Work Politics Sucks

hi sorry this is long

well this sucks as some of you may know in the begining of the year i started a new job that is not computer related.

well just to give you some background i work for a company called (classified) and they make chemicals of different types of products.

i make a fiber that is used to put into concrete to lessen the use of rebarb. so my job title is A-mixer or chemical operator or whatever i work 1st shift. there are 3 shifts

shift 1 : 7am-3pm
shift 2: 3pm-11pm
shift 3: 11pm-7am

anyways i get paid A rate which is 20.29 to make this product. its kinda like making a cake a little you have to add stuff and mix it at certain times.

well when i first started everyone introduced themselves to me of course. i got to know the people in my department.
they teached me how to package the product first, but while there the lead man of the department told me that i dont have a secure deptartment so in the future they can put my job up for bid for other workers and throw me where ever the hell they want unless i bid on any other open job. once you have a bidded job they cant throw you from department to department.

how this works incase your wondering is when a position is opened they put a paper on the board and peopel sign there names on it to bid for the job, the one with the most senority gets the job. usually everyone wants to be an A mixer because they get more pay.

well when i started people where kinda pissed because i started at the "A" rate pay which according to them shouldnt have happened i should have started at a lower pay ( i have no prior experience in doing this kind of work)

also people where upset that they put me as a mixer instead of bidding off that job to some other people in the plant.

but anyways months pass by and i am mixing the product and apperently the top dogs of that department seem to like it when i mix that product because it doesnt get fecked up like when other people make it.

so before we use to change jobs, like one day or week i would mix or i would package or i would make this other chemical called semi finish.

well after a while they seemed to only want me to mix and nobody else. apparently i was able to make the crap with no problems and not screw up any batches.



well 2 days ago my job goes up for bid and im like wtf, i knew this was going to happen.

anyways i go sign my name on the paper, but apprently everyone else wants the job too. people with way more senority then me want my job like people that worked for 20 years.

anyways i knew this was going to happen but i also feel kinda bad because i wanted to do a good job for i can stay there. but we have a union and that goes against some union rules.

well i spoke to the production engineer of my department and she told me not to worry because the assistant plant manager told her i would have that job. so pretty much its a fixed bid and she told me not to tell anyone that the assistant plant manager told her this. the deadline for the bidding ends on thursday the 6th. she said that the bid was put up for i can have a bidded job and they cant move me anywhere

well the leadman of the department also knows about this and he kinda opens his mouth so know other people kinda know that its a fixed bid. so some people are kinda pissed about it.


but i just dont understand how im sappose to have this job. if i get the bidded job, people are going to file an aggreevance and go to the union and if i dont i will be kinda screwed and they can make me work a 3rd shift or give me any crappy department and just move me around till i get a bidded job. what is kool is i will keep my pay no matter what happens because they hired me on that pay.


i would love to have a 1st shift bidded job for i can continue some of my schooling. but i have no control over what happens.

one guy told me its nothing against me and i shouldnt take it personaly if the file an aggrevance because that is unfair.

which is true it is unfair.

i dont know what will happen this is all fecked up. but i'll keep you updated.

thanks i had to vent some of this crap out

Welcome to the union........

Geez, I feel for ya Neo.
Unions were good and needed in this world...a hundred years ago.
And, as usual, they abused their power after the fact.
But times change, and unions became like mangagement:
alll about money and power.
Meanwhile, the little people stayed in the middle to suffer all the consequences.
With little or no repercussions to the powers that be.
Why?
Because there was a shift in money!!!
Unions demanded some for cooperating, and mgmt agreed to a point.
Because management doesn't care.
And, the unions acted like they did but didn't care either.
So, where does that leave the little people?
Nowhere, as usual!!!

Fix on the thing that makes you better than the others - you said it yourself, they like it when you mix, obviously the system will have to come first, but at the end of the day, YOU did a good job despite the politics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NooNoo

Fix on the thing that makes you better than the others - you said it yourself, they like it when you mix, obviously the system will have to come first, but at the end of the day, YOU did a good job despite the politics.

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Exactly. If you do the best mix and the bosses know it, you can guarantee you will still be doing it for them in the future. If not then the union has too much power or the management is weak, time to look around!

That's a bummer. Hope it works out.

Sounds like a company were politics has overtaken common sense which reflects on both productivity and profitability.It seems absurd to have a person in a responsible position which can directly affect output just because they are the senior hand and not the best suited for the job.

I sympathise with you but I'm glad I don't own any shares in the company.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NooNoo

Fix on the thing that makes you better than the others - you said it yourself, they like it when you mix, obviously the system will have to come first, but at the end of the day, YOU did a good job despite the politics.

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Ditto. Plus since you have the plant manager behind you that speaks volumes. Good luck.

Sounds like managment is on your side....this really sucks cuz it sounds like your doing a great job for them.

Good luck!

Just go to work - do your job the best you can.
Be pleasant to everyone there.
Keep your ears and eyes open - and your mouth shut.
https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2007/09/1.gifhttps://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2007/09/1.gifhttps://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2007/09/1.gif

Sounds like most of this is out of your hands, anyways.

