Originally posted by exile1981
reply to post by Flatfish
No that business was breaking the law by forcing employees to work unpaid over time. In the case of what I was saying is that employees should expect
to work 8 hours and get paid for the time they work, if the welders worked 8.5 hours they got paid full wage for 8 hours and 1.5 times for the next
half hour so it was like getting paid for 8.75 hours.
During my year of hell the Union took to following home the non union guys and harrassing them at home and demanding they sign forms authorizing the
union to represent them to management. We where a small shop with 5 welders and 4 other staff, it's not like we were a big fish but they didn't like
the idea of a non-union shop and though as a little guy they could pressure us easier.
O.K., now we're getting some where. The problem you experienced was caused by both, yourself and the union. I call it; Lack of creative
negotiations.
There will always be some workers who are slower than others, so eight hours of work for one may not equal eight hours of work for the other.
(speaking solely in terms of production) When my union was faced with this production vs. time debate, we proposed a piece-meal contract where
workers were paid based on production and not on an hourly basis. Under the new agreement, highly productive gangs would often earn 12 hrs. pay in 8
hrs. time. Now I'm sure your going to say that the union was screwing the employer under this agreement but let me explain how he benefited from it
before you do.
Our pay was based on a production rate of 55 metric tons per hour being loaded onboard the ship. When a highly productive gang loaded 660 tons of
cargo in 8 hrs. they got paid for 12 hrs. but the employer did not have to pay any overtime. Only the 8 hrs. actually worked counted towards the 40
hr. straight time week. The employer got better production and the workers got to go home to their families at a decent hour. On top of that, this
process made it much easier for the employer to bid his jobs on a turn-key basis as he knew his cost per ton up front.
More often than not, when good minds meet at the table during collective bargaining negotiations and do so in "Good Faith," they can overcome almost
any obstacle facing business.
