GPS Trackers

[Transk53]

Can we have the old emoticons back please? Many were martial arts related like the 'bow' one, liked that.

Probably not with the new board software. Would have to be new shiny versions, probably I say.

 

[Transk53]

Ive only had 1 job I wasnt allowed to quit and that was the military. Towards the end I HATED it. I told myself I'll never stay at a job I hate again. If it gets to the point I just dread going to work Ill quit.

Well at least you joined up, that is something most do not do.

 

[jks9199]

As I have taken yet another thread off topic, I may as well ask. The aforementioned, how does that work?

In some states in the US, a union negotiates a common contract for all the workers, and often you must join the union for that job, while others are "right to work" where there are either individual contracts, or no real work contract. So, for example, in some police departments, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) might negotiate the wages, work conditions (to a certain extent), and so on for officers. In my department, the municipality sets the terms -- and if we don't like it, we can leave. Some security guards are members of various unions like the Teamsters, and again, have their wages, etc. set through that contract. I won't get into the pros and cons; that's likely to trip into a political discussion as much as anything else.

 

[Transk53]

In some states in the US, a union negotiates a common contract for all the workers, and often you must join the union for that job, while others are "right to work" where there are either individual contracts, or no real work contract. So, for example, in some police departments, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) might negotiate the wages, work conditions (to a certain extent), and so on for officers. In my department, the municipality sets the terms -- and if we don't like it, we can leave. Some security guards are members of various unions like the Teamsters, and again, have their wages, etc. set through that contract. I won't get into the pros and cons; that's likely to trip into a political discussion as much as anything else.

Yeah no worries on the politics You know that is interesting to a newbie, but I will Google most of the above snippets. I am guessing here that the "no real contract, is what we (UK) refer to as the "zero hours contract". I am not sure though. Do the workers receive any guaranteed hours. With the ZHC the staff members is not guaranteed any hours, but expected to work say, 20Hrs a week. This with the reasonable assurance of work.

 

[jks9199]

Yeah no worries on the politics You know that is interesting to a newbie, but I will Google most of the above snippets. I am guessing here that the "no real contract, is what we (UK) refer to as the "zero hours contract". I am not sure though. Do the workers receive any guaranteed hours. With the ZHC the staff members is not guaranteed any hours, but expected to work say, 20Hrs a week. This with the reasonable assurance of work.

It's a complicated issue. Basically, I don't have a formal employment contract at all; I'm in an "at will" state and I can quit tomorrow -- or be fired. There are some limitations and due process requirements, but that's it. The municipality's pay plan and administrative regs set my wages and hours of work. There are administrative and statutory process to dispute discipline, as well as court proceedings. If I was part of a collective bargaining unit, they'd negotiate many of those issues. They'd often stand between me and the agency during discipline. Like I said; it's complicated, and I'm barely scratching the surface.

You've mentioned that you have a work contract; I don't know if it's set by union or merely between you and your employer. To try to swing back to the topic -- what does it say about using a GPS unit as a condition of work? There may be something there to let you dispute it... though you then have to weigh whether the issue is worth the likely repercussions.

 

[Transk53]

It's a complicated issue. Basically, I don't have a formal employment contract at all; I'm in an "at will" state and I can quit tomorrow -- or be fired. There are some limitations and due process requirements, but that's it. The municipality's pay plan and administrative regs set my wages and hours of work. There are administrative and statutory process to dispute discipline, as well as court proceedings. If I was part of a collective bargaining unit, they'd negotiate many of those issues. They'd often stand between me and the agency during discipline. Like I said; it's complicated, and I'm barely scratching the surface.

You've mentioned that you have a work contract; I don't know if it's set by union or merely between you and your employer. To try to swing back to the topic -- what does it say about using a GPS unit as a condition of work? There may be something there to let you dispute it... though you then have to weigh whether the issue is worth the likely repercussions.

Tbh, I am not worried about repercussions as such, I am more worried about my work mates. There is no need or condition. That is my point, spyware if you will. The power base is different here. Three into one does not mix, but they think so. Yeah its complicated. The closest I would think would be the rolling contract, but for us that is kind against rep. Mainly SQ, as long as we pander.

