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Dealing With Old Work Issues


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This is an old matter for me, although would like some constructive imput.

 

I got laid off from my old classification and got called back to a former classification....I have been with this Co for 25 yrs. I had not worked in this area for quite sometime and even though had been with the company for so long was still "the new kid on the block".

 

In this area there was an "unsaid" steel toed shoe requirement. Ok I will be 50 and I have some aches and pains...oh well right? LOL....every chance I got I avoided these steel toed shoes because they hurt and I could not move as freely. I know my bad.... Sometimes I would even forget to put them on and they weren't really needed, in fact the only time they would be needed would be when driving the fork lifts (I'm a girl, and yes I drove fork lifts, worked in sales, shuttle work, all kinds of stuff).

 

Well, I was getting told by another employee (whom I might add acted like he was the boss) to put them on....he started to get mean about it (he should not have been telling me anything actually as we have a chain of command).

 

Finally I asked him why he never said anything to the salaried people when they would come into our area....his reply was that they did not have to....I said why not? Isn't this a steel toed area for ANYONE who enters? He said, no because when they come through the area we have to stop all work.....I said WHAT, EXCUSE ME, I have NEVER heard of that.

 

I guess he went back and told all of the salaried people....I was instantly black balled because they did not like steel toed shoes either and were afraid I would push the issue (my union rep told me someone else had also and they got the wrath of God).

 

The ball started rolling, all kinds of new rules began to be enforced and the games began. We had safety meetings for "my" benefit....it was bad.

 

I don't have a problem with rules and regs (even if they are stupid), although everyone needs to join in and follow them. I won't communicate the details as there were very many uncool things they did.

 

I finally got sick of it and told my union rep (here is another bad situation, there were two different unions there, what a mess) and also told her of another incident in which this same co worker told me "I better get back on that forklift and move it. I barely knew how to work this beast, I was used to the older, smaller ones....this one had a lot of electronics and it was a monster....I had told my co worker that my Thyroid was freaking out (I have Graves Disease which is autoimmune hyperthyroidism) and I was very dizzy. He should not have told me to do that and was way out of line as he was not my boss and for me to be up there was a safety hazzard (he was the safety rep also).

 

My union rep heard this and went to Labor Relations....well because of being black balled they explained it all away...he lied about what he did to me.

 

Maybe I am just venting here, because I know what happened was wrong on all sides....

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whichwayisup

Another reason why I hate Unions..They are supposed to protect you, but in the end, they don't. It's like human resources, same thing, supposed to be there for employees, but really, it's the employers who are protected.

 

That sucks and I hope you ride through the storm..Focus on your work, keep your head down for a while..It'll all blow over, people will forget and life will go on..

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Another reason why I hate Unions..They are supposed to protect you, but in the end, they don't. It's like human resources, same thing, supposed to be there for employees, but really, it's the employers who are protected.

 

That sucks and I hope you ride through the storm..Focus on your work, keep your head down for a while..It'll all blow over, people will forget and life will go on..

 

Yep, exactly. So many people I know are facing some serious issues in the workplace, in fact you see it on this forum all of the time.

 

Well, what ended up happening, due to some health issues my manager called me into his office to councel me concerning my attendance. I started having an attendance problem bak in the late 80's due to health issues....I always found a way around it though. I started crying because I was embarrassed and feared loosing my job. I told him I was taking a med called Tapazole for hyperthyroidism and that I was having a hard time staying awake.

 

He then called the Medical dept to have me seen by them because he wasn't sure what that drug was and feared safety issues for the Co....I freaked....went to Medical and the nurse there jacked him bigtime and paid me for that day and made him give me some time off for freaking me out...lol....I then went out on a medical leave of absence, retired and have not returned.

 

I went through hell and back concerning whether the co would medically retire me....it went to Corporate and the determination was that I passed the requirements by the skin of my teeth with full benefits...I was told this is the first time this had happened with someone so young....I fail to buy that one as this is a LARGE co....oh well whatever.

 

WWIU, I am so glad I do not have to play this game anymore, I was sick for years (nothing deadly) having to act as if all was well....it was so very hard and then with having to do guys work....OMG....some of the guys do not like women in the workplace so one must carry their own load whether they can or not. My old classification could have gotten me through, but you would not believe what they have the women do.

 

And for the record guys....I am a girl, sometimes I act like a tom boy, I don't believe that I am stronger than a man, I do not want to be a man. I want to be treated like a lady...there are girls that can do the heavy work of a man, and for my size I do my part too, although I see the differences and respect them.

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