Company not following union contract

[Jon Stewart]

Not sure what kind of union represents your fellow workers but why didn't the Union Steward walk up, hand you a form to join and you sign it? I am a life member of the teamsters and that's what they did with our new employees. Something is not right about your STORY.

[trophy8]

The guy that got the job is a new hire. You can only join our union once you are off probation. I would think that the union would want to do something not for me but for the fact that the company did not follow the contract. I understand that the outcome will stay the same. I understand that unions are good and some are bad and we have a bad one. I’m not totally against unions.

Nobody owes you anything. That’s my issue with unions. You shouldn’t get a job just because you’ve been there X amount of years. EARN IT. 18 years and you want a forklift job. This is harsh but that’s a pretty entry level job. Work hard. Make yourself worth hiring. Make yourself someone that you don’t have to apply for the job, be good enough that they’ll come to you. When you realize that YOU control your career path you will be a thousand miles ahead. Good luck man.

[SJP51]

The company didn't follow the contract. And, the union did not stand up for the OP or any of the union members.

[Bayouboy]

The guy that got the job is a new hire. You can only join our union once you are off probation. I would think that the union would want to do something not for me but for the fact that the company did not follow the contract. I understand that the outcome will stay the same. I understand that unions are good and some are bad and we have a bad one. I’m not totally against unions.

Then join and make a difference.

[kmitchl]

Jimney Christmas, that was the 3rd longest sentence ever written on here.


What happened to periods, comas, question marks, etc. do they not teach these in 4th grade anymore???????

Punctuation R not us.

[IowaHunter]

I get a kick out of the Union vs Non Union bickering. To me it’s like Republicans vs Democrats or my team vs your team. You do you and if you’re in a scenario you don’t like - change it, work with it, or leave it.

I work with Union and Open shops across the country. Most are good people either way and get along with them all.

[flywise]

Union or not, as adults we need to realize that we don’t always get what we THINK we deserve. Sometimes a little……or a lot of reflection reveals the truth that we didn’t set the right examples around the shop, didn’t go above and beyond and generally didn’t stand out.
If I had to guess the company looked at it’s available employees and for one reason or another decided that finding new blood was a better option. StAnd out for the right reasons and good things tend to happen

[tps7742]

Unions are more about the shop steward or the people at the top of the Union, rather than they are about the working guy. F****** them. Back in the day they were certainly useful, but they are nothing more than a way for political hacks to line their pockets, nowadays.

So with your generalization of unions, everyone that works at a union location are “F” ing their fellow workers? No doubt there are problems but generalizing the steward for example I am not sure you are correct in your assessment.

[Big Lee]

Union or not, as adults we need to realize that we don’t always get what we THINK we deserve. Sometimes a little……or a lot of reflection reveals the truth that we didn’t set the right examples around the shop, didn’t go above and beyond and generally didn’t stand out.
If I had to guess the company looked at it’s available employees and for one reason or another decided that finding new blood was a better option. StAnd out for the right reasons and good things tend to happen

Amen. This needs to be read and reread by many.

[sqiggy]

Unions are more about the shop steward or the people at the top of the Union, rather than they are about the working guy. F****** them. Back in the day they were certainly useful, but they are nothing more than a way for political hacks to line their pockets, nowadays.

I worked in a union shop for 13 years. One of the reasons I quit was because our union president was in bed with the management. Pretty sure he’d been paid and bought for. And when I quit, I was a grievance committee member, which was a union position that you got voted in.

Nobody owes you anything. That’s my issue with unions. You shouldn’t get a job just because you’ve been there X amount of years. EARN IT. 18 years and you want a forklift job. This is harsh but that’s a pretty entry level job. Work hard. Make yourself worth hiring. Make yourself someone that you don’t have to apply for the job, be good enough that they’ll come to you. When you realize that YOU control your career path you will be a thousand miles ahead. Good luck man.

Not picking on you but I don’t think you know how union shops operate. When a job becomes available, the company usually has to post the job. Then, if more than one person applies or in my case, bids on it, it goes to the most senior guy. Now if nobody bids on it, then the company can fill that spot from outside the work force. In the OP’s case, if this union does nothing, then they aren’t much of a union IMO!!!
Seniority is everything in a union shop. As far as the fork lift job, it’s probably a Cush job and since he’s been there for 18 years, that may be what he wants now.

[rolylane6]

Amen. This needs to be read and reread by many.

True, but doesn't apply to union work. Seniority rules in most of them. Experience and ability usually have little to no effect.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

[GarGuy]

This is really not a union/non-union issue. My advice? Go talk to your immediate supervisor and let them know you want to advance and ask what you need to do to make it happen. Don't wear your feelings on your sleeve as they may point out some short comings.

Do not keep pushing the grevience if you plan to stay there. All you are doing labeling your self a trouble maker. You want to draw positive attention, not conflict.

A wise man once told me..."If you wanna be a priest, don't pizz off the pope".

[sqiggy]

True, but doesn't apply to union work. Seniority rules in most of them. Experience and ability usually have little to no effect.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

Exactly!!! Most union shops, if you put in for another position, even if you have no experience at all, the company has to train you.

This is really not a union/non-union issue. My advice? Go talk to your immediate supervisor and let them know you want to advance and ask what you need to do to make it happen. Don't wear your feelings on your sleeve as they may point out some short comings.

Do not keep pushing the grevience if you plan to stay there. All you are doing labeling your self a trouble maker. You want to draw positive attention, not conflict.

A wise man once told me..."If you wanna be a priest, don't pizz off the pope".

Again, this reasoning doesn’t work like that in a union shop. Filing a grievance does not make you a trouble maker. Filing a grievance keeps the company in line with the contract. A good union representative can and should file a grievance anytime the company does anything out of line of the contract, with or without the employee being affected consent.
If management starts doing whatever they want to do and the union reps do nothing, not much of a union.

[trophy8]

I worked in a union shop for 13 years. One of the reasons I quit was because our union president was in bed with the management. Pretty sure he’d been paid and bought for. And when I quit, I was a grievance committee member, which was a union position that you got voted in.


Not picking on you but I don’t think you know how union shops operate. When a job becomes available, the company usually has to post the job. Then, if more than one person applies or in my case, bids on it, it goes to the most senior guy. Now if nobody bids on it, then the company can fill that spot from outside the work force. In the OP’s case, if this union does nothing, then they aren’t much of a union IMO!!!
Seniority is everything in a union shop. As far as the fork lift job, it’s probably a Cush job and since he’s been there for 18 years, that may be what he wants now.

Very well may be the case. I doubt it. But maybe.
Especially considering he’s not a union member….

And that’s a pretty serious flaw. Seniority doesn’t mean better. But I’m not gonna argue with the union boys. They get pretty upset about it. Haha

[GarGuy]

Exactly!!! Most union shops, if you put in for another position, even if you have no experience at all, the company has to train you.


Again, this reasoning doesn’t work like that in a union shop. Filing a grievance does not make you a trouble maker. Filing a grievance keeps the company in line with the contract. A good union representative can and should file a grievance anytime the company does anything out of line of the contract, with or without the employee being affected consent.
If management starts doing whatever they want to do and the union reps do nothing, not much of a union.

Disagree. He aint a union man and he ain't a company man. He's not making friends in either direction.