JOB ACTION: facing down a common enemy

[McGiver]

i have been having a difficult time posting this because i am not sure how to explain it so? the reader could understand? but i have no choice,? recent discussions have forced my hand; no more pussy footing, time to write.

a couple/few weeks ago i picked up a job at the ILWU local 13 dispatch hall.? i chose a job off the jitney board called a CL (combination lift) at berth 154 on terminal island; the 'paper dock'.? believe me, the job was a last resort, since it was a slow job count day.

A CL at the paper dock is like a basic forklift except it has two large circular drums attatched to hoses which is run by a vaccuum.? basically, you drive up to two very large newspaper rolls of paper, engage the mast to drop the drums over the paper and then create a suction by depressing a lever which creates a vacuum seal and allows you to hoist the paper.

moving right along...

the job begins at 6pm, lunch is from 9:15 PM TO 11 PM and we finish at 3AM.? lunch,? break, and cleanup time? is combined from 9:15 and 11.? cleanup and our secon break is combined between 2:15 and 3.

that night it was raining, not hard but kind of drizzling.? we were all pretty surprised that they didn't close the hatch on the ship and have us stand by until the rain subsided (the commodity is paper).? along side the ship, on the dock, they place steel plates so the crane can land the paper on a flat surface.? it is the CL operators job to recieve the paper, talke it into the warehouse and sort it, according to size.
because of the rain we couldn't get the desired traction under our wheels and there are people on foot, either marking the sort or counting the pieces as the come off the ship.

we went to lunch at 9:15, per standard practice and returned at 11.

this is where it all started...

after lunch,
the boss comes up to each of us individually and informs us that the company wants to work us until 2:30.? when he told me, i said NO!? he stopped and said, "what?"? i repeated my answer.? then he informed me that, "you know the contract states that you are only entitled to a 15 minute break."? to which i replied, " i don't give a crap, what time did this job finish the past 1000 times it worked?"? he said, "sorry, thats what they want."? i said, "so what, their not going to get it."?
at this point people stopped working and gathered around to see what was happening.
i continued, "everytime i turn around, these companies are working us closer ans closer to the hour, like our time is meaningless to us.? and i'll be damned if i'm gonna be the bitch that is on the job the night they establish precidence and every person who comes after me loses 15 minutes of their time.? i am sorry, this is not meant to disrespect you, you are the messenger, go inform the management that we will not work past 2:15."
he said, "sorry."
i said, "sorry also, i'm feeling a little queezy.? due to the rain outside and the walls of this warehouse and the exhaust coming from 16 Jitneys, i think i am going to have to call an illness replacement."
"ok, i'll talk to him." says the boss.
10 minutes later he informed us that they can't change their mind since the person who ordered the directive was gone and couldn't be reached.

all the CL drivers started talking together over the next 20 minutes while we worked.? we agreed that at 2:15 we all had to take a shit, nobody was going to move one damned piece of cargo between 2:15 and 2:30.? also, 5 of us called the BA (Business Agent) for the union.? we were concerned about our health and safety.? due to the inclement weather, the wet steel plates, which must have had oil on them, and our lack of traction with people on foot, that we would stand by until a determination was made, or the problem was corrected.

they wanted 15 minutes of our time.? we took 1 hour and 45 minutes of their time with no production while we stood by on health and safety.? during this time i informed the boss that we were entitled to have our break at the midway point, that we only took it at the end of the shift for consideration of continuing operations.? also that the BA said that once we were to work past a certain point, he cannot come out and fight for us because, we have established an agreement by working past a certain point.
meaning: he isn't going to come out at 2 because we haven't had a break.? we are supposed to inform them that we want a unit break before that, otherwise we have accepted their terms for 2:30 go.

as we were going to go back to work the boss called us all over to him and asked us if we wanted to work straight through and leave at 2:30 or take our break now, for 15 minutes and work until 2:45.
before anybody answered i spoke up.? i said, "we want to work straight through and leave at 2:15, just like the terms that were agreed to when the company sent us to lunch at 9:15 and standard practice the previous 1000 times this job worked."? i was suggesting that they had already established the terms with us prior to lunch and all the other times the job was worked.? and that just because they have capable drivers doesn't mean that they can change the rules on us.? just like the BA wont fight to protect our right after terms have been established.

