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Post Info TOPIC: Union Resignation & Due
Anonymous

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Union Resignation & Due
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I'm trying to keep myself calm but the more I think about what I'm about to type, the higher I can feel my blood pressure rising. I joined the Union back in March 2014. I was 20 at the time & I remember a Union rep. with a clipboard walking all around the store like a f***** Nazi trying to recruit new members. I was hesitant at first considering I didn't want to pay $10/monthly, but I let a co-worker younger than me who signed up that same day persuade me into it by saying he union would protect me & have my back in case something goes down between me & my management, should both sides find ourselves in some type of dispute over a situation where they try to wrongfully discipline or terminate me. Also, the union rep buttered me up by informing me they offered scholarships & discounted textbooks....they lied. Anyway flash forward to present day. In August I started attending a 4-year university & had to cut my hours at work drastically in order to focus on school & try to maintain my grades. I work 10 hours a month(1 weekend a month). Now mind you, I work 1 weekend out of the month & go on a 4-week hiatus & return when the next month has hit. I did not know the Union would still charge me weekly for when I don't even work. I came back to work from school & the next week when I got my pay stub the Union had the AUDACITY to deduct $53 from my got damn paycheck! Add to that the regular tax deductions everyone pays I was left with $15.15 for my paycheck. I knew then & there I had to get out. I faxed a letter to the union & today(three weeks later) I have just gotten a response stating that they have accepted my request to resign from the union, but unable in terms of my Union dues being deducted: "When you signed a dues check-off authorization form, you agreed to have your dues deducted from your paycheck, regardless of Union membership, from year to year unless notice was given no less than 30 days and not more than 45 days prior to the date you signed your membership application, which is March 13, 2014 (copy enclosed) or the termination of the collective bargaining agreement. Because your dues revocation is not timely, we are unable to process your request." 

WHAT THE F***!? I know I can't get mad because it's my fault for not reading carefully but WHAT THE F***!? YOU TAKE ME OUT OF THE UNION BUT TELL ME I STILL HAVE TO PAY EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT A MEMBER ANYMORE!? MY FAX LETTER STATED I WAS ONLY LEAVING BECAUSE OF THE UNION DUES, SO IF I STILL HAD TO PAY THEM WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST KEEP ME IN!? I AM SO ANGRY RIGHT NOW I COULD SCREAM! Now that I think back to it, while it is my fault for signing every section on the form thinking it was just for my membership, the Union rep. who gave me the form sure refrained from explaining to me what I was exactly signing, in fact he was just pointing around the form saying, "Sign here & here." 

I swear to God, if you're thinking about joining the Union, DON'T! They're just like any money grubbing fraud group plotting to take money from people.



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Anonymous

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It's the fine print that usually comes back and bites you where it hurts most - not just in this case with the union contract but with a lot of paperwork in general in life. On the bright side, hey, it's a lesson learned in life and now before you sign your name on a piece of paper, you will think back to this situation and know, regardless of what some person that has a vested interest in getting your signature is telling you, that you must double and triple check what the fine print states.

One possible solution for you may be to quit and reapply in a month or two, if you like working for Kroger enough to return. As long as management/your department head likes you, you can come back and work there again without having to pay union dues. You may want to double check just to be sure, but I believe the union would have to get you to sign new paperwork in order to get you back in the union. On the downside, you will likely lose seniority, your current pay rate, vacation hours and so on, so that part sucks.

Maybe someone else can give you better options. I can't really offer much insight because I've worked for Kroger for over five years and have constantly told the union reps to kindly bugger off when they try and pressure me to join. The union is in Kroger's back pocket and I've consistently watched as employees in the union get steamrolled by management while the union does nothing to help. The union is just as corrupt and greedy as Kroger and while Kroger and the union get rich off of us, we, the employees, struggle to get by.



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