| Since starting as a full
time committeeperson this past June, I have enjoyed working with everyone on the floor.
Certain questions have been asked more frequently than others, so I thought presenting
some of them in the newspaper might be helpful. Q. A) Does time missed from work every 6 months have to be made up before I get my raises? B) How exactly is my raise figured? 5% of what? A. A) The union negotiated certain times that would not be counted against employees in attaining their incremental raises. The contract specifically states: Credit will not be given for any week during which, for any reason, the employee does not work except: -the full week comprising the Christmas holiday period, -the time lost because of a compensable injury or occupational disease, -full weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leaves of absence, -full weeks of time lost for vacation during the plant vacation shutdown weeks, -Bereavement, and -Military duty. Each increase will be effective at the beginning of the first pay period following the completion of the required number of weeks of employment. B) For example: Base rate assembly = $22.030 x 70% = $15.425 (hire in rate) 6 months later = $22.030 x 75% = $16.525 (a five percent increase) Your rate increases continue this way until you have reached the full rate in your classification. If you have any questions, please stop in Labor Relations with your issues. Q. Can I be loaned out to another department if I am late? A. It is your contractual right to stay in the home department based on seniority. Management must loan employees in the classification not needed by low seniority first. One example of an exception occurs if an employee is late for work. Each late employee may or may not be loaned out of seniority order, or, may even be sent home. Once this happens, supervision, decides what to do depending on the need for manpower and other variables at the time. Unfortunately, the decision is managements at this point. Q. When I submit a bump slip, can I change my mind and have it pulled? A. Having the right to change shifts by seniority is a great contractual benefit. Please be sure that you want to change shifts before you sign and turn in that slip. (Once a bump slip is submited, that commitment is binding, and cannot be reversed.) Additionally, area wide and plant wide bumps are processed in Labor Relations, and a Union Representative is present when this is done. This job is very difficult and can be awfully time consuming. Predicting what department you might land in is impossible due to the number of slips being submitted all over the plant, and the timeliness with which they are received. Of course, departmental bumps are handled within the department by the supervisors. Q. Can I change my mind once I have submitted a non-pro in Labor Relations? A. Yes, as long as the non-pro has not been activated or offered to you. You can rescind your request without penalty any time before being offered. If you are offered your non-pro and turn it down, you are ineligible for one year to submit another one. Hopefully this will help some of you better understand some of the basics. Of course, any of these situations can vary from one circumstance to another. These are just general guidelines to help you get started. In Solidarity, Your District Committeeperson, Kathy Kruger NOTE: FAQ refers to the time and date of this article. Please refer to your contract. |