Just have to wonder why Kroger wants to delay everything unless they want to make examples out of our local. We are a small local ( 540) in Dallas and our contract is tied close to Houston's. Kroger never even wanted to set a date until the last minute to start talks and then a short time into it, came the economical part of the talks and it was placed on hold until Houston was done. Now that has been several weeks and there is still no dated set by Kroger to resume talks. I did here something about some of them taking vacation time and other reasons but can not say for sure that is why.
My feeling is that since we are a small local in a right to work state, that they do not want to take us seriously but more like an unwanted ugly step child that needs to be bitch slapped when they do not get their way and wants to try to set an example. I do know that they wanted a lot of language issues changes that would make it easier for them to discipline and terminate people and we would not want that. So have to wonder if they are just setting around and wanting to just make us wait for nothing. Kind of like the low life's that feel they just have to beat on someone just for the hell of it or suffering from little man syndrome.
Almost like the grievance process in that they would rather set and ignore it for months and hope that they ( we) just are willing to except the consequences with little fight.
I am in Virginia which is also a right to work state. And our store is probably I would guess 45% Union. So they do the same with us. There are 2 stores in this state that are on the west virginia contract.. Mine is one of them
I've tried for a very long time to get our store in the virginia contract. But without the numbers to back it up we are kinda lost.
FYI WV stores get alot worse when it comes to benefits, and time off. etc I'm sure someone else has it worse.. but we don't get paid holiday, and VA contract stores do.
So if I went to another store 20 mins down the road I'd get paid holidays, but because my store is on the WV contract, we dont'.
Ok i'm rambling but it's late and I had to work 12 hours today in the deli on Customer Appreciaion day.
The following is a letter ( email) sent to my business agent for local 540 and our lead negotiator. Kroger still wants to continue to let uneducated people continue to violate the terms of the contract. Guess that the HR staff feels they need to slap someone around. And we ( the local ) just seems to let it continue
This is Randy at 488. Here is what I want to let you know. I have always thought that it would be a good Idea for each district to have two or three extra market managers ( in excess) to help cover vacations, injuries and other thinks that would come up. There are those that think l I was full of crap . But this past Thursday afternoon , we had a district meat department meeting with our MR Vincent Hernandez. Now one thing he was throwing around and wanting to do was create a floating Meat manager for just these type of things and was interested in what managers would be interested in doing it. They would have their home store at a market rate but not as the manager. They would , However, have to be able to travel to any other store for a few days or weeks to cover for vacations or injuries or grand openings. Seems my crack pot idea is getting some attention. Here is my concern about it. We are now going to create extra positions in each zone and expect these people to go at a days notice to another store. Are they going to get travel expenses or mileage? Are they going to use qualified managers already or hire and train ones off the street. Will they now continue to hire new people, off the street, and start to promote them ( see what former MR Sheri Crowded was doing) after probation. I just feel that they need to set down guidelines for this and the hiring of market managers. YES we have that language in the contract and it has been there for some time. But they have never followed it and still violate it from time to time. Now if this program works ( Vincent creating a market manager in excess) to help in the districts then do we need to set standards for the promotion of them and travel costs for them. Or do we let them continue doing as is. The other concern is that the area here is very short on Cutters and stores trying to call others for cutting help alone. Now we do not have cutter classification in our contract. But what is to stop them from hiring extra market managers and using them to float from store to store to help in cutting? Would it not be better to hire or bring back Journeyman cutters and have them float instead of extra market managers? Now lets say I was interested in doing this. Store 488 would get a new market manager and I would stay there until I was told where to go next. If it is in the middle of the week and I am told to go to Dallas, can I refuse since the schedule is done or will I get busted back? Will I get paid mileage to drive? What happens if I have car trouble and can not make a store for a few days or a week but can still walk to my home store for work. Will I loose my position as a market manager in excess and floater? Again I am not the smartest in the market and often do not think before Leap and just asking if we need to address al these concerns when we get back to talks or just leave them go and have a potential mess for the rest of this new contract that has not been settled yet.
