Interesting union policy

[Pew]

So the lady friend and I are both sick. I think I have pneumonia, she either has the same or the flu. She works for jewel-osco which the employees are under United Food and Commercial Workers union. They have health insurance but if you work less than 32 hours on a week then you do not get health insurance for that week. So with her being sick two work days so far this week (four in total so far), she does not get health insurance this week so she cannot see the doctor.

You still have to pay the union dues even if you never work more than 32 hours; which could be something like crappy management limiting your hours or in her case, sickness.

I think I'm just ranting here but this seems like a pretty massive racketeering BS policy meant to screw over employees and put money in union official's pockets.

Also stemming from this is why nobody wants to work for companies and unions like this and why they're always short handed.

 

[rijndael]

I'm genuinely surprised you can get health insurance week by week.

 

[Pew]

I'm genuinely surprised you can get health insurance week by week.

Me too, this is the first place I've heard of it.

It might stem from how they get a lot of turn over with younger highschool/college folks working these jobs but then the union just came out with a new policy where brand new employees get paid $1/hour than anybody who was employed before the policy.

I think they massively prey on those younger folks who don't necessarily look at these things.

On the flip side, because Osco is the pharmacy part of Jewels, medications are super cheap. But that's about the only benefit.

 

[Dave Hess]

You pay dues regardless of the hours worked. Silly they don’t give health insurance coverage in her situation especially if it’s a union job.

UPS is the gold standard framework other union jobs should follow.

When I worked at Publix Supermarket 40 years ago…… all part time employees had health insurance as long as you worked 1000 hours per year. You get the flu and out for 2 weeks, no problem cause you’re covered.

Publix is non union and a private company.

 

[PWMDMD]

So you don't have health insurance when you're sick/hurt/hospitalized and can't work but you do when you're well and can work? It doesn't make ANY sense and it's hard to believe that is legal. Are you sure your eligibility isn't based on your average hours over some period (3-6 months)?

 

[97prizm]

So the lady friend and I are both sick. I think I have pneumonia, she either has the same or the flu. She works for jewel-osco which the employees are under United Food and Commercial Workers union. They have health insurance but if you work less than 32 hours on a week then you do not get health insurance for that week. So with her being sick two work days so far this week (four in total so far), she does not get health insurance this week so she cannot see the doctor.

You still have to pay the union dues even if you never work more than 32 hours; which could be something like crappy management limiting your hours or in her case, sickness.

I think I'm just ranting here but this seems like a pretty massive racketeering BS policy meant to screw over employees and put money in union official's pockets.

Also stemming from this is why nobody wants to work for companies and unions like this and why they're always short handed.

I had a union at Safeway an NEVER again will I work a union job because of it

 

[Pew]

You pay dues regardless of the hours worked. Silly they don’t give health insurance coverage in her situation especially if it’s a union job.

UPS is the gold standard framework other union jobs should follow.

When I worked at Publix Supermarket 40 years ago…… all part time employees had health insurance as long as you worked 1000 hours per year. You get the flu and out for 2 weeks, no problem cause you’re covered.

Publix is non union and a private company.

UPS does have some amazing benefits. Her ex actually works for UPS and their kids are on his plan. She's no longer on it because of divorce even though it was supposedly court ordered or something where she was supposed to be on it. Not sure about this either so I'll clarify it with her later.

So you don't have health insurance when you're sick/hurt/hospitalized and can't work but you do when you're well and can work? It doesn't make ANY sense and it's hard to believe that is legal. Are you sure your eligibility isn't based on your average hours over some period (3-6 months)?

Didn't even think about it until this morning because I woke up at 230 and couldn't go back to sleep lol. I'll clarify with her later when she wakes up about the policy but she was pretty adamant in the past about it being a week-by-week basis.

 

[dvblanch]

That has to be in the contract with the employer. Remember the union does not schedule work or hours only negotiates the contract, Suprised a major union would even settle for something as rediculous as that.Also paying union dues is not the same as paying health insurance premiums.Seems in this case the employer must be responsible for paying the insurance costs so adjusts the work schedule to minimize their expense.

 

[mrsilv04]

Never forget that labor unions are in it for the union organization *first*. Their survival is #1. Everything else comes after that.

 

[racer12306]

Read the contract.

In many cases, there's what is shared among the workers, which is about as good as a game of telephone, and then there's what is actually written.

A lot sounds really strange with this situation.

 

[shortyb]

Not surprised, especially with health care costs and companies paying for it. They will look for ANY loophole to save a few bucks. Most unions these days are not in the interest of workers, but the union itself and it's management members.

 

[skyactiv]

I’m a UPS Teamster. The founder of UPS wanted it to become union. I highly doubt the info regarding that grocery chain is correct. Don’t entertain yourself with such crap.

 

[dbias]

I find it hard to believe that the insurance is week to week. Insurance is usually provided by the employer and levels are negotiated in the contract. I was union vice president for IAFF local 289 for years and negotiated several contracts with the city for my firefighters and nothing like that would have ever been considered.

 

[Astro14]

I'm genuinely surprised you can get health insurance week by week.

Me as well - what a Catch-22!

 

[zzyzzx]

this seems like a pretty massive racketeering BS policy meant to screw over employees and put money in union official's pockets.

That's how unions often work.

 

[SevenBizzos]

Just weird that her insurance runs week to week. I've never heard of that.

My HS and college job was with Jewel and way back when it was a mixed bag on the union. They'd take 20% of your paycheck when you weren't making squat for "initiation fee" and then it was an additional weekly deduction. You only had to work 12 hours a week for insurance coverage and Sundays were time and a half, so that was the benefit I guess.

My friend worked for UPS and because he was at the bottom he got totally hosed. Two weeks vacation that could only be used in week blocks and he never got the weeks he wanted because they were all allocated by the senior members. Once his kids were school aged he wanted to take vacations and spend time with them and couldn't. He left and went to FedEx. Now he takes vacations when he wants to - within reason (like not in December).

 

[Pew]

Read the contract.

In many cases, there's what is shared among the workers, which is about as good as a game of telephone, and then there's what is actually written.

A lot sounds really strange with this situation.

She did read the employee manual and said it came from there but I'll clarify it with her to see.

It does seem like an extremely strange policy but she absolutely makes sure she always reads the official employee handbooks (and because there's only one or two people there that have been there longer than her 9 months employment there.)

 

[Astro14]

So, is this something the Union negotiated? Or something the company imposed? I’m not certain that this is a union issue, as much as a company issue.

 

[nomas]

I think there are some pieces missing to this story . The Union does not profit from your lack of hours .

 

[Pew]

So, is this something the Union negotiated? Or something the company imposed? I’m not certain that this is a union issue, as much as a company issue.

I'm not sure. I assumed that the union were the ones to determine how and what health insurance the employees would get.