 

[ballen0351]

JKS Your Still covered by LEOBOR correct?

 

[ballen0351]

We do have a union it's a grocery workers union. I personally am not a member. For a while I was the only non member. Over the last few months things have happened that have pissed off the rank and file and the union didn't care so several others have quit now

 

[jks9199]

JKS Your Still covered by LEOBOR correct?

I am -- but a sheriff's deputy wouldn't be.

 

[ballen0351]

I am -- but a sheriff's deputy wouldn't be.

really. That was the same here until a few years ago now they are covered as well

 

[oftheherd1]

Don't worry, those good ol' recorded billable hours are pretty much world wide. But that in itself is fine as it is the way the bills are generated and justified (or not) to clients, it is showing the client just what they are paying for but I could be logging those hours from home or via a laptop in a tree house. It seems a tad more invasive to actually have gps positioning on a fella (unless it's purely for safety reasons).

I'm no crook, honest, but if an employer asked to take my finger prints to hold on file for such and such a reason I would have an issue with that, even though I have no intention of becoming a crook in the near to medium future. When I started off working in a bank years back, when I was a teller some dude tried to pass a forged cheque that I spotted. He legged it before the cops got there. To try to track him down they lifted prints from the cheque. To know which were his they wanted to eliminate my prints by taking a copy of my own. Even though they assured me they would be destroyed afterwards and not entered into any data base I had great issue with that. I don't want my prints on any database but again, I don't intend on getting into cat-burglary or international assassination anytime soon so why should I worry.

By the time I got to the end of page two it looked to me like all relavant questions and comments had been coverd. But the bolded may be worth a further comment. My prints have been on file with the FBI since I joined, or not long after I joined, the US Army. They were (maybe still are) on file with the US Army CID lab since I used to process major and complicated crime scenes. For the latter, it was important that my prints, if found, be able to be eliminated as a possible suspect. I don't know where you live, but in the USA, if there are unidentified fingerprints at a scene, or on a check in your cited case, it might give a defense lawyer the ability to say someone else may have been the perpetrator. That might put just enough doubt in a jury's mind to go below the threshold of being beyond a reasonable doubt. That would be grounds for acquittal.

Granted, I knew the reasons for submitting my fingerprints all times, and did not object. That doesn't mean you can't feel differently.

 

[Carol]

I'm in emergency communications. The primary reason for GPS trackers for a front line of defense (such as security personnel) is so a person can be found when they are unresponsive. A person may be unresponsive for many reasons -- faulty RF transmissions, a medical emergency, or more unpleasant situations such as being overtaken by smoke or an encounter with a violent perpetrator.

It is certainly possible that they are using them to track movements and making sure that people on rounds are truly on rounds. Before GPS this sort of thing was typically done with magnetic keys that would be swiped at checkpoints.

I can understand the discomfort to such a situation, but its not necessarily about stalking the worker. Rather, its a way of being able to get to the location of the person in need. Some more advanced devices contain a gyro to report if a person is down or not -- down+immobile could very well mean that the responder's life is in immediate danger.

 

[Transk53]

I'm in emergency communications. The primary reason for GPS trackers for a front line of defense (such as security personnel) is so a person can be found when they are unresponsive. A person may be unresponsive for many reasons -- faulty RF transmissions, a medical emergency, or more unpleasant situations such as being overtaken by smoke or an encounter with a violent perpetrator.

It is certainly possible that they are using them to track movements and making sure that people on rounds are truly on rounds. Before GPS this sort of thing was typically done with magnetic keys that would be swiped at checkpoints.

I can understand the discomfort to such a situation, but its not necessarily about stalking the worker. Rather, its a way of being able to get to the location of the person in need. Some more advanced devices contain a gyro to report if a person is down or not -- down+immobile could very well mean that the responder's life is in immediate danger.

Exactly. They will not make the current clocking system redundant. There is no point in a GPS tracker other than to spy. Simply put the two systems would contradict each other. Exactly what they want!