yeah, kroger really has been slapping the union around, a lot more, then they used too. seemed to start about 5 years ago here. before then, will no love was lost, kroger respected the union's power. now, they go out of their way, to pull the union's teeth. whats more, is the endless propagande we have been fed. "oh, the union is usless, they won't help you, or the union is in krogers pocket.' all are said, to weaken members faith in the union, and give up eaiser. it works too. hell, i struggle daily, with worry, that my cause is lost. even thou, i have heard many stories of people getting their jobs back, for far worse then my petty deal, but after hearing from every dept head, co, and unit manager, the union can't or won't help, it takes it's toll. and with this taking so long,It makes you want to give u. 'only two things keep me going . one, is i know i don't deserve termination, and i'll be dam,ne if i give in. and two, beleive it or not, here has helped a lot. i have gotten more answers to questions here, then by my union rep.I'm sure he is a busy guy, but i don't think they realize sometimes, we are waiting on our JOBS!patience is hard to come by. personally, i think kroger is trying to phase the union out of it,s company all together, and this is how it plans on doing it. weaken it, make people give up. make less people want to join,. eventually, that would make the union powerless. the union really needs to toughen up, and draw a line in the sand, or it's going to get swept away
Kroger always wants a unanimous vote , from the committee, on any contract that goes before the members to vote. They will not get it this time. Unless they want to get serious about the violations they continue to do and we get teeth put into the language of the contract, I cannot vote for it.
Our union likes to have the same thing but there are a few of us, on our committee that just will not give it that unanimous vote this time around.
Yea sometimes I feel that way when it comes to Kroger and our contract talks. Do know that when they start back up that they probably will not get a unanomous vote from the committe this time around. I am pissed and so is one other committe member. Right now they still have not responded to setting talks to start back up and we have a union meeting this wednesday night too. Hopeing that all the memners show up in enought numpers to want to pish Kroger and not extend out our contract any more time. If I know them right, they will think that we are just a small local and they can get by with just letting things go until after the Hollidays.
Come this Thursday the 4th, we will find out jst who gets slapped around. kroger finally seemed to find the time to resume talks on our contract. Only days they could find in this Thursday the 4th and the 16th of the month. Find out soon if they are serious about the contract or just wants to bitch slap someone and delay this even more. Or is the union going to let them do this and settle for a contract with no teeth in it to prevent them from violating the contract and getting away with it repeatedly.
Example is this. If I willingly work off the clock, I violate the contract and get terminated.
If management continues to let workers work of the clock or pressure them to do so, then they get terminated.
If our Meat MRs hire people off the street and make them Market managers in excess, they violate the contract but nothing happens to them.
If our HR and District office staff willingly knows this and lets them get away with it, then they violate the contract and nothing happens to them.
Unless they put teeth in this contract to end this then I can not openly recommend this contract to any member to vote to except
Do not know exatly what was given to them but ours will be close to the same and will be posted when it is done. If kroger is serious about not wanting top put off this small local and wanting to treat us like a hopeless little bitch that needs slapped around from time to time. ====================================== Kroger Clerk and Meat Members Ratify New Contract
UFCW Local 455 would like to congratulate their Kroger Clerk and Meat members for their latest victory after the membership voted overwhelmingly to accept a new three-year contract agreement. Local 455 members were rewarded with retirement security, significant improvements to their health and welfare benefits and wage increases.
After a lengthy negotiations process, we were successful in bargaining for the elimination of black out weeks which added more flexibility regarding vacation time. Beginning January 1, 2011, members will receive unlimited preventative health care coverage and increases in vision benefits. In January 2012, members will enjoy a 15-20 percent decrease in dental co-payments and additional improvements in dental benefits.
This is a well-deserved victory for our Kroger members located in Houston, Beaumont, Bryan/College Station and Nacogdoches. We were successful in bargaining one of the best total compensation packages across the country in our industry.
-- Edited by grumpy1 on Sunday 31st of October 2010 09:37:25 PM