an old tradition in the ILWU is; as a show of solidarity, during a dispute, each member says nothing but slowly walks to stand behind the brother or sister who is showing opposition to the greedy company.? That is what happened next.? The boss is union and began his career in local 13.? he knew that we were firm.? so he looked at me and said, "come here, i want you to talk to the superintendent."? i obliged and restated our position.

knowing full well that their decision to steal 15 minutes of our time resulted in nearly 2 hours of down time, he made some phone calls.
waddaya know.? we left at 2:15.


the moral of this story is simple.
time matters.? do you think that 15 minutes really mattered to me? NO.? but if you were to take 15 minutes from everybody whoever worked that job from that point on and added it up, it turns into a ton of extra production for the company.? my position is that we already make them too much money and do not recieve a fair portion.? now they want more.
if you don't stand together over each small battle and you give in to corporate greed.? all those small battles won by them turn into one huge chunk of your time.? and one hell of a profit margin for them.? which by the way, you won't see one nickel of the added profits, but you lost something for it.
stand together and know who your common enemy is.? and never lose sight of what you are entitled to.? never give an inch, and always remain vigil and fight for what is rightfully yours.

[duncvis]

Spoken like a trooper. *applauds*

[McGiver]

Spoken like a trooper. *applauds*

1 more year and i am eligible to be a Business Agent myself.

i have spoken up and changed alot of policy.  yelled at people for being company whores.  made interesting interpretations of the contract.and am close to arbitrating other time issues, whis will begin as an ongoing complaint.

my job is all about fairness.  thats all i want.  i will be as big a prick as necessary to achieve this, so one day my daughters will have a better shot than is currently available.

[duncvis]

fighting corporate greed doesn't make you a prick. being greedy and exploitative makes you a prick. you have picked a worthy battle.

[Eamonn]

Pity i cant try those tactics with social security. Any ideas for the lazy and unemployed? Lying around on my hole all day is what i do for my readies so threatening more of the same is hardly an effective bargaining tool for me.

[Praetor]

Any ideas for the lazy and unemployed?

Get a job, LOlzzz

[McGiver]

do you shop for groceries?

have you ever run across a classic bait and switch routine at your local market. ?been charged the wrong price?

what is it eamonn, there is always something to fight for. ?don't ever let them make it up to you, make them pay you back two, threeefold, or more.
fuck em if they already have shit and try to take more of yours.
make em pay with their ass.
never take make it up to you for face value. ?all those times you haven't said something nor any member of your family or your friends. ?now is when you ask for it all back, everybodies face value, all at once.

that's all i've got, i'm tired.
good night.

[Eamonn]

Any ideas for the lazy and unemployed?

Get a job, LOlzzz

I meant apart from the usual generic ones im used to seeing dozens of times a week.

[Eamonn]

do you shop for groceries?

have you ever run across a classic bait and switch routine at your local market. ?been charged the wrong price?

I always challenge and get my money back on domestic bills. I am sick of getting overcharged by small trading companies and so do nearly all my shopping in the big chains were they have a receipt with the prices so the little guy is helping put himself out of business as far as im concerned. On the plus side i do a lot of my shop in the co-op supermarket which is fair trade and almost communist in running. Im afraid that due to high prices i might have to consider using sainsburies instead.

[peegai]

Any ideas for the lazy and unemployed?

Get a job, LOlzzz

That depends on the individual moderating their "spastic" traits.

I mean, if someone hires a spaz and he isn't doing his job properly, then he isn't liable to work.

[Praetor]

The co-op supermarket is awesome. Their own label products are far superior to the other supermarkets, no monosodium glutomate and minimal use of salt there heading in the right direction. I do about 2/3's of my food shopping there now

I wouldn't be so tough on the little guys you just need to search for the ones that have good customer rapour and give you good produce. Ive been to some very good local butchers around Yorkshire and even here in the home counties, also its worth looking around farmer markets particularly the farmers that grow without pesticides etc of which there are plenty about now as theve figured out its the only way they can decently earn a living at the moment,

[Praetor]

Any ideas for the lazy and unemployed?

Get a job, LOlzzz

That depends on the individual moderating their "spastic" traits.

