I'm a steward for a local union within the cannabis industry. In October of 2020 we got our contract. It was pretty lackluster, but at least we have union representation, a structured wage scale, pto, health insurance, and other standard shit every worker should have.

Here's the issue. A few months before the contract was signed, a company acquired the previous company we worked for. And with it, their overtime policies conflicting with our scheduling.

Our location gets 10 hour shifts, 4 days per week, and in the contract we get paid overtime after 10 hours. All other locations get 8 hour shifts, 5 days per week, and overtime after 8 hours. I insisted that we retain our 10-4, as not a single one of my coworkers wanted to switch to 8-5. While the company reserves the right to change our schedule with 2 weeks notification, they have not yet done so.

The problem is we have been getting paid overtime after 8 hours rather than 10 hours, as stipulated in the contract. Because their bookkeepers are fucking incompetent, we have already had our wages garnished twice in a calendar year from bookkeeping errors.

Mind you, we have not been getting hazard pay nor has the company moved to include credit card tips (currently cash tip only) that we AND customers have been begging for a couple years.

I was informed of the discrepancy by a coworker. This co-worker is kind of an idiot and bootlicker, and thought the company would have his interests. So he informed them of the pay discrepancy before coming to me, and now they're bringing in an independent auditor.

If they move to garnish our wages, it will be approximately $1500 per worker. I.e., the capitalists will be picking our pockets in the middle of a pandemic after many of us "volunteered" (had no other choice financially) to work overtime.

I told my union rep this, and his response was essentially that the union can do nothing since it was in a contract, and that the only option is for me and my coworkers to refuse to sign the letter acknowledging and approving the garnished wages. I suspect that will do nothing but delay the inevitable.

When we make mistakes, we pay for it directly out of our cash tips (illegal, but in this specific subset of the industry basically impossible to enforce). When capital makes mistakes, we are expected to pay for it directly out of our paychecks.

Naturally, I do not accept this. And as soon as I get more information, I know my coworkers will not, either. We would much rather taste ashes than defeat and immiseration.

Anybody have advice on how to proceed? I'll be contacting the IWW for guidance as well, but thought someone here may have some insight.

Also, why the fuck is there no dedicated labor/union community? Lol

  • Punkrockgirl [she/her,any]
    ·
    4 years ago

    you need to get documentation. without documentation, it didn't happen. once you get documentation, go back to the union. If they don't do anything, go over the reps head. I recommend contacting the person who negotiated the contract. Good luck.

    • Capt_ACAB [none/use name]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Yeah I'm in semi-regular contact with the director of the local who helped negotiate the contract

      S.O.L. cuz business unionism is hot garbage

      • Punkrockgirl [she/her,any]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I'm an HR manager. I've worked in both union and non union accts. My advice is you need to get documentation. once you have that, you can grieve it. Without documentation, you can't. I worked in one account with a horrible union. Since I'm HR, I'm I can't show bias to the union or the managers. My job is to protect the company from liability. I've recommended firing managers for being a*holes. With the one acct with the horrible union, I worked so hard to make sure the employees were represented properly because the union rep was useless. I don't miss that job.