Collective Bargaining Agreement

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT


BETWEEN J.E. GOOLD & CO., PORTLAND, MAINE


(A DIVISION OF BINDLEY WESTERN INDUSTRIES, INC.
OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA)


AND


TRUCK DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS UNION LOCAL NO. 340


OCTOBER 21, 1994


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OCTOBER 21, 1999 2
INDEX
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1. Access to Payroll Records Page 34


2. Bulletin Boards Page 34


3. Checkoff of Dues Page 13


4. Cooperation Page 16


5. Credit Union - DRIVE Page 13


6. Discharge or Suspension Page 7


7. Equipment Page 29


8. Funeral Pay Page 25


9. Grievance Procedure Page 10


10. Health and Welfare Page 30


11. Holidays Page 18


12. Hours of Work Page 14


13. Individual Retirement Account Page 34


14. Job Stewards Page 5


15. Jury Duty Page 24


16. Lie Detector Test Page 10


17. Management Rights Page 3


18. Military Service Page 25


19. New Employees Page 26


20. Non-Discrimination Clause Page 9


21. No Strikes or Lockouts Page 5 3 22. Part-time Employees Page 35


23. Recognition Page 1


24. Seniority Page 26


25. Sick Days Page 23


26. Termination Page 35


27. Union Security Page 2


28. Vacations Page 21


29. Wages Page 17


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AGREEMENT


AGREEMENT, entered into effective the 21st day of October, 1994 by and between J.E. GOOLD & CO., Portland, Maine, (a division of Bindley Western Industries Inc. of Indianapolis, Indiana) hereinafter called the "Company," and TRUCK DRIVERS, WAREHOUSEMEN AND HELPERS UNION LOCAL NO. 340, affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen & Helpers of America, hereinafter called the "Local or Union."


The term of this Agreement shall be from October 21, 1994 through and including October 21, 1999.


ARTICLE I RECOGNITION


The Company recognizes and acknowledges the Union as the exclusive representative for the purpose of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment and other conditions of employment of all regular full-time and part-time warehouse employees and drivers at the Employer's Portland, Maine location, but excluding telephone sales persons, electronic data processing employees, keypunch operators, office clericals, management employees, the Expediter and supervisors as defined in the Act.


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This Agreement shall be binding upon a successor, assignee, purchaser, lessee, or other transferee of the company (hereinafter "the successor") only if the successor assumes this agreement in writing within 30 days of the transfer of the business, provided that if the successor elects not to assume this agreement, it shall negotiate with the Union with regard to the wages, hours and working conditions of its regular full-time and part-time warehouse employees and drivers at the Company's Portland, Maine location.


The foregoing provisions do not relate to the Company's rights to subcontract bargaining unit work.


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ARTICLE II UNION SECURITY


All employees of the Company presently covered by the Agreement shall remain members of the Union in good standing as to the payment of initiation fees and periodic dues. All new employees shall become and remain members of the Union in standing as to payment of initiation fees and periodic dues on the ninety-first (91st) working day immediately following their employment. The Company agrees to discharge, upon written request from the Union, any employee who does not tender to the Union the uniform initiation fees and/or periodic dues.


In the event of any change in the law during the term of this Agreement, the Company agrees that the Union will be entitled to receive the maximum Union Security which may be lawfully possible.


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No provision of this Article shall apply in any State to the extent that may be prohibited by State Law. If under applicable State Law, additional requirements must be met before any such provision may become effective, such additional requirements must be met.


ARTICLE III MANAGEMENT RIGHTS


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Section 1. Except to the extent expressly abridged by a specific provision of this Agreement, the Company reserves and retains solely and exclusively, all of its Common Law rights to manage the business. The sole and exclusive rights of management which are not abridged by this Agreement, shall include but are not limited to its rights to determine the existence or non-existence of facts which are the basis of management decision, to determine prices of products, volume of production and methods of financing, to drop a product line, to sell, transfer or lease the business or any part thereof free of the liabilities of this Agreement, to establish or continue policies, practices, procedures for the conduct of the business and, from time to time, to change or abolish such practices, policies, or procedures; the right to determine and from time to time to redetermine the number, location, relocations, and types of its operations, and the methods, processes and materials to be employed, to discontinue processes or operations or to discontinue their performance by employees of the Company; to determine and schedule the number of hours per day or per week operations shall be carried on; to select and to determine the number and types of employees required; to assign work to and to


-5- 9 cross-train employees in accordance with the requirements determined by management, to promote, or demote employees, or to lay off, terminate, or otherwise relieve employees from duty for lack of work or other legitimate reasons, to determine the facts of lack of work, to make and enforce reasonable rules for the maintenance of discipline, to suspend, discharge, or otherwise discipline employees for just cause and otherwise to take such measures as management may determine to be necessary for the orderly, efficient and profitable operation of the business ... all to the best regard of its employees.


