Work wont pay me

[Blanch]

For the past 4 years i have worked for a major shipping company. The problem is they are starting to take minutes off my check (up to 90 per week). There is no excuse for this seeing as i punch in and out of a time clock. I have spent the last few weeks harassing management to pay me the 4 or 5 hours that they have been blatantly ripping me off for, but all they do is give me the run around. I have a union, but they are completely in managements pocket, so much so that my shop steward is muscling me around discouraging me from perusing getting what is rightfully mine. This happens across the board, on all shifts and to hundreds of workers. I have organized a handful and are thinking of filing a lawsuit or going to the Department of Labor.

I really just don't know what to do anymore, these scumbags edit our payroll every week. they even edited my clock in time to say i am consistently tardy which is a a complete lie. The way they operate almost makes me feel like they are mafioso. I am getting threats even from the union to stop asking so many questions.

What would you guys do?

 

[Darksidesam]

yeah, that sucks mate,
Id be raging too.

I dont know what to do about it though.. but they should pay you every hour that you work for ive been in your shoes before

 

[Jerry Atrick]

I would do everything I could within the rules and law to get what was rightfully mine.

If your union isn't backing you then you are in a tough position. Is there a chain of command in your union? Is there someone you can contact above your shop steward's head that you think may be able to help you? I would go online to your union's website and look around for contact info of people, hopefully local, who can do something. Tell them your shop steward is not doing his job and that your company is ripping you and your co-workers off. When I worked at the piece of shit company UPS, we would keep 2 timecards. One we would stamp for our paychecks and the other we would stamp and keep in our pocket for just this type of situation.

I would keep records and multiple copies of ALL correspondence between you, management, and the shop steward. Don't send anybody copies of letters or anything unless you have a duplicate copy of it to keep.

Your best bet is to go the union route because your dues pay for lawyers and such. However, if your union still won't do anything, then gather as many of your co-workers as you can and collectively take the next step. The next step being contacting the Dept. of Labor or hiring your own attorney to file a lawsuit. If you try to do it on your own, you'll most likely get fired. But if you can get enough co-workers together, they may be less likely to fire all of you. Especially if some of them have high seniority.

If you lose your job because of this, you still may have some recourse like filing a wrongful termination lawsuit.

Right now, you should get the names and phone numbers of ALL the co-workers who will fight this with you. That way if you do get fired you can still contact them because you may need witnesses for a lawsuit. Needless to say, keep your nose clean and don't give them any reason to write you up because just as you need to build a case against them, they are probably already building a case against you. Good luck and keep us posted. Feel free to send me a PM.

 

[L2R]

make all communications with both your employer and your union on record (email).

 

[captainballs]

In addition to that, it would be wise to make video recordings of you punching the clock with some sort of infallible indication that it is in fact the date in question, such as quickly walking past a computer monitor or other device that shows the date. I realize videos are time stamped in the data but that can be faked. The end result of compiling evidence will be to threaten them through a lawyer with a lawsuit. No warning, either, because it is easy to get people on board to defame your character when they have advance notice and something to lose. I'm positive you will get a settlement if you do so with a soft touch. Might want to start lining up your references and contacts now, though, because your job is going bye bye.

 

[law12345]

you're in a tricky situation. Maybe tell them you will take the matter further if they don't pay you fairly.

 

[Vlatrone]

Bitch slap em and GET YO MONEY

 

[brutus]

Let me guess, you work for UPS. The same thing happened to me when I worked there for 2 years.

This is the only thing you can do. Write down your time everytime you clock in and clock out. Before you leave have a supervisor sign off on it. That should fix the problem.

If that doesn't work then start going up the ladder and telling your boss's boss and so on. Try calling the HR department. I know for a fact that you will be on camera clocking in and out and this problem can be solved with a bit of work.

 

[ColtDan]

can you go to a different union? go to the citizens advise place

 

[Blanch]

I think i got my money back but you would have thought i was pulling teeth. Thanks for everyone's advice, and yes i work for those money grubbing bastards at ups. It astounds me that this is a well known scam, some one should file a class action lawsuit

 

[L2R]

talk to your co-workers. make it so.