Don't ever work in the deli department at L-346. You won't like the manager. Today she was telling different people they couldn't take their vacations because they happened to fall during senior week. You can't eliminate weeks from the vacation schedule just because they happen to be holiday weeks or senior weeks. There are 52 weeks in a year and we have 64 vacations to get out. She really made a lot of people mad. Her MO is to first make you mad or upset about not getting your vacation the week you want and then come back and say, "Okay, we'll work something out." like she's doing you a big favor. She'll often say one thing and then deny it later when you call her on it. She's pawned off a lot of the work that the former deli managers used to do on to other people. Several of us have wondered what she actually does do. I know of at least one person who's trying to transfer out of there.
You can force her hand, but it won't be pretty. Basically you just need to send a letter to the union stating the week you'll be going on vacation along with a letter to the store manager and district manager.
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My Views and Opinions do not reflect that of the Kroger company. I'm an indivdual expressing my 1st amendment right.
Don't ever work in the deli department at L-346. You won't like the manager. Today she was telling different people they couldn't take their vacations because they happened to fall during senior week. You can't eliminate weeks from the vacation schedule just because they happen to be holiday weeks or senior weeks. There are 52 weeks in a year and we have 64 vacations to get out. She really made a lot of people mad. Her MO is to first make you mad or upset about not getting your vacation the week you want and then come back and say, "Okay, we'll work something out." like she's doing you a big favor. She'll often say one thing and then deny it later when you call her on it. She's pawned off a lot of the work that the former deli managers used to do on to other people. Several of us have wondered what she actually does do. I know of at least one person who's trying to transfer out of there.
On our last contract we have a unique wording that got placed into the vacation part of the contract that Kroger just did not catch until the last moment. The Contract states NO BLACK OUT DAYS.
Do not know your contract but ours and local 1000 has provisions where they are to be requested and on paper before the end of January . If management does nothing , then it becomes official. If it is denied then they have to give you a choice for an alternate week of your choice. They then have to give you a reason for that and holidays do not count.
If you do not put your vacation requests in before the end on January then you are at the mercy of management denying a request or taking the week (s) they want to give you. But they and you can agree on other weeks.
Once they are in writing they can not be changes unless all parties agree and the union is notified to confirm it. If denied before the January deadline then they have to give a valid reason why and blackouts do not count.
I have memorial day week, fourth of July, labor day, thanks giving and Christmas weeks all scheduled for me.
I may change them but will first wait and see what happens to the others in my crew. They would not listen to me and never requested their vacations in writing. They could be at the mercy of kroger management.
AS for you? Contact your local union and tell them that you are being unjustly denied your vacation.
And remember this. Kroger Policy is to make their employees take their vacations and not pay them the vacation in cash instead.
Don't ever work in the deli department at L-346. You won't like the manager. Today she was telling different people they couldn't take their vacations because they happened to fall during senior week. You can't eliminate weeks from the vacation schedule just because they happen to be holiday weeks or senior weeks. There are 52 weeks in a year and we have 64 vacations to get out. She really made a lot of people mad. Her MO is to first make you mad or upset about not getting your vacation the week you want and then come back and say, "Okay, we'll work something out." like she's doing you a big favor. She'll often say one thing and then deny it later when you call her on it. She's pawned off a lot of the work that the former deli managers used to do on to other people. Several of us have wondered what she actually does do. I know of at least one person who's trying to transfer out of there.
On our last contract we have a unique wording that got placed into the vacation part of the contract that Kroger just did not catch until the last moment. The Contract states NO BLACK OUT DAYS.
Do not know your contract but ours and local 1000 has provisions where they are to be requested and on paper before the end of January . If management does nothing , then it becomes official. If it is denied then they have to give you a choice for an alternate week of your choice. They then have to give you a reason for that and holidays do not count.
If you do not put your vacation requests in before the end on January then you are at the mercy of management denying a request or taking the week (s) they want to give you. But they and you can agree on other weeks.
Once they are in writing they can not be changes unless all parties agree and the union is notified to confirm it. If denied before the January deadline then they have to give a valid reason why and blackouts do not count.
I have memorial day week, fourth of July, labor day, thanks giving and Christmas weeks all scheduled for me.
I may change them but will first wait and see what happens to the others in my crew. They would not listen to me and never requested their vacations in writing. They could be at the mercy of kroger management.
AS for you? Contact your local union and tell them that you are being unjustly denied your vacation.
And remember this. Kroger Policy is to make their employees take their vacations and not pay them the vacation in cash instead.
I've known one of the guys who added that into the contract. It was because some markets might so much vacation that we need people on vacation on holidays. My market for example has about 26 - 32 weeks of vacation.
__________________
My Views and Opinions do not reflect that of the Kroger company. I'm an indivdual expressing my 1st amendment right.
Wait, sorry If i'm reading this wrong, but you guys are saying that the company cannot legally block holiday weeks from being picked as vacation?
