we need some big advice here

[Ljt09863]

let me start off saying that i know nobody here is a lawyer, and cannot give me legal advice, but i would like to know opinions.

My fiancee, Peter, has worked for a meat factory for two years. he never had a problem with them until he became a union steward for his department. he became the union steward, and then started to tell the union what was wrong with the department. things happened, like dock doors falling down almost hitting people, trailers being pulled out with people still inside them, forklifts not operatng correctly, cages on the forklifts being held together with tape....and the list goes on.

well, Peters supervisors didn't like this. so they started treating him like crap. any little misstep, they were yelling at peter. it didn't matter if there were others who were doing the same. Peter got demoted because he was at the time clock 3 minutes before punchout.....and he wasnt the only one at the time clock. yet he was the only one who got into trouble because of it.

ever since he got demoted, he has wanted to transfer to another department. his supervisor flat out said no, because i don't have to. peter recorded him saying this. it wasn't a very nice way to say it. peter has been asking for this transfer for a month, and keeps gettig no. well...they transferred somebody else from his department to that particular department he wants to go to. this person has less seniority than peter. so why was that person allowed to transfer and not peter?

peter has been using his cell phone to take pictures of the wrong things in his workplace. most recently, a coworked asleep on the job. well, somebody found out about the picture. and told the supervisors. guess who got fired today? Peter did. they claim its a liability issue. i don't understand it. how is it a liability that a picture was taken of somebody sleeping? wouldn't you want to know if your employees are sleeping on the job?

Peter wasn't verbally warned, written up, or anything else. just fired. we think this is wrongful termination. according to one website, wrongful termination does include a comapny not following termination procedures, and since peters contract states that he has to be verbally warned once, and written up twice before suspension and/or termination, and he wasn't, we think it qualifies. Peter is going to file with the EEOC.

i guess his work has a rule that cell phones aren't allowed to be used while working ok. fair enough. but isn't Nextel a cell phone? Peter says his supervisors all use the Nextel phones to talk on while working. isn't that technically against company policy? why not get walkie talkies instead?

so we are stressed out...Peter is fired. im working full time(kinda) at $8.25 an hour, with a recent hour cut(went from 40 to around 30 hours) because of new hires.....we have a $400 car payment, $300 in car insurance, $50 in motorcycle, $60 in credit card, and almost $100 in cell phone. do the math and thats $900 in bills. my average paycheck is $450. and thats every two weeks. i don't get paid weekly. so im stressing really bad. how am i going to buy gas or groceries? and with a baby on the way, we still have things we need to buy...we don't even have a crib yet. how the hell am i supposed to support my child if i can't afford it????

so tomorrow im going to go plead my case to my boss and see if she can throw any and all extra hours at me. if that doesnt work, and peter can't find a new job....then the only way to survive is for me to get a second job.

[Myra]

I used to be in a union when I worked the grocery store, and I was so grateful that it was a good union, and a good store. I never had the problems that your fiance has had.

That being said, I absolutely think he has a case. If there ever were witnesses who'd be willing to atest to the bad treatment he got, if I were him, I'd get statements. Also hope he kept all the pictures he kept with his cell phone. It sounds to me like he could not only get the job in trouble, but the union could bring trouble on them as well. Did he report to the union his bad treatment? Most unions state you have to have a system before you fire someone. For example, my old union, you could only fire an employee for no-call-no-shows, too many call-ins, stealing, or harrassment of co-workers or assault or other related horrible things. Otherwise, if it's simply something like "employee wasn't doing their job to satisfaction" they had to do a series of written warnings first. With your fiance being a steward, I'm sure he's got a copy of their policy somewhere, or he can get one.

In all, I think he has a case. It would rock if he had been keeping a running written tally of dates, times, and names of people who were rude to him, but still, I think he deserves some compensation!

Hope all goes well for you guys, and don't stress too much! It's not good for your pregnancy!

[PuckishOne]

Contact the union rep for Peter's (former) union. This is why union members pay dues - so that the union will represent them against mistreatment by the employer. They will be able to tell you if you have a case based on legal precedent. If the union is unwilling to help, take that to the AFL-CIO or whatever body it is that oversees that particular union on a federal level. You can also contact the Department of Labor for specifics on that as well. Filing an EEOC complaint - which you're already doing - is also an excellent idea.

Wrongful termination suits are very, very tricky, as the laws vary widely from state to state and the legal precedents aren't always crystal-clear. Use every available resource you have through the union, EEOC, DOL, what have you and make sure that you ask whatever questions you need to understand that process...it's not related to common-sense, so it might seem very dark and tangly and weird otherwise.