The Company and the Union for the life of this Agreement, each voluntarily and unqualifiedly waives the right, and each agrees that the other shall not be obligated to bargain collectively with respect to any subject matter not specifically referred to or covered in this Agreement.


Section 2. The Company agrees not to subcontract delivery work provided that the costs of performing such work does not exceed by twenty (20%) percent, on a per stop basis, a viable bid from a subcontractor.


Section 3. The Company shall have the right to establish and enforce standards of efficiency in connection with employee


-6- 10 performance. Such standards shall be in accordance with widely accepted standards within the industry. The Union reserves the right to challenge any such standard the Company establishes and enforces. In the first instance of discipline resulting from enforcement of a standard, the parties agree to allow the Union a reasonable time, from the date of a grievance being filed, to conduct their own study using experts hired by the Union, to determine if the standard is legitimate. During this interval, further discipline to any employee shall not exceed warnings, and all such warnings shall be contingent on the parties' agreement as to the legitimacy of the standard. If the parties cannot agree, all discipline subsequent to the initial grievance shall be contingent on the outcome of the arbitration of the initial grievance. In pursuing their rights to study and challenge a standard, it shall be the Union's burden to prove that such activities were engaged in with reasonable diligence, and that any delays in such activities were unavoidable.


Section 4.


The parties agree that if any term or condition of this Agreement is or becomes, as a matter of statutory or common law, unenforceable or unlawful, then said term or condition shall be


-7- 11 excised from the Agreement, with the balance of the contract provisions remaining fully intact and binding on the parties.


ARTICLE IV


NO STRIKES OR LOCKOUTS


It is agreed that during the term of this Agreement, neither the Union, nor any of its members will engage or participate in, any strike, work stoppage or slowdown or cessation of work of any kind or nature whatsoever. The Company agrees there shall be no lockouts.


ARTICLE V


JOB STEWARDS


The Union may designate a job steward and alternate for each shift. No person shall hold the office of job steward unless he or she is a regular employee of the Company.


No person shall have or exercise any of the authorities, powers of duties of the job steward or alternate in dealing with the Company unless and until written notice of his appointment, signed by the Union, revoking a prior appointment, if any, shall have been sent to the Company.


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Job stewards may collect dues during lunch period or breaks. The job steward may transmit messages and information which shall originate with and are authorized by the Local Union or its officers provided such messages and information: (a) have been reduced to writing or (b) if not reduced to writing are of a routine nature and do not involve work stoppages, slowdowns, refusal to handle goods or any other interference with the Employer's business.


Shop stewards or their alternate shall be permitted to adjust grievances or complaints during working hours without loss of pay, provided however, that no job steward shall leave his regular work for the purpose of adjusting grievances or complaints without first reporting to and obtaining permission of the Operations Manager. Such permission will be granted unless it interferes with any important operation in progress at that time.


Job stewards have no authority to take strike action or any other action interrupting the Employer's business in violation of this Agreement, or any action in violation of the law, except as authorized by official action of the Union. The Employer recognizes these limitations and shall have authority to render


-9- 13 proper discipline, including discharge without recourse to such job steward or alternate if he or she be an employee, in the event the steward or alternate has taken unauthorized action as defined above. The Company shall not hold the Union liable for any unauthorized acts. However, upon notification to the Union, if the unauthorized acts are not stopped, then the Union shall be held liable.


ARTICLE VI


DISCHARGE OR SUSPENSION


Section 1. The Employer shall not discharge nor suspend any employee without just cause. In all cases involving the discharge or suspension of an employee, the Company must immediately notify the employee in writing of his discharge or suspension and the reason therefor. Such written notice shall also be given to the shop steward, and a copy mailed to the Local Union office, within five (5) working days from the time of the discharge or suspension.


Section 2. The Employer will be allowed to discharge an employee immediately without written warning for serious offenses such as the following:


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(1) falsification or alteration of timecards, forging or punching
fellow employee's timecard;


(2) operating company owned vehicle while under driver's license
suspension;


(3) use of company property for personal use without permission
from management;


(4) use or possession of intoxicating beverages or drugs or
reporting for work under the influence of intoxicating
beverages or drugs;


(5) theft of company or employee property;


(6) the carrying of unauthorized passengers in company vehicles;
and


(7) the possession of firearms or dangerous weapons of any kind
anywhere on company premises.


