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Aug 4, 2008 8:31 pm US/Eastern
Absenteeism Costing Port Authority
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Officials at the Port Authority say some employees are adding to the agency's financial woes by taking too many sick days.
Port Authority CEO Steve Bland says as many as 50 employees are habitually absent anywhere from 40 to 60 days a year.
It also contributes to unreliable service.
Pat McMahon, a union spokesman, says he does not believe the absentee numbers are out of line for an agency as large as the Port Authority.
"What I think is any company besides the Port Authority with 2,500, 2,600 people that we're not far out of line from any company," he said. "There's definitely absenteeism. You know and there is a cost affected to that and if someone is abusing absenteeism then that is management's issue to address."
Bland says there are a number of factors that make it difficult to crack down on excessive absenteeism.
"While we do have what I would call a progressive discipline policy for attendance, it's very tough to really get at it because of some of the FMLA provisions and you go through a disciplinary proceeding and that's challenged and arbitrators have brought back employees to work who were discharged under those policies," Bland said.
What does this current dispute mean to the contract negotiations going on between the union and the Port Authority?
The union says it's going to make it a little more difficult the next time they sit down at the table.
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