Reality Check EP 020

The main ideas from this conversation are: - The hosts discuss the issue of employees working off the clock and not getting paid for it. - They believe that management should be held responsible for not paying employees for their time. - They argue that management should properly train and supervise employees to avoid the need for working off the clock. - They discuss the negative consequences of employees working off the clock, such as potential errors and disciplinary issues. - The hosts emphasize the importance of following the union's contract and getting paid for work. - They criticize management for allowing and even encouraging employees to work off the clock for free. - They mention the existence of extra contract agreements that can lead to unfair practices and should be eliminated. - They believe there needs to be a change in mindset to value employees' labor and ensure fair compensation. - The hosts discuss a specific incident where a steward filed a grievance to get drivers Teamster Power 767 Reality Check with Jeff Schoenfeld and Garfield Hooper. How are we doing today Garfield? We're doing pretty good. Yeah. Yeah. Can't complain. All right. Not even idea. Nobody'd listen. So. Exactly. Never, never, never. So today we're going to talk about paid for time. Okay. We've brought this up before and it's, it's, here's the thing. We're a union shop. I don't understand why anyone would want to work off the clock. I don't get it. I just, and I, I know why they're doing it. Like they want to get home, right? They've got, you know, members want to get home and management. The thing is, we're going to put this on management. This is on management. I get the member wants to get home, but they're going to put more work on the truck because they're getting that truck set up. Yep. You know, and they used to, but the problem is we're going to put this on the member. I get, they want to get home. I don't get the working off the clock. Management should be paying them. Yep. Or don't let them get on their truck then because it's, it's, I mean, it's in the contract and article 17, you, you, you, you have to be paid for it. I mean, I don't understand. It's just, it's, it is mind boggling. I mean, does it happen a lot in your building? Yeah, we have, we have several repeat offenders in our building. One of my new year's resolution is to kind of put a stop to a little bit of that, but or all of it, hopefully. But I had this conversation a few weeks ago with our division manager when I was complaining about our load quality in our center. And he's like, well, what do we want to do? You want to do it to where, you know, nobody can get on their trucks before start time? And I said, yeah, that's exactly what we should do. That's good to me. And he goes, he goes, well, yeah, you know, that's not what these guys want. I said, I said, you know, no, what these guys want is for the preloaders to load their trucks correctly. In order for them to do that, you would have to actually time to take the time to train them properly and, you know, make sure that the supervisors supervise them and, you know, make sure that they're doing the job correctly. But y'all don't want to do that. Yeah. You want to the drivers to come in and work off the clock and not pay them so that they can get home and get their truck set up and they can get off early. But what we want is for you to pay a Teamster employee to do the job correctly, teach them how to do it correctly. And then drivers don't have to come in for an hour early to load their own trucks just so they can have a decent day. Yeah. And I'm going to tell you what happens also. When those drivers come in, I get if you use the extra work bonus, that's what you have to use. Yeah. That's the point. But, you know, the problem, what happens is, and I mean, I've seen it. We've all seen it. You know, the driver starts, you know, whatever the box line they put them on, they start getting, you know, maybe crossing over from where the part-timers are doing a truck. And maybe they'll put a package in there and it might mess up the part-timers too. You see what I'm saying? It's, you know, they could get in trouble because you don't know how many people are touching stuff. I mean, you just, and that's where like, how can management say, oh, it was this, it was this, or we're going to give you this. Guilty until proven innocent. It's just, I mean, it's just ridiculous. So I'm going to bring up a situation. So this year, myself and two or three other stewards were filing on people coming in, one particular person coming in. And I mean, they, they weren't on the clock. They were coming in at 530 off the clock. Now management knew they were there. Of course they did. But they didn't, they knew it. And again, this is on management. Okay. They should have paid them. So now what has to happen is, so we filed a seniority because the extra work, this person is lower than myself and the other people who filed and we filed on different days. And so it's a, it's a seniority violation and then, you know, use the list and just whatever. So first, what we have to do is we have to get this heard and we have to get this, this driver paid first. So once the driver is paid, then the seniority violation comes into play. You see, because otherwise there's no hours or whatnot, but we know what went on. We know, you know, you know, what, what's going on. So, so now we have to get this heard. It might even have to go to the panel, get them paid. They have to, you know, they have to be paid their work and they have to be paid. And once that happens, the seniority violation is officially, I mean, it's, it was official anyway, but just it reinforces it because look, he got paid now because they had to. And it's, but it shouldn't, it shouldn't be right. It shouldn't have to go through this process. I don't, you know, I don't care. I, I get on the truck at the last minute. I don't really care. I mean, if they don't want to do things the right way, the company, then that's on them. They expect people, they, they like when the