If that job is so desired by the people within the company, why wasn't it filled internally? Then they post the job and tell you that you're getting it anyway over people with more seniority than you. IMO, it appears that management is just playing their games and trying to divide and conquer the union. That type of sh!t happens here all the time.

well Tacklebox thats what alot of workers asked when i started.

well im just playing dumb and pretending i dont know whats going to happen. but from what the production engineer of my department told me was.


somewhere in the union contract it states that if a person is more qualified for a job then they get the job over a person that has more sinority.

out of all the people who signed there names on that list, my name is the only one that knows how to make the product.

it will be screwed up the outcome. im just going to do my job and keep to myself, so far thats what ive been doing.

but the whole reason behind them doing this is to keep me in that department and i will have a bidded job. because right now if they wanted they can take me out of my department and throw me in any shift they want.

but so far in the plant there are alot of screwy things going on. so im keeping my head up and make sure i dont fall into a bad situation. also keeping my eyes open of other technical oppertunities instead of chemical.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by [NeoZeeD]

...one guy told me its nothing against me and i shouldnt take it personaly if the file an aggrevance because that is unfair...

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by [NeoZeeD]

...well im just playing dumb and pretending i dont know ...

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aggrievance

grievance

It sounds like you, and some of the people in the plant are using this term incorrectly. You would file a grievance if you felt you were wronged and wanted to make a formal complaint. If you were experiencing constant aggravation, and wanted to describe the scenario as a noun, it would be an aggrievance...

Aggrievance is barely even a word, but does exist. I would change your vernacular to reflect this understanding…

:thumbs:

And I think you are right to vent here, keep the politics out of the workplace. But one thing I would recommend, go back and edit the parts where you tell us what the company name is, and PM those that quoted you to remove those references as well. No need giving anyone any ammunition, although your concerns are truly genuine. However, taken out of context, any of your statements could be used against you.

If you are getting paid the same no matter what, who cares!?! As far as the shift requirement, making your managers aware of your schooling requirements might give you a leg up. But, if you changed to either of the other shifts, you could take classes during the day just as well, right? Just tell the management if you need to finish a semester at one shift, then when it is over, you can change shifts, and schedule classes around the new times…

Lastly, here is what you have to realize, this isn’t about you. Most of the people in the plant are going to be there until they retire. You on the other hand have intention to move back into the technical field when things go your way. Some of these guys just want to have a little control over their lives, and being able to get a bided position seems to be the way to attain royalty, with exception of moving into management. If things don’t go your way with this bid, will any of it matter to you in a year when you are working somewhere else?

Just an add on in regard to the schooling you might see if the Personnel department has a budget for payments [i.e. paid time] or sponsorships for courses such as yours if its helping to improve your employment prospects within the company.

well i was thinking about it and i really dont care if they move me or not.
i will still get the same pay and im still planning on leaving the company soon.

and it would be unfair if they just gave me the job over somebody that has been there 20 + years.

which tells me if they are willing to screw over there old timer workers then most likely in the future they may do the same to me.

as far as school i keep it under raps , if i worked in the office then i can get school paid for and attend with ease.

but since i dont work in the office and i actually work inside the plant making the product they can care less if i go or not.

if i do have a class and they switch my shifts and i bring it to there attention they wont do a dam thing.

so since i dont have a bidded department they can switch me from shifts to shifts if they need too

so far they dont know of my future plans.
classified.......


but there hasnt been any word yet on who gets the job.
maybe i'll i know something on monday.

I still hope you get it.

Sounds like you're the best man for the job, so seniority could take a back seat to performance here.

Just a quick question which hasn't been answered though:

How did the other workers find out your pay scale? Isn't that confidential?

its pretty much set

a mixers get "A" rate pay

packagers get "B" rate pay

janitors get "C" or "D" rate pay

so pretty much from what the person job is you know what they get paid, also when they put the bids on it tells you how much you will be making if you get the job.

Crock of ****. Sounds like both the union rules and the company is playing with you at the same time. Try to get through the best you can and keep a stiff upper lip.

talk about a bad week

my boots get stolen from my locker at work, ( they where sitting ontop of my locker for months and some @sshole took them or threw them away, now i keep them inside my locker) 160 doller work boots steal toe, ended up going to wal-mart and buying 40 doller boots, but these are more comforatable for some reason

i over pressurized a pump and the metal shell on it cracked but they say it wasnt my fault.

got into an argument with one of my friends ( ex girlfriend) we are ok now.

and today i find out i didnt win the bid, the guy with the most senority got it. so im going to end up in a back shift.


i did feel sad when they told me, i really wanted to have a first shift bidded job and register for nite classes. but i have no power over this and in a way the job wasnt really mine to begin with i guess.

so im going to be in my department for 3 weeks till the old fart learns how to do my job then im going to another department. what kinda sucks is i will be a floater, so where ever they need me they can throw me and throw me on any shift too, which will be a bit difficult to return to school.

where ever they put me i'll try to do a good job.

the department lead and the supervisor of my department where the ones that told me the news. they said the good thing is i will keep my pay no matter what happens and there may be another opening in the future for a second shift. the head engineer of my department ( we take orders from her) didnt really say much to me today but to make more batches monday.

im not going to bust my @ss making more batches since i wont be in that department anymore.

to top it off im going to be layed off in the end of the year for two weeks.
the company was cheap i guess and doesnt want to pay holidays. so they will shut down for two weeks. which is ok i guess but i dont get paid for them and i would much rather prefer the money instead of not having a check for two weeks.


well so far my plans are to actually keep my eyes open for a technical job even if it pays less i want to get back to what i did before.

i do take the A+ os technology test tomarow lenear. i already took the hardware core and passed it now i will take the o/s part.

this week really sucked im going to try to pass it, but worse comes to worse i'll retake it if i dont pass.


oh well, i will just keep my head up and move foward