreived employees may certainly file a grievance."
The grievances were filled after a number of decisions made by Vogt upset the workers because he allegedly did not follow proper procedures, Blevins and Biera said. They also said that the recent decisions were not the only reasons for the grievances.
Thunderstorms cause area flooding, damage
From staff and wire reports
gusting thunderstorms, by winds gusting at 45 to 68 mph swept through Lawrence last night, temporarily flooding streets and leaving several cars stranded.
The University of Kansas weather service recorded 1.12 inches of rain as of 9:30 p.m. and said they were expecting showers to resume this evening.
KU police said no severe damage had occurred as a result of the storm, but that Sunflower Drive was closed temporarily because of flooding.
Lawrence police said the corner of 29rd and Ousdahl streets had to be barricaded temporarily after several cars were stalled at the intersection. The underpass in North Lawrence also was closed for a while to let waters recede.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said two tornadoes had been reported, one south of
Lawrence and another north of Topeka, but neither was confirmed.
Police confirmed there were two tornadoes, sighted within minutes of each other east of Wichita, but neither touched down. One storm dropped down and downed power lines around Wichita.
Lightning struck a hardware store in Clay Center, Kan., causing three 500 gallon fuel containers to explode. Two firemen were treated for smoke inhalation during the three-hour blaze and were released from a local hospital.
An estimated $400,000 damage was done to the store.
Temperatures in Lawrence are expected be in the lower 90s today, cooling to around 85° F.
There is a chance of thunderstorms in the evening continuing sporadically through the day.
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Blevins said the first grievance was filed when the job of pipe inspector was given to a man Blevins said was unqualified without opening the tob to other employees.
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"This was the straw that broke the camel's back." Blevin said.
They said there had been a number of regulations, solutions by Voigt during the first half of the century.
AMONG THOSE EXAMPLES was a statement Vogt allegedly made at a meeting with employees Aug. 11. According to the examples attached to the first grievance, Vogt said, "If you don't stop bitching, you work so hard you won't I have time to think."
Besides other examples of actions taken by Vogt that were against procedures, the grievance also cited examples of unprofessional conduct.
thought he took the right actions and did not break any rules or regulations.
Voit refused to comment, but Mike Wilden, assistant city manager, said Voit
Vogt said he wanted to settle the grievances within the department rather than on his own.
However, Blevins and Bierna agreed that what the workers wanted out of their struggle with the city was an open apology from Vogt and a promise that he would abide by the rules and regulations in the employer's code.
They said the workers wanted the city to reprimand Vogt and have his job performance closely monitored by the city manager and the city commission.
BLEVINS AND BIERA said the workers would be willing to have their grievances heard before the board and would accept a negative resolution.
"We don't want to do anybody any harm," Belvains said. "We just want our day in town."
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