people come in off the clock. Right. You know that. Yeah. It's free labor. Yeah, it is. And they, but that's a shame on them. Shame on them for allowing that to happen. You know, we put it on them. Hey, you're allowing them to do this. This is on you. And it's, you know, it's a problem, but you know, then the, then the members get mad at you because you're like, well, I want to get home to my family. I get that. You, you signed up for this job. Okay. But we're a union shop. We don't work for free. Okay. That's, that's just, it's, we don't do that. And it's, it's, it's, it's the company enabling them, you know? So it's just like skipping your lunch and recording it. You're just working off the clock. I know. I just, I mean, come on. I mean, just take your lunch. Yeah. I mean, you can take a half an hour and ask, okay, take the half an hour. I mean, don't, I never understood that. It's just, I mean, it's mind boggling, you know, it's like, and then, you know, that has to be okay with it. That has to be okay. Then they'll be like, oh no, you lied. That's an integrity issue. You said you were on lunch, but you were actually working. So you can't, you're not going to win. You just, just do things the methods, do things the right way, work, you know, get paid for working. Don't just come in. But they're not going to, they're not going to do that to those people because those people are helping them out. Those people are working off the clock. They're working for free. They're giving the company money. Yes. So why would they discipline those people for doing that? And that's where, and that's where it's like, and you know, what happens from that, what, what happens from that collaterally is the extra contract agreements. Well, I'll do this. If you do this for me and that, that, that can't happen. You know, if a management wants to manage, okay, yeah, we'll get you on a route or this and that. I mean, that's the route today, but they still have to follow seniority, right? Okay. Follow seniority. Just, they got to do things the right way and it make it easy for, you know, for these extra contract agreements. And they're, you know, they know that some of these people won't say anything, but we have to end these extra contract agreements. Yeah. It's, it's, I mean, it's a problem where, you know, people are, they're letting in certain buildings. I, you know, I saw, you know, they weren't my buildings when I was a PA, but they, oh, they're letting them, you know, do safety during their, during their regular hours. No, no. Before or after. And once you start doing that, you start getting into it, oh, it's easier and easier and easier. Right. And you just, then you just, you're not doing anything right. So I think that, you know, I think there's got to be a change in mindset. Don't you agree? Agreed. Yeah. I mean, a big change of mind. And it's, it's going to be hard to change those people's minds. They're always going to blame you for following that grievance. And, you know, that's fine. Like, I'm okay being the bad guy for those people, because if, if those people, you know, have to, you know, if I have to make those people realize that, you know, their labor is worth something, their labor is valuable, then, you know, that's, that's kind of what I'm here for. And, you know, in the long run, if those drivers are have to being out later, because they can't load their own trucks, then maybe the company should say, hey, maybe we should train the preloaders how to do the job properly. Maybe we should, you know, give them more time to do it. But as far as I'm concerned, if you're coming in, and you're loading your own truck, or you're doing whatever off the clock, all you're doing is solving the company's problems for them. It is, it is. And a couple of weeks ago, in my center, one of the other stewards, you know, filed to get these these drivers paid, right? Yeah, who were coming in early. You know, they were doing their stuff on their truck. And these drivers got so angry with the steward, they went overboard. And they were they were they cursed at him. And we found out the other two other stewards, myself and someone else. We back the steward, not because just because he's stupid, because he was right. Yeah, he's trying to hold him accountable. He's trying to get them paid. And he was cursed at and I was pissed. Those the other steward. Yeah, I mean, we were pissed. You don't do that. You don't do you want to call you want to say he's being greedy. He's just, you know, you want to file on super, you know, like, it's like they get this whole mindset, they're going to go with you and throw other things. And you're already filing grievances on this, you're filing, you know, you're just trying to be good. No, as stewards, we're holding people, the management accountable. Yep. That's what we're doing. Because no one else wants to. Yeah. So, I mean, it shouldn't be that way. It's crazy. I mean, it got got vicious. I mean, we had a way to shut that down. That was not right. No, I mean, it's I just couldn't the drivers was so mad. I was like, Are you kidding me? And I went over to him. And I spoke to him. I said, Why do you think that's okay that you did that? You know, I'm like, and understand, they were they were mad. You know, they shouldn't have said some things. They just want to get home to their family. I get it. So again, I'm going to say this, just like anything else. This is the company's fault. Yep, it is. They they enable the they enable this. It's just and they're okay with it. And they want to enforce the contract when they want to enforce the contract. And, you know, when it comes to this, they should be enforcing it every day, they have to be paid. If they're working, that's it. So, you know, again, I'm always going to say it's just like, if you're filing a seniority grievance, you're not filing it on the member, another member, you're filing it on management for allowing this. Yes. So we have to remember that that's very important. Everybody. It's it's it's like a seniority grievance. It's not the other members fault. Yeah, it's