Odd dilemma at work. Your opinions?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This is being typed by phone, so I apologize for inevitable typos.

I changed jobs a little over a year ago, swapping essentially similar hourly supervisory positions at retail chains. But, it was a jump from non-union to union. (Which is why I think what was a department manager at one is a department head at the other. Lines in the sand.)

I’m not up on how unions work, but like the insurance. The job is fine, I make friends, and got pay increases of ~$5 through various means. Nice. Then a fellow hourly starts… I dunno. Harassing me.

I work nights. Midnight to 8:30. Morning shifts start rolling in from 4 to 6 AM, depending on the department. A few months ago, a few would ask… “Getting that overtime, eh?”. “No.”
“Shouldn’t you be gone by now?”. “No, scheduled another hour, I wish, haha.”

One coworker, in particular, started in really harshly. Every day he sees me, he asks why I’m getting overtime, even though I’m working my schedule. He’s told me I’m lying to him about my schedule. He’s apparently the person responsible for the others asking, and was using them to try to gain evidence of… something. This morning, he stood at the end of the area where I was working, glaring at me. I worked for a few minutes, then finally said “hey, what’s up :)” to try to ease the tension. His reply? “Sucking up the overtime, I see.” “It’d be pretty hard to get overtime considering I was in the hospital for three days this week.” “You’ll figure it out.”

Now, this might all seem petty. But. This is my union steward. The guy who is supposed to have my back if I have problems there. And he is the one person bugging me.

Apparently he’s pissed that I can get OT (which I usually don’t).

Now, according to the union contract vis-a-vis overtime, I’m in the right. He has seniority at store level, but I’m in a different department. Overtime offers are based on seniority in a department; in my department, I am #2 in rank, so.

The bigger issue is… This is supposed to be the guy who has my back. He doesn’t. He attempts to undermine me to others (told another clerk “lying again” this morning after the hospital chat). IMO he abuses his position as union steward; his very first phishing expedition in person, he simply asked “Your union steward needs to know if you’re getting overtime.” So he’s claiming to need to know information that seems to be for personal use.

I’m sick of it. I hated the 1st/2nd/3rd shift hatreds of the old job. This is a mutated version that could backfire if I do anything.

So. Some want me to go to the local about it. They’re pretty active in our stores; if I called, I know someone would be by the store with food and wanting to talk. But, I’m afraid of… Something. Retaliation. Tenseness at work in perpetuity. Like, they chide the steward. He’s going to know who ratted him out to the organisation that makes him the “big shot.”

Okay, long story short, essentially I am a peon looking to go over someone’s head. Problem is, he’s a peon too. I have no idea what a steward could do. Just be a dick forever? Well, used to that already. What else can he do?

So. Should I go to the local? If so, why? And if no, why? And for either Y/N, suggestions on how to proceed? I’m flummoxed.

2

/I edited that poorly. I meant to state that my department currently has an overtime offer (highest dollar volume AND profit, and we’re currently ~15 percent understaffed, giving us about 24 hours overtime leeway in payroll). Currently there’s a blanket approval for one day a week for the two highest in seniority, with the lead and support (me) able to dole out whatever goes unused.

So, that “I’m #2” isn’t just a Prisoner reference, it explains the getting overtime part.

3

Can you say more about the immediate management structure in your area, separate from the union management? Who does each of you report to?

4

Okay, lots of stuff in that OP, but the stuff I quoted is the direct questions, so I’ll try and answer those.

Yes, Your Steward could be a dick forever. In fact, if you do nothing, it looks like he will be a dick forever, right? So go ahead and do something. At least then you’re being pro-active in trying to change your work situation for the better, a position which your union should back 100%.

Are you a member, btw?

Go to the Local. Do not attempt to talk 1-on-1 to this person about this issue. Wait until you have a 3rd party there, explain things to them and then the both of you can talk to YS. HOWEVER… before you talk to anyone, know what your goal is and how you intend to reach it. Don’t allow the conversation to get derailed; stay focused on the issue.

I am a union member, and if I thought things had gone beyond the “is there a problem?” casual approach, I’d definitely call my local and have the Business Rep or one of the Business Agents come down and see if we couldn’t sort things out. I know they would, too (that’s what I pay them to do, among other things).

My WAG: it prolly has more to do wth you just getting the job and boring steadily, even getting OT at times, that rankles the guy. Many old-school union attitudes are very familial or tribal: protect our own, screw the other. To him, you may still be the other, and he’s internalized some anger that someone he knows isn’t doing your job or something.

If that’s the case (I’ve dealt with it several times), he needs to realize that what he’s doing is giving you a bad impression of what it means to be in a union. He’s potentially driving you away from union membership, away from the cause of unionism and thus hurting himself in the long run. The situation that got you the job is over; you have the job. Assuming that you do your job well, he should be trying to show you how much you will benefit from the union, knowing full well that the union will also benefit by having anther member who is competent at his trade.

TL; DR: Call your Business Rep and talk to them. Be sure that you explain that you aren’t trying to cause waves, you’re trying to settle them. Explain your position without being accusatory or confrontational and see what they say.

5

Yes, I’m a member. Again, on my phone, so if things seem disjointed or I miss something… Let’s blame this inanimate thing.

Seeing your reply makes me think it’s the boring answer of… I’m rankling the guy because I’m new blood getting access- if not acceptance- to things like promotion and overtime that he feels others should get more. Though we’re talking departments as disparate as floral and grocery. Like, head florist should get more manpower than second head grocery.

There’s a bit of resentment there. I used union rules to gain full time. I called every day, and worked every day they offered. I worked 40hours a week enough weeks that I got full time, no questions asked. So, a member of the union gets full time thanks to union bargaining, yay? Actually, no, part time union guys who wouldn’t open their availability were angry. So, plus one union (paying my dues!), minus one union guys with limited availability who think a grocery owes them versus thinking they should work toward mutual success.

Your advice is reassuring. I don’t want to appear as the adversary, and I don’t wanna be seen as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I come from Walmart, the great enemy, and I’m sure he may have his teeth bared simply due to that. But I want to set things straight, and support an organization that supported me. He can be my steward. I just want my proponent to be my opponent.

Your advice is also immediately useful. Like I said, I came from the antithesis of this culture. It gives me a good idea of what to do. And be proactive, not just rolling over like I did at the old place. A bit of power, even though it happens to be a family fight.

6

Umm.

Don’t want my proponent to be my opponent.

Yeah, the phone.