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Date Posted: 17:11:47 12/08/03 Mon
Author: Gregg Shotwell
Subject: dont scab

Beat the Devil not the Mule

On 11/25/03 I refused a direct order to do Lugger work which is not my classification. I was walked out for balance of the shift and 7 days. Management chose to maximize the financial hardship by walking me out at the beginning of the shift rather than at the end of the shift.
The crux of the dispute is Delphi�s drive to reduce UAW jobs.
Management reorganized the Tugger System to eliminate a Lugger job on each shift. The Union wanted an additional Tugger job added on each shift to make up for the work that would be transferred to the reorganized system. Management disagreed and asked for a thirty day trial run without an additional Tugger.
Since the trial run began the system has failed repeatedly and management persistently requires workers in other classifications to compensate for recurrent lapses of on time delivery.
The failures are systemic and chronic. The Tugger System is sequential as clockwork. Once it gets out of sync it will remain out of sync until there is a corrective intervention.
At 3:15 pm on the day I refused the direct order, the system failed to deliver material on time. I had a vigorous discussion with supervisor, Tyrone Hill, about the issue. I felt it was fair to assume that corrective action would be taken, and the matter resolved.
At 7:15 pm it was, as Yogi Berra said, �Deja vu all over again�.
Tyrone Hill informed me that since the system is not working he would have to �add on� to my job. Apparently that is management�s solution: eliminate a job, and then add work to other jobs without regard for classification, time study, or negotiation with the Union.
This is not an isolated incident, it is a pattern of behavior. Management devises an inadequate system, declines to take corrective action, and instead covers up the problem and blames the whistle blower. The method isn�t smart, lean, or well organized; it�s incompetent.
Supervisors complain, �We don�t have time to monitor the Tugger System.�
Well, neither do I. I don�t have a clipboard under my elbow or a telephone on my hip. I�m a machine operator.
I refused the direct order � twice.
If we allow management to continually command us to do someone else�s job on top of our own, where will it end? Overloaded jobs without preference or classification. What Delphi has not been able to accomplish in negotiation, they will achieve by manipulation and deceit.
The previous week I was given direct orders to do Lugger work twice in one day. I complied, and requested call outs. The committee man informed me that a grievance would not be filed because I was not put on notice. When the grievance procedure failed to raise awareness of the mismanaged process, I was left with a choice: stand on principle or act like a scab.
I believe I did the right thing. In my book obeying an order to help management eliminate a union job is no different than crossing a picket line. If a union member willingly assists management in its drive to eliminate union jobs, that member is a scab.
Sometimes when I act on principle, I have to walk alone. But when I do the right thing, I don�t feel lonely.
I�ve never regretted a strong choice, only the weak ones.
Stay Solid, Shotwell

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Replies:

Re: dont scab -- LOL, 20:25:52 12/10/03 Wed