management for allowing these things to happen and saying, yeah, get on the clock before someone else who's on the calling list. And we got to remember that we can't fight with each other. No, it's not about it. It's the company. The company loves it when we have strife between us. You know, they love it. And we cannot give them that. And the company, when it comes down to it, if the company was doing the right thing, if they were doing their jobs, you wouldn't feel the need to come in and load your own truck, period. Absolutely. You shouldn't have to worry about that. You should be able to come in 10, 15 minutes before start time, get on your truck and be confident that your truck is loaded properly and that, you know, you should be able to find things in your truck. And if you can't do that, if you feel that it's your load quality is so bad that you have to get there 5, 6, 7 o'clock in the morning to go through your truck and make sure there's not misloads or things are in the right spot or this, that or whatever, then the company is not doing their jobs. Oh, no, they're not. And the thing is what I explained to the driver who was who was coming in that was a bunch of us filed on company for allowing, you know, him to do this. It's, it's by doing that, you're, you're, you're, they'll start, they'll cut routes because you're getting it done. You see, I mean, they're cutting more routes and when they cut routes, that's when you get, you'll get misloads. You'll, you'll get, you know, the more packages on the truck. And again, who is it? Whose fault is that? That's management's fault. They're not managing correctly. They're trying to save a dime at the, at the, you know, at the, uh, the employee's expense. It's ridiculous. And I'm just trying to show people just like open their eyes. That's all I'm trying to show people. And, you know, some people get mad. I'm like, you're going to get mad at me. Really? Yeah. You know, and I still, and I'll keep trying to explain to them because you can't give up on people, even though some people seem like they're just, you know, you just got to keep trying. Yeah. So, well, okay. So I've got, I've got one question for you, Jeff, because you mentioned y'all file these grievances. And if I was a member and I wanted to put a stop to this and I wanted to file these grievances, are you filing two separate grievances or are you filing them both in one? Well, what we do is we do a, we do a seniority and then we, we want everyone to pay for time. Yes. Yes. And then the 17th is going to make sure they get paid also that the driver gets paid. So one, one, once one happens, the other is going to happen. Okay. See what I'm saying? So it is two separate grievances. Yes. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Two separate grievances. And, uh, you know, again, we're trying to make sure, and they get mad at us and we're trying to make sure the member gets paid. Is that crazy? Yeah. Oh, I can't get on the truck anymore because, because you said something. Okay. Great. Great. I mean, it's, it's, it's, but again, we're going to say one more time. Yeah. This is on management. Yep. This is definitely on that. So we just, again, it's like I said, it's like anything else. It's a mindset. You have to change the way you think you have to understand. So I get, there are certain days you have to get home, right? That's different. I get it. Yeah. You still don't work off the clock. No, you still don't. You may go a little quicker. I don't know. I'm just saying, but you still got to work safe, but you know, maybe a little more chicken, you step or whatever, but we all have things to do, but when you're doing it consistently, it's, it's a bad look. It's a bad look. So this is something we're going to constantly trying to tell people. There were a bunch of us who are the stewards said something to these people, the VA said something to the people, you know, and it's like, they still, it's like, they can't help themselves sometimes, you know? We had one guy in our center that was so bad about it. And he still does it to this day is, you know, we've filed so many grievances on it. I think this was back when you were a business agent. The actual labor manager came in and told him to stop doing it. And he kept doing it. It's like a problem. It's like an addiction, you know? They just have to have a different mindset. It's not, it's not being lazy to work, to get paid for working. That's not being lazy. That's just, it's just being smart. That's what we do. We work, we get paid. That's it. So, but I think that's very important. Like, like, again, we say these things all the time. We're going to keep bringing these things up. It's about repetition. We're going to keep bringing it up. We're going to, we're going to keep reaching members. We want them to know, do not do this. Try breaking this habit. You know what? Get mad at me, but I'm going to keep, I'm going to keep trying to, I'm going to, I'm going to keep pushing. Hey, you got to stop this. And you know, you know, we got to make sure management is paying them. So, you know, what happens if management is going to pay them, they're not going to let them be on the clock. They're not going to let them get on that truck. So, but anyway, we've a important topic, very important topic because it's, it's, it's what unions are about. I mean, we get, we get paid a wage, you know, for, for working and to not want to get paid, not care about getting paid. That's just whatever it is, just it's nuts. But anyway, glad we talked about this again. We're going to keep talking about it and everybody have yourself a good night. We all deal with national language, but on this podcast, when it comes to supplemental language, we deal mostly with the Southern region. And as always, it's best to get advice from your local stewards or business agents. If you would like to reach out to us with any questions, we have an email address 767realitycheckatgmail.com. That's 767realitycheckatgmail.com. And remember, strong people stand up for themselves, but the strongest people stand up for others.