Hang in there, good luck, and please keep us posted.

[powerboy]

Yeah, contact the union about it, and tell them everything that you told us.

[Ljt09863]

thank you for the advice.

Peter has done pretty good at keeping track of who did what to him and when. he also has pictures. in one case, he has a recording of a guy saying something to him. imnot sure he would be able to use the recording, since it was taken without the other person knowing about it. im not sure how the laws are on that.

Myra, i did forget to mention that peter had contacted the union...a couple times actually. they didn't do anything for him. in fact, a representitive from the union was there today when he got fired, and they didn't do anything.i think peter plans to go after the union as well as the plant. the union peter had, i used to have at grocery store i used to work for, so i know how bad it is. a woman i worked with got fired because she was out too much. she was out so much because of her being sick with doctors notes. they still fired her. she brought in the union and the union said too bad. the union for that is real bad. Peters dads is in the UAW union, which is extremely good from what i hear...too bad we don't have that.


Puckish,i didn't think of the DOL. i only found the EEOC when searching for lawyers. thank you for telling me about that. im going to look that up right now.

we are really lucky to have the parents we do though. we went to my mothers house for dinner tonight, and she sent us home with three bags full of food. i also got more stressed out when i got a bill from the doctors office. $104. not too much, but i have military insurance through my dad. i shouldn't be paying anything. and the stuff that i got billed for, ive had done before and never been billed for, so now i am going to calla bout that. it seems like things keep piling up.


but im trying to not worry, just for my childs sake. thankfully, peter knows what has to be done, and is filing for unemployment, and going job hunting tomorrow. he is cancelling his motorcycle insurance(he isn't driving it during the winter anyways), so that will takes us down a little in the bills, and he said worse comes to worse, he will take himself off the car insurance. im the main one who drives it, so it would make sense to have me on it only if it will save money. he is really good at saving money, so hopefully, we will be good for a few months if he can't find a new job. oh, and he is talking about selling the motorcycle. which i know will really kill him cause he loves that bike. hes depressed as it is, so im going to try to make that the last thing he needs to do.

[Der Cute]

All I can say is WRITE IT DOWN TODAY when it's still fresh in your heads.

Timeline, incident, person names & contacts etc. Write it all down, and have it ready for mulitple people.

I've never had to deal w/a wimpy union, but I have had experience w/ documentable discrimination and unethical humans...

The reason I say write today is that the EEOC and DOL et al are VERY slow. The paper turns at their speed, which is slower than constipated slug.

So, write it down today when you remember it, and push the issue, as it IS documented and verfiable. At the least, you need to anyways for Unemployment.

good luck, and try and find a lawyer.

Cutenoob

[Barefootgirl]

I agree with Cutenoob - write everything down. These posts are a good "reminder", but if Pete can write as much down as he can recall, timelines, etc, it will help his case. It would be gutting to sell the bike, but unless its a necessity, it might come to that .Taking it off the road and cancelling the insurance would be helpful in the short term.

Are you out of contract on the cellphone? If you are, cancel it and get yourselves a prepaid one. $100/month on cellphone calls is a LOT of money.

Sweetheart, I don't want to sound glib, but haven't we been over a lot of this ground before, and quite recently, when you were upset about Peter not pulling his weight in the relationship? OK, he lost his job. It sucks big time. Four years ago, my DH lost his job four weeks before Christmas. It sucks. The only good thing about being jobless at Christmas is the temp opportunities. He needs to pound the street and find something (or possibly several somethings) that will bring in a few $$$ to help pay the bills. He can flip burgers, he can do telesales, he can post flyers if he has to.

Don't let him get sidetracked into spending all his time and energy waging a big campaign against the factory and the union. Its important to stand up for yourself, sure, but its also important to provide for your family.

[Giggle Goose]

I'm just repeating what everyone else has said, but yes, it's very important that his employer has a paper trail for things like this. If not, there's a good reason to bring a case against them. I just hope that legal costs aren't going to be an issue, but if it's through a union that's usually covered. Well, don't quote me on it, but my bf is in a union, too, and I think that's how it goes.

Don't worry, because I'm sure that you guys will do ok, your fiance sounds like a smart guy and he can probably get a better job. and I'm sure your parents will help out for the sake of their grandchild. You're very lucky; a lot of people don't have their parents' support in a situation like this. But I doubt you'll even need their help. Whatever happens, just hang in there and I wish you the best of luck!!!!

[Lehk]

another suggestion is to report the safety problems to OSHA. i'm pretty sure any documented OSHA violations would be admissable in a civil suit, and would demonstrate a motivation for why they would screw with him and want to get rid of him.