I just started a few months ago and I was last to pick my vacation weeks. Because I started closer to the end of the year, I only had like 4-5 weeks open to choose from (couldn't have 2 people on vacation at the same time)
I picked a week in November to take off, which works fine because my mother's birthday is that week so we can go out and all that, but they gave me a sheet that specially said certain weeks were blocked from being chosen, and this listed everything from New Year's to Memorial Day, to Fourth of July to Christmas.
Now, I assumed that was given to everyone in the department not just me. So... does it just depend on your market then?
-- Edited by 4hourrush on Sunday 19th of February 2012 02:30:47 PM
i never understood handing in your vacation request at the start of the year. sure i realize it has to do with seniority and whatnot so they want to shuffle through all of that fairly. but i for one can not randomly pick what weeks i might need off that far in advance to the benefit of untimately me and my family and get it right! so i just sort of ignor their request to hand it in by the end of january and pray for the best when i and my family are ready to take a week off.
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I am no longer part of the oppressed, evil workforce of Kroger! Can you say "Hallelujah"
i never understood handing in your vacation request at the start of the year. sure i realize it has to do with seniority and whatnot so they want to shuffle through all of that fairly. but i for one can not randomly pick what weeks i might need off that far in advance to the benefit of untimately me and my family and get it right! so i just sort of ignor their request to hand it in by the end of january and pray for the best when i and my family are ready to take a week off.
I have never been one that has always scheduled my vacations that far away. Once they are scheduled , you can change them, if approved. That is why I have always , or have had my crew, schedule every holiday and inconvenient time. One reason that kroger wants them done that way is to be able to cover their work schedules without many excessive problems. One market in the Sherman area has 26 weeks of vacation coming out of just 5 employees. My store has 26 weeks with 7 employees. With the scheduled vacations set then they know when to be able to get help in to cover them.
Here is your two scenarios with my store and 26 weeks of time.
#1 all mine and one other person turned in their request. The Seafood manager requested the week of memorial day. Kroger now has no excuse to not be able to cover the time off and to find the help to cover it.
When it comes time for her to go, then she goes regardless if we are short handed or not. That is krogers problem not her`s. She can change it if she wants to but then it needs to be sent to HR and the union, so they can not come back later and deny it for her.
#2 She wants to take that holiday week off but never scheduled it in January like it was to be. There is no blackout days so she tells then she is planning to take it anyway. Kroger then has the right to be able to tell her that it was not scheduled and they have the right to schedule it for her at their convenience. Their reasoning is that they need to operate their stores and it would cause an adverse hardship on the man hours, help and sales of the department for not giving them the time to find proper coverage. She id denied and not at the mercy of when Kroger can pick a week for her.
The last thing Kroger wants is to have several employees , totaling 12 weeks of time, come down to the last 6 weeks of the year and have to try to cover those in a small department.
One thing to look ate here is this. I have 5 weeks of vacation time. The company WANTS ME TO TAKE IT.
they want to be able to schedule to fill the needs of the department. The company policy is to have them take it and NOT JUST DRAW THE PAY and work.
Here is how that works. Numbers used here is just to use as an example.
Lets say that the total cost of your benefit package is $6 per hour. They pay into it on a 40 hour week, nothing more that the 40 hours. So you work a 40 hour week and they put into your benefits $240 for the week. Multiply that by 52 and you have $12480 that goes into your benefits per year. That is already budgeted for the company. Now lets say that I only take one week off for the year and Kroger lets me draw the pay and work. Now they are paying into the fund twice that week. That would be $ 480 What has happens , with me, is that those 4 weeks cost the company to over pay into the benefits and health and welfare plans by $960 for the year on just one employee. May not seem like muck but then what if you have 10 managers let that happen and lets say you are talking about 10 weeks for each of those store. That would be 100 weeks of paid vacation and working too.Now you are up to costing the company to over pay $24,000 for the employee benefits.
So this is why they do not want it and want the ability to be able to make sure your vacations are scheduled .A good store director will have that done. One that just does not care will let it drop and run into a problem where it is the end of the year and more vacations need to be used and not even enough help to cover them. .
Wait, sorry If i'm reading this wrong, but you guys are saying that the company cannot legally block holiday weeks from being picked as vacation?
I just started a few months ago and I was last to pick my vacation weeks. Because I started closer to the end of the year, I only had like 4-5 weeks open to choose from (couldn't have 2 people on vacation at the same time)
I picked a week in November to take off, which works fine because my mother's birthday is that week so we can go out and all that, but they gave me a sheet that specially said certain weeks were blocked from being chosen, and this listed everything from New Year's to Memorial Day, to Fourth of July to Christmas.
Now, I assumed that was given to everyone in the department not just me. So... does it just depend on your market then?
-- Edited by 4hourrush on Sunday 19th of February 2012 02:30:47 PM
Check your contract. Mine says vacations shall be permitted 52 weeks out of the year. They can however limit the number of people who go in a certain week. If you're the only one in your department who picks a holiday week or if you have seniority then they have to let you take the week you request.
