My local is stealing from the poor

[article22]

Curious to see if this activity is happening nationwide or just in my area!!
Peak employees/seasonal workers are once again having union dues "iniation fees" taking ou tof their paychecks..its bad enough these ppl are working for $8.50 and being rushed off the clock my management!! These poor soles have no chance to join the union and are forced to pay the piper!!
Meanwhile our local still complains they are broke from "the $50 strike check" we received in 1997!!
We must be bulding vegas again or something with them millions of $'s in peak iniation fees!!!

 

[PiedmontSteward]

I don't agree with that at all - seasonals never attain seniority, so how can they be charged an initiation fee?

In my local (which is in a RTW state), initiation fees for PT UPS employees are waived.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Initiation fees, dues, etc. It's shady. Might be ok with it if they had the chance to integrate into the hub, but as far as I know they would be at the end of the list of all seasonals because they don't have inside training, nor a work record that would indicate the company should keep them around. Though it's such an anomaly. Can't think of any other union shop business that brings in provisional seasonal help.

 

[brownmonster]

Been that way since I started way back when. It's a nice shock to the Helpers when they get their first check. They make over 13 an hour here.

 

[barnyard]

If you feel that strongly about it, go to meetings and lobby to have it changed.

 

[OptimusPrime]

If you feel that strongly about it, go to meetings and lobby to have it changed.

I see that response gets tossed around here a bit. While I agree that as a Union, we are only as strong as our members, and we need to police ourselves, lookout for each other,etc. But damn, come on. In a run of the mill weak, I'm getting 50 hours. If you are a lunch taker, that's a 11 hour day. Say you have a 30 minute commute, that makes it twelve. (If you show up right at start time) And it's not like the alarm goes off, and you are in your car. That's a minimum half hour. 8 hours sleep. You get the jist. Hell I don't even have a family, but it seems trying to me put even more time into the job.

 

[Brownslave688]

Helpers may be another story but most of the part timers here are retained after peak.

 

[UPSGUY72]

You want to work a union job than you pay dues unless your in a right to work state. IF you don't want to pay dues go work somewhere else. Nobody is forcing these people to apply for a season job helper job...

 

[Anonymous 10]

I personally thanked hall and Jimmy Hoffa to there face this week and told them I loved them. I lov being a teamster and I love to pay dues. Oh yea I'm a steward who pays dues and gladly does so.

 

[UPSGUY72]

If we didn't have to pay dues there wouldn't be a union. If it wasn't for the union we wouldn't be making what we do or have the benefits that we have. If we didn't have to pay dues there wouldn't be a union.

 

[Anonymous 10]

I'm a union kinda guy

 

[Bubblehead]

Here, helpers pay dues and rightfully so working in a union shop.
If they don't work 30 days, all dues are refundable.
Once again, rightfully so.

 

[rod]

Around here taking initiation fees and dues out of seasonal workers checks has been the way its always been. I always thought the least the company/union could do was inform the prospective new hires of this fact before they signed on the dotted line. It was always a bummer to hand your Christmas helper his 1st check and see the disappointment in his eyes when he sees what his take home pay really was. There were no "refunds" either.

 

[brown_trousers]

Not everything in life is going to be "fair". I think we can just chalk this one up to being a necessary evil. The union needs money to operate. I'd rather see initiation fees taken during peak season, than see my union dues go up!

And the older I get, the more I realize just how unrealistic the concept of fairness is. The world wasn't fair when I was born, it's not fair now, and It won't be fair when I die.

 

[p228]

If we didn't have to pay dues there wouldn't be a union. If it wasn't for the union we wouldn't be making what we do or have the benefits that we have. If we didn't have to pay dues there wouldn't be a union.

I guess the union is pretty desperate if they need to take $25/week from employees making $100 in order to survive. It's not as though the union does anything for seasonal employees. They get a meager $8.50 an hour from the negotiated wage and get let go after peak season.

 

[article22]

i dont mind paying my dues at all either !! some of u are missing the point!! SEASONAL workers being charged iniation fees !! $25 out of every check!! NOne OF THE SEASONALS ARE KEPT AROUND AFTER PEAK HERE!!! IN FACT< SOME OF THESE "NOT SO BRIGHT" workers keep coming back year after year for seasonal work!! 8.50 an hour - bus fare, taxes, union dues is really probably $3 an hour

 

[stink219]

Here, helpers pay dues and rightfully so working in a union shop.
If they don't work 30 days, all dues are refundable.
Once again, rightfully so.

Same with us. I sit in on every convo that a sup or manager has with casuals. It's rewarding to say to management,"Yes he is a casual BUT he pays dues and is entitled to the same rights as we are."

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

You want to work a union job than you pay dues unless your in a right to work state. IF you don't want to pay dues go work somewhere else. Nobody is forcing these people to apply for a season job helper job...

So you think it is fair to extract both an initiation fee and monthly dues from seasonal employees who have zero chance of being retained after Peak? They don't do that here as they know just how unfair it would be to do so or how hard it would be to hire and retain helpers if they chose to do so.

 

[Indecisi0n]

So you think it is fair to extract both an initiation fee and monthly dues from seasonal employees who have zero chance of being retained after Peak? They don't do that here as they know just how unfair it would be to do so or how hard it would be to hire and retain helpers if they chose to do so.

I paid both and was hired full time after the holidays.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I paid both and was hired full time after the holidays.

How would you have felt if you had paid both and not been retained? Would you have asked for a refund or would you have felt it a small price to pay for the privilege of working in a union shop?