The seven enumerated discharge offenses listed above are for purposes of illustration only, and are not intended to limit the Company's discretion to discharge employees for other serious offenses.


The Company agrees that it will not force an employee to cross a picket line or make him subject to discharge or suspension if he refuses to cross a picket line.


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Section 3. Any employee discharged or resigning after giving ten (10) working days notice must be paid in full for all wages owed him by the employer, including earned vacation pay, on the next regular pay day or within seven (7) days from the date of discharge or resignation, whichever is sooner. Once the ten (10) working day resignation notice has been submitted, the employee shall not be entitled to use any accrued paid leaves without prior written permission from the Company. An employee may, with written approval of the Company, withdraw his/her resignation during this ten (10) working day notice period.


Section 4. A discharged or suspended employee must advise his Local union in writing, within five (5) working days after receiving notification of such action against him, of his desire to appeal the discharge or suspension. Notice of appeal from discharge or suspension must be made to the Employer in writing within ten (10) days from the date of discharge or suspension.


Section 5. Should the Company agree that an injustice has been done a discharged or suspended employee, he shall be fully reinstated in his position and compensated at his usual rate of pay for lost work opportunity. If the Union and the Employer are unable to agree as to the settlement of the case, then it may be


-12- 16 referred to the grievance machinery as set forth in ARTICLE IX, within fifteen (15) days after the above notice of appeal is given to the Employer.


ARTICLE VII


NON-DISCRIMINATION CLAUSE


Section 1. The Employer and the Union agree not to discriminate against any individual with respect to hiring, compensation, terms or conditions of employment because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability, nor will they limit, segregate or classify employees in any way to deprive any individual employee of employment opportunities because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or disability.


Section 2. The Company and the Union agree that there will be no discrimination by the Company or the Union against any employee because of his or her membership in the Union or because of any employee's activity and/or support of the Union.


Section 3. The Company and the Union agree that, to the extent the terms or application of the terms of the parties' Agreement conflict with the provisions of the Americans with


-13- 17 Disabilities Act of 1990 (hereafter "ADA") as the parties understand said law, the parties shall seek to apply and adhere to the provisions of the Agreement to the fullest extent allowed by law.


ARTICLE VIII


LIE DETECTOR TEST


The Company shall not require, request or suggest that an employee take a polygraph or any other form of lie detector test. However, this shall not restrict the right of local, state or federal law enforcement officials or Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials to conduct such tests in conjunction with violations of local, state or federal laws.


ARTICLE IX


GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE


Section 1. Any disputes arising out of the application or interpretation of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall be presented to the Company within five (5) working days of the occurrence and handled in the following manner.


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STEP 1 - The aggrieved employee or employees will first present the
grievance to the job steward. The job steward will take up the
grievance with the Operations Manager. Three (3) working days will be
allowed to reach a satisfactory settlement.


STEP 2 - If a settlement has not been effected, the Union Business
Representative will take up the matter with a representative of the
Company's top management with authority to act upon such grievance
within five (5) working days. A decision must be rendered within five
(5) working days.


STEP 3 - If no satisfactory settlement can be agreed upon, either
party may request that the dispute be submitted to arbitration, which
request must be initiated within ten (10) working days subsequent to
the conclusion of the Step 2 process. The party requesting
arbitration shall give notice of its intent to arbitrate by sending
the other party written notification, which notification shall also
indicate if the requesting party desires to use the applicable
arbitrator from a mutually agreed upon panel. Those arbitrators on
the panel shall be assigned cases on a


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rotating basis. The requesting party may elect to forego the panel
and file for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association
(hereafter "AAA"). If the party who requests arbitration chooses to
use the arbitrator from the agreed upon panel, the other party shall
have ten (10) days from the date of receipt of notification to elect
to forego the panel and file the matter with the AAA. The party
filing with AAA shall be responsible for paying the entire AAA filing
fee.


All arbitrations shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of
the AAA. The decision of the arbitration shall be final and binding
on all parties concerned.


Section 2. The arbitrator appointed under the above procedure shall interpret the provisions of this Agreement. He shall have no power to enlarge upon or reduce the obligations of parties under this Agreement. The arbitrator's fee shall be borne equally by the Company and the Union.


Section 3. A dispute or grievance not presented within the time limits specified shall not be subject to arbitration. A grievance proposed by the Company shall be handled under STEPS 2 and 3 outlined above.


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Section 4. At the request of a grievant, the shop steward or business agent may be present at any discussion of a grievance between the grievant and management provided that this Article shall not otherwise aff ...