Union Shop

[BKM]

I work at a Union run company and out of 23 guys there are two of us that run tractor trailers. The company outsourced the trailer work and told us we needed to take a lower paying job.

By Union law we have three days to greave what they did to us and we would have won or positions back. We told the shop steward that we wanted to greave this procedure and the shop steward came back up to us 20 minutes later and told us that he called the president of the Union and that he filed a grievance with the company.

On the fourth day (three day limit is up) a supervisor at the company came up to us and told us the "shop steward had sold us out" that he had never put the grievance in. We asked the shop steward if he put the grievance in and he then told us "no".

As a result of the shop steward not putting the grievance in on our behalf the both of us are loosing money in our paycheck. I will lose $2600 a year and the other guy will lose $11860 a year.

Beside the shop steward being a big scumbag, is there anything we can do civilly in court against our shop steward?

[zelner]

Hi:

You could certainly sue the shop steward but first you should contact someone higher up in the union. Try and contact the highest person you can and explain the situation. It is my opinion that the Union should compensate you for the stupidity of the shop steward. The Union has a duty to make sure the steward knows the rules and regs and will act accordingly. Also, you may want to contact the NJ Dept of labor and explain the situation. They have jurisdiction over unions and you may be able to file some kind of complaint with them. I remember talking with someone at the Dept of Labor and they told me that they deal with union issues all the time.

Bottom line is that someone owes you but the shop steward may not be the first party to go after.

[BKM]

zelner, thanks for the info. I'll contact the drpt of labor on Monday and see what they have to say.