I mean, if someone hires a spaz and he isn't doing his job properly, then he isn't liable to work.

So who here has ever been fired from a job for being a spazz?

Ok I put myself in a hole there i got fired from my first job which was a cleaning job, well ok what happened was i gave them 2 weeks notice to quite and the boss said to me "oh thats good cause i was just going to fire you today" That was funny

[Pyraxis]

* Pyraxis is jealous.

McJ - how do you get something like this started? I work in an industry where a lot of unpaid overtime is expected, where the management openly suggests that anyone who is not a "team player" (ie refuses to work the time) will not be kept on at the end of the (approx. yearly) contracts. Management tells us that maybe, after we prove ourselves and get seniority, that we will have the bargaining power to get perks like not having to work Saturdays.

I'm not sure what I could threaten them with. The employees brag to each other like college students about who got the least sleep, I've been made fun of by other employees for leaving the building at 9pm on a day that started at 10am. Competition to get jobs is fairly fierce, especially at the lower skill levels, so removing my skills temporarily probably would not get me anywhere, they'd just find someone to replace me.

[peegai]

Any ideas for the lazy and unemployed?

Get a job, LOlzzz

That depends on the individual moderating their "spastic" traits.

I mean, if someone hires a spaz and he isn't doing his job properly, then he isn't liable to work.

So who here has ever been fired from a job for being a spazz?

Ok I put myself in a hole there i got fired from my first job which was a cleaning job, well ok what happened was i gave them 2 weeks notice to quite and the boss said to me "oh thats good cause i was just going to fire you today" That was funny

I haven't been fired yet, but that's because my social skills are good in the fact that if I exhibit any autistic-related meltdowns, I probably wouldn't be asked to work there again.

I'm just talking about the autistics who don't seem bright because of their lack of social skills at the workplace, and need more palliative care.

[McGiver]

* Pyraxis is jealous.

McJ - how do you get something like this started? I work in an industry where a lot of unpaid overtime is expected, where the management openly suggests that anyone who is not a "team player" (ie refuses to work the time) will not be kept on at the end of the (approx. yearly) contracts. Management tells us that maybe, after we prove ourselves and get seniority, that we will have the bargaining power to get perks like not having to work Saturdays.

I'm not sure what I could threaten them with. The employees brag to each other like college students about who got the least sleep, I've been made fun of by other employees for leaving the building at 9pm on a day that started at 10am. Competition to get jobs is fairly fierce, especially at the lower skill levels, so removing my skills temporarily probably would not get me anywhere, they'd just find someone to replace me.

when i was in my early twenties i was a company whore.

no matter what it was, there was noone better at it than i.  i had the survival of the fittest mentality.  guess what i learned?  i learned that the fittest one was the rich elite landowner.  the people already at the top.  they exposed our weakness of pitting us peaons against each other in a campaign of didvide and conquer.  promises of success after unrealistic goals are met.

then i realized that people desrve more.  i deserved more dignity and respect at my workplace  how you are treated has none of that.  yet people remain whores because of competition.  why?
people need to work to survive.  people are ambitious and want to succeed; get ahead in life.  the compeitition should be the greedy bosses, the management who pit like minded people against each other.  they give themselves multimillion dollar bonuses at the end of the year whether they deserve it or not.  economic canibals, feeding off of others hard work.  but you take it and so does everyone around you.

people need to realize that they have the same interests as those around them.  their percieved competition is not the enemy, the employer is.
i am afraid that until more than half the people realize this, then the backstabbing one upmanship will continue.


for the sake of length i failed to mention something that happened that night.  there were two units working the ship.  our unit was the first to stand down.  we went over to the other unit and explained our position.  only half of them stood down.  i walked over and told one guy yo hold up.  at which point i told him to take those rolls of paper back to the front and put them down.  i asked im if he could see that his brothers and sisters were standing by.  is he some kind of company whore.  he didn't wqant to stop, still.  so i challenged him (a right that we have where we can challenge whether people are actually union members).  i asked for his ID card so i can see his name and number.  i was going to file a complaint with the union and publicly shame him at the hall.  i was using the same tactics that management uses against us.  anyways the little whore finally coplied.  i shamed him anyways, there is no place for the likes of him withina union of strong people. IMO.