I really want to know what others think about this issue. I'll keep it clear and short.
I have been at kroger for 16 months now. I have missed 1 day due to illness in this time.
I was in an department and moved to another recently. The reasoning was "your availability no longer meets the needs of grocery, so until you open your availability up more, this is where you will be". Which is the front end. A job is a job but front end is the worst place to work easily. They know this, everyone knows it.
The store manager is leaving as of yesterday, so I feel this was a last second move before he left... (lame duck) also their are people there, that don't do anything hardly and they don't get moved. They don't have kids like I do, and they just get away with anything. It's unreal!
I believe the whole issue is with Fridays. I've had Fridays off from Feb. 2013 until Jan. 2014, and in this time I never had to work one. I changed my availability in Feb. 2013 from Friday evenings to Fridays OFF. That is the only time I've ever changed my availability. And it was totally cool until 2 weeks ago.
They change department heads, and the new guy scheduled me to work Friday, when I can't be there. I gave them 4 day notice on that I won't be coming in because it's against my availability. I even left 2 notes. 1 on a desk and the other I gave to a manager. So Friday came and they considered me a no call no show. When I went in Saturday they were saying how they might have to write me up etc... I told them they had no way to do this, as my availability states I can't work Fridays.
They said they will look into writing me up etc... I was caught with another employee talking for about 90 seconds or so. This employee was goofing off, and I was simply there while he did it. They pulled the camera, wrote up for "time wasting". I told them I felt this was an attempt to "get me" on anything they could because they couldn't write me up over that Friday.
3 days later my hours are cut from the 18-24 normal down to 8. And I get moved to the Front end area... which I dislike.
I talked to the Store Manager, who left yesterday... on Saturday. He said there is no where else I could work but front end. So I told him I'll be going to the union on this matter as it is unfair and bias. They are trying to force me out of kroger... and it's quite sad.
I'm a good worker, I speak my mind with respect and they tend not to like this. In general Kroger is a good place to work. I need help on getting the union involved as they were very MINIMAL with their help, as managers are not under union rules.
John Trotter is who I need to talk to??? I am in the Nashville area.
You work in grocery? And they can't work around your availability one day a week?
Yeah something doesn't add up on that.
A coworker of mine is unavailable like 2-3 days a week and they work around her schedule, and the bakery is a small dept. I don't know how many people your grocery dept. has but my dept. only has 6 people.
So yeah, they could work around it easily.
-- Edited by 4hourrush on Monday 27th of January 2014 01:00:48 PM
Anonymous wrote:I'm a good worker, I speak my mind with respect and they tend not to like this.
Sounds like the cause is just what you stated - someone really doesn't like you. Pulling the cameras to catch you 'wasting time' is an enormous waste of time on their part. I'll bet your grocery manager has been targeting you for a while now. You need to get the union involved pronto.
Yeah what I've stated is what has actually happened.
What is insane about this is that they have worked around this schedule since Feb. 2013. No problem. Now all of a sudden, and 3 weeks after they tried to schedule for for Fridays and I couldn't come in and still can't.... I'm on the Front End.
It's just a force out technique that they are trying. I even told the leaving manager what I thought he was doing and he denied it of course. He is now gone... So he did all of this 1 week before he was leaving. It's just really sad and unprofessional.
To make it right, I would want paid my 16 hours I was missing and my grocery position back, or just somewhere else in general.
I also have vacation time, I tried to take it for week where I had only 8 hours and I was told "you can't just take your vacation when you want, it has to be approved".
So I said, well you're taking me off a whole week almost, so why can't I just get those vacation hours added to this week?
They wouldn't do it. I feel as if they are just trying to make me mad so I will quit. Very frustrating. The people that work get no to little credit and the ones that laze about and talk all the time are untouchable for some reason. And they are mostly kids... it's unreal.
Thank you guys for your support and posts. I appreciate it.
You need to get the union involved. The usual thing is they have to abide by approved availabilities. Part-timers can change every six months. Approval it isn't a given but it's clear yours was approved and stayed that way for a long time. I on't even know if they can't force you from a dept you were hired for to another one unless you agree to it. You can bet someone else wants those Friday's off.
They will try to screw you. In my store we had a manager try to move someone to another dept. The girl was asked and said no, she was scheduled for the new dept without her knowledge but also as normal for her regular dept. They tried to tell her she was a no show when she came in and worked her regular dept's shift for that same day. They played games for a couple weeks but ultimately gave up and left her alone.
I've seen another agree to move depts as an alternative to leaving completely but soon they pulled her back into her original dept, at first here and there but then permanently, while hiding behind "needs of the business" so she quit. She wasn't playing their games.
I can understand how frustrated you are, especially when they have worked with you and your schedule for a year now, not being available to work on Fridays. With that being said, Management and the Union will now say it is the needs of the business. If you make yourself unavailable on Fridays when they need to schedule you, they will give you less hours and give those hours to someone else. It stinks, I know but they can and will say needs of the business comes first. Unless you got it in writing when you got hired about your availability. Management and Dept Heads can work with you on your schedule....for whatever reason now, someone has decided not to and will play games, get you frustrated, try and write you up if there is a no show, etc. Maybe a jealous co worker has complained behind your back, that it is not fair that you're off on Fridays. Whatever the reason is, unless you have it in writing from someone, there is nothing that the Union will do to help you. They will try and accommodate employees availability but that doesn't mean that they have to or will. Good luck and hope this helps.....if they start harassing you all of a sudden on petty crap, start documenting, in case they are trying to force you to quit.
I have seniority over most people in the front end anyways. And over some people in the back, where I want to be. I'm supposed to talk to the union soon. They keep putting me off.
