Q–My wife and I work consecutive shifts so we take turns watching our daughter. Ten minutes before my shift was ending, my supervisor asked me to work overtime. I said I had to go home to watch my daughter so my wife could go to work. He said he would see if someone else could work the overtime and he’d get back to me. After waiting 10 minutes for him to return, I found him in the break room. I told him I was sorry but I had to go home (I found out later that he had never even asked anyone) and I left. The next day I was suspended for walking off the job–the supervisor lied on the report, never reporting our conversation. My union representative got me off suspension, but said I would not receive back pay for the time off. A similar incident happened to a white worker who did receive his back pay. This is only one of the many incidents where the whites in our company come out ahead. Our company blatantly displays a separatism between management and workers, blacks and whites, and our union perpetuates it. Is there anything we can do?
A–You are dealing with two serious issues. I’ve received many letters from disillusioned union workers whose unions have seemingly done very little for them, except to collect their dues. Trade unions were created to protect workers’ interests, such as wages, hours and working conditions, and in general, to stop companies from taking advantage of their workers. Because of this division in interests, the separation between top management and union employees is understandable.
What is not O.K. is that your union representative goes to bat more fervently for the white workers than for the black workers. Have all of your black co-workers document their own incidents and the results. If a pattern of discrimination can be shown, you may want to meet with a labor attorney to see how to proceed. Negotiations between unions and companies is a sensitive area, and bringing charges against your own union may be even more difficult. But if no one ever takes a stand, the inequity will continue.
Q–We (26 employees) have worked for a small company for about a year now. We think we should receive benefits like other companies, such as at least six paid holidays per year, sick days, vacation, medical and dental insurance and yearly raises. We don’t receive any of these benefits, so we’d like to know what we are entitled to.
A–By law companies are not required to provide vacations, holiday pay or other benefits — employment laws deal mainly with working hours, discrimination and safe working conditions. But the vast majority of companies have solid benefit programs so they can attract and keep good employees. It is said that the better the benefits, the longer people stay. But since your company found 26 people to work there without receiving any benefits, without staging a unified walkout, it will be hard to persuade the owners to change their ways. If they are willing to meet with you, show them articles backed by surveys and reports showing that contented workers stay longer, and less turnover saves the company money in the long run. You might also read the book, “Contented Cows Give Better Milk,” by authors Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, which gives real-life examples of good management and bad management, and the bottom-line results.
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Write to Lindsey Novak, Jobs, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago 60611, or via e-mail: AtWorkbyLN@aol.com. No phone calls, please.
