Ever see a union become involved in a workers problem that wasn't really union related?

[NNN0LHI]

I worked with a guy. One of the best workers we had. Never missed a day. Came to work sober. Hard worker and sharp. Good guy too. I liked working with him. But he had one problem. After he got off of work on payday if he stopped at the tavern for a drink he couldn't stop.

He would get paid on Thursday night and stop at the bar and would blow the entire check in one night there. Spent some, lost some, and would give the rest away buying drinks for the house.

So his wife had came to our local union president one afternoon and explained to him her problem. They both marched up to labor relations together and the company and the union had to make a verbal agreement as this kind of thing was not covered in our union contract.

Both sides agreed that this guys foreman would no longer give this guy his paycheck when he was handing everyone else's out. Instead the foreman was instructed to bring this guys paycheck to labor relations every payday where his wife would pick it up.

From that point there were no more problems. The guys wife was able to pay the bills and buy groceries now. She gave her husband a few bucks. Not enough to get in trouble with. But enough to get by on.

Did the union do the right thing getting involved in this situation?

Don

[ingac70]

1. Of course they did the right thing....

This isn't unusual behavior for a union.

[roguevalley]

absolutely. unions work for families as well as workers. GOOD on

this union. :) They remind me of my parents.

[Darth_Kitten]

2. Maybe he should go to AA....

Nice that she can buy groceries and stuff, but she has a binge drinker for a husband.

[HereSince1628]

6. Maybe he should...but maybe

what appears as a substance use problem to be solved with a 12 step Rx is comorbid with some other conditions or is a symptom of a larger problem.

Maybe the guy really needs some serious in-person diagnostic work conducted by professionals using testing tools.

Maybe.

[GoCubsGo]

7. Yep.

And, odds are, his union buddies will do what they can to get him that professional help.

[Darth_Kitten]

10. Well, he does need help, not a bandaid solution.

n/t

[NNN0LHI]

19. You may be right but it worked for over 25 years until he retired

Not sure if the problem popped up again after he retired or he eventually grew out of it?

This may have been one of those cases where he just needed a serious reality check to snap him out of it?

And he got one. And it appears to have worked this time. I doubt it works like this every time though.

Don

[Darth_Kitten]

24. What worked? Tossing away his entire paycheque?

n/t

[NNN0LHI]

29. Think you misunderstood me?

His wife received his check for 25 years until he retired.

That is what worked.

Don

[Gman]

3. You betcha they did

it doesn't just stop with enforcing the contract. The brotherhood of a union looks out for all of a workers needs and welfare. On many occasions I refered an employee to the company employee assistance program for personal problems. A union steward can do and say things to an employee that management cannot without being in violation of the contract.

[Brickbat]

4. Yes, and yes.

[GoCubsGo]

5. I live in a "Right to Work" state.

I barely see unions here, let alone people who would do something like that. Thank God, or whomever, for direct deposit.

[mistertrickster]

8. Hell, yes. People working together to solve problems. The binge drinker knew

he had a condition he couldn't handle on his own, and this was a quick fix with a lot of upside.

[Tatiana]

9. We get involved and mediate non-union, non-contractual issues all the time.

The union is about good labor, employee and work/life relations.

Contrary to popular belief, we are not all about negotiating contracts and raises.

[GentryDixon]

16. Thank you.

I came from long union representation and I saw how they represented members and non-members alike. Most people do not know this. They equate unions to the corruption of the early years with the mob influence, and look no further when they hear union. If they only understood how beneficial the unions are.

[dems_rightnow]

11. I think the Deprtment of Labor would disagree.

The guy has a right to be paid, and not have his paycheck given to a third party. Even if he is married to her. Even if it's in his best interest.

[Iggo]

13. The Dept of Labor would disagree, but I wouldn't.

[dems_rightnow]

15. It's possible the guy agreed to it. Perhaps likely.

If he did, then more power to everyone. If not, then somebody's going to get paid twice.

[Iggo]

28. If she got more than one of his paychecks, then yes...

...I'd guess he signed on to the program.

[NNN0LHI]

18. Need to exhaust all union remedies before the Department of Labor will get involved

If this worker had balked at the the verbal agreement between the company and the union to give the check to his wife they could not have used this solution.

He had to agree not to complain about the mutual agreement that was worked out or something else would have had to been done.

In the long run this was probably the least disruptive course of action for him.

Don

[Broderick]

22. No kidding

What if they are estranged? She can come in and do that to the guy? Did he have a side to the story? I can't believe people think this is appropriate.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Union referrals were common when I was an EAP counselor for USPS.

Of course, many times, they made referrals because the employee was in trouble but they even referred some of their own folks for drug/alcohol/legal problems.

[mmonk]

14. Yes to both questions.

Thanks.

[ellisonz]

17. Absolutely.

I'd bet the guy agreed too it. He had a problem with alcohol and addressed it; doesn't mean he can never pick up a drink again. That's his choice.

http://www.peele.net/

[NNN0LHI]

20. He never did quit drinking

Just had to cut back to the amount the allowance his wife gave him would allow for. He still stopped in the bar after work every payday with all his friends but after he finished the two or three drinks his allowance would pay for he went home.

Not sure if his original problem had more to do with him being unable to control the booze or the money? Or a combination of both?

Don

[ellisonz]

23. Both.

At least now he's not spending the whole check on it. Better than the situation before - the truth is that AA programs have an astounding rate of failure. You should check out my link for a more reasoned view on this subject.

[surrealAmerican]

21. Was this rather a long time ago?

I'm not sure it would be quite legal now. He earned the money, not his wife. While this certainly did provide a better life for his children (assuming he had any), his wife, and probably him, I don't think it could be done without his consent.

[JVS]

25. How is something involving the procedure for payment not the union's business?

[Omaha Steve]

26. Collecting for the food pantry, volunteering to erect the tree of lights, refurbishing a park,...

Happens all the time.

K&R!

[Fokker Trip]

27. All addictions are an attempt to dull some kind of internal pain.

Nobody chooses to be an addict. They are driven to look for anything that can help to make their internal pain go away or be diminished. That' why anything can become an addiction. They need help to see that there are other ways of coping. There are also biological predispositions towards addiction but the trigger is the search for some kind of relief.

My mother and father were both alcoholics, though my mother was a really mean drunk and my dad was more of an enabler.

The children of alcoholics who have survived growing up carry the alcoholic system and their own disfunctional coping skills (which were necessary while growing up) with them and then they need to work on their own solution to the problem.

Mindfulness has helped me more than I could have ever imagined possible, but everyone needs to find what works for them. They all need acceptance and forgiveness and no shaming. They also need to be held responsible for their actions.