Seniority

[rdog]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA
I recently had a greivance through my local concerning a seniority issue, dated back to 2005. The company which I work for honored my seniority by changing recently up to where it was supposed to be. A funny thing happened next. The department head called me in to let me know that the company was going to reverse my and 5 other peoples seniority based on an agreement between the company and the past pres./business agent, which the union agrees actually changed contract language. I had a conversation with the past pres./ business agent concerning the validity of the letter, he told me he never signed it. He was correct, apparently the union secretary signed the presidents name and put her initials next to his name. The union sent to a lawer to see if the agreement was legal for the secretary to sign it. The lawers response to it was yes it is a legal action, and yes the contract language was changed. According to our locals By-laws, any contractural agreements or legal documents must be signed by the pres./business agent. The contract agreement between the company and the union states that any definition open to inturpretation will be done by the cba and past practice. It seems like the current pres./ business agent has reason for wanting this issue to just go away, concerning the protection of the secretary that he now lives with. Past practice would have been helpful concidering in the year 2000,the person involved, they're seniority was honored by contract language. I guess my question is do I have any case against the company and or the union on the basis of not honoring the contract on either side.

[racer72]

How much money are you willing to spend to persue this? Depending on the size of the company and union and how deep their pockets are, this could cost well into 5 figures.

[rdog]

Is there anyone that will give me some serious advice? I have a legit complaint about my union's handling of my situation regarding my seniority. I have been denied any sort of repesentation by my union to the company in which I work. My company has denied me my rightful seniority for four years.They recently reversed my seniority in my favor then promptly reversed it back when other union members questioned their own seniority issues. There is proof according to my current contract that my seniority should be honored but the union refuses to represent me in my efforts. Since my employer refuses to meet with me,they will only meet with union reps ,do I have a case???? My by-laws are on my side(past practice was not ahered to)and my contract also is on my side. The only person dragging their feet is my union pres, who has a personal stake. The union president's girlfriend,who is the secretary (no union affiliation-not a union member), may have signed a document that may get her fired if brought to light.I could care less who he is dating ,but I believe her mistake should not cause me to lose my rightful seniority!

[eerelations]

If the union is violating its mandate or the law, the NLRB will be able to do something about it. Contact the NLRB and see what they say about your issues.

[JennK2009]

Have you talked with the other four people, who also lost seniority, and what do they think? Have you talked with your shop steward to see if knows anything?

Were you not aware that there was a change that directly affected you, to the agreement? Certainly, you were aware that this negotiation was going on.

Seniority and past precedence are big issues. See what the others have to say – or did nobody know what was going on?

People have a tendency to not realize the potency of seniority. Unfortunately, it can be a big fight that costs lots of money.

Does the dated document parallel the company's action of reversal?

[rdog]

Thank you for all the advice. Here is a little more info so maybe I can pick your brains for a little more advice. My company and my union lawyers were in full agreement that my seniority rights had been violated and my supervisor spoke to me about the reversal ( in my favor) and when it would take place.We were all in agreement that I would not force any of my union brothers out of shifts or positions that I had been unable to bid on because of my lack of seniority. After my seniority was reversed other union brothers came forth with their own issues, that is when the _ _ _ _ hit the fan! They suddenly produced correspondence between our former union president and the head of our plant. This correspondence basicly said that there was a difference between a man/ woman pulled in lieu of bid is less senior the a man/woman that actually bids on that job. Not only does our contract not read that way, but all that it affected were never notified of any such agreement between our company and our union president , although the company and the union both had a complete list of all that would have been affected by this change, not one person on this list was ever infomed as to what was taking place. Also, this correspondence was never signed by any union rep, but our secretary(no union affiliation).Our by-laws state that any and all contractual issues must be signed by a union rep. I have already spoke with our former president and he denies writing the letter in the way it was worded. His signature is not on this letter to the company and my union has no proof of the dictation or of a letter hand writtten before it was typed and sent to the company. I feel that my rights were entirely violated. I was under the understanding that the cotract that me and my union brothers voted on was the contract we were all working under in good faith, but obviously the opposite was true. Secret deals were being made that violated our contract, our rights, and our faith in the company and union by which we are bound.

[justalayman]

contact the next level up of your union. You can file a grievance against these actions at that level.

In fact, it seems it would be best to have this taken to a different (objective) adjudicator simply due to the fact that it involves contradicting actions within your local.

[Erudition]

Yes take your concerns past the B.A to the next level. You should have a regional director or someone who our ranks your B.A. if you believe that your B.A is trying to sweep this under the rug to protect the office help/girlfriend, and it is ultimately not serving the purpose of the membership, you definitely have to do something.

Not only should that B.A be trying to help you out of this situation, he should be trying to fix that problem in general so that no one is in your situation in the future.