The following is
which is a pro-worker, pro-union newsletter put out by Caroline Lund, a rank-and-file member of UAW Local 2244 at the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, CA.
Note for email readers: "Team Leaders" at NUMMI are union members. "Group Leaders" are management people (formen). "Team Members" is what NUMMI calls its hourly employees who are not Team Leaders. Team Leaders get 60 cents an hour more than Team Members.
The last issue of "The Barking Dog" created some controversy. Many line workers told me they loved it. Some team leaders didn't like it. I hear that Management complained about it at the recent UAW-NUMMI off-site conference, but our Bargaining Committee told the Company that union members have the right to free speech.
Following are some more contributions to the discussion.
C.L.
About 3 months ago, I was taking a bathroom break 3 times a day (once during each rotation) maybe for one or two days in a week. A Group Leader told me it was causing a problem in the group. He also told me to "cut back on my water intake."
During the next month I did cut back on taking bathroom breaks, holding it in during the first rotation because I did not want to be labeled as a troublemaker. But one day the G/L told me again to cut back on my water intake during second rotation because I was asking for a bathroom break two rotations in a row. He also mentioned that if I keep up with my regular visits to the bathroom he will have to send me to Medical to check to see what is wrong with me.
I was upset enough to ask to see my Committeeman. He replied by saying if I call my Committeeman, he (G/L) will have to also call out the Labor Relations rep, who will tell me the same thing. (I found out later that that's not true. I have a right to talk with my Committeeman without a Labor Relations rep.)
After I talked to my Committeeman (who told me I have a right to take a bathroom break when I need one), things got worse. In a group meeting, the G/L said he would write up anybody for building extra parts. I didn't think he was serious about that because everybody built extra parts so they would stay out of the hole.
In the first rotation the week following the group meeting, he caught me building extra parts and told me to use them up or else. Five minutes later, he sent the team leader to break down the extra parts I had made. He denies he was harassing me for talking to my Committeeman.
The problem I have with this G/L was he believes what my T/L was telling him. Actually my T/L was the only one in the group complaining about relieving for bathroom breaks. After talking to fellow team members, I learned that I was not the only one in my team to have this problem.
To G/Ls and T/Ls: We have team members who are actually taking bathroom breaks for real reasons, so please don't treat everyone like they are about to take advantage when they ask for the break.
Tommy Chang
First, I am a team leader and I don't "stand around"!!!!!! I have many things that need to get done while the line is running -- stock, kanban cards, torques, scrap, and housekeeping to name a few.
When I was on line, break time was the time for using the bathroom, not line time. Why should now be any different?
In your article "Bathroom Breaks," you say it's a human right to use the restroom. You can't really fight that point, but there are others. The time one uses can and has been abused. In my Trim area, people forget to be considerate of others in the group. If, as always happens, you wind up with 1 or 2 team leaders off line and 6 or 7 requests for a bathroom break, at 10 to 15 minutes each, that can mean a wait of 1 to 2 hours for #6 or #7. This also leads to more repairs going undone.
Here is an example: Job #1 needs a tap, cannot finish job. Job #2 cannot get done because #1 hasn't finished. Job #3 doesn't get finished because #2 isn't done. Team leader (the only one off the line now) does repair #1. Finshes #1. Another pull of the cord. T/L finishes #2. Because of cord pull #2, three more jobs do not get completed. And so it goes for 1 to 2 hours.
See what I'm talking about????
So there goes quality and direct run. Soon to follow will be our jobs. Then there are times when team members return with sodas and snacks. The machines are farther than the bathrooms in our area. Those extra few steps add up to more time and the next break being put off for a few more minutes.
What happened to the practice of no eating or drinking on the line? Wasn't there a rule? They stretched it to allow water in bottles with lids, to keep spills and safety hazards from happening. But sodas don't have lids! Neither do the bags of chips. And what about the sunflower seeds? That's another story.
So, it might be a human right, but without the common courtesy that we as adults should have towards each other and the decency to think of someone other than ourselves, if this type of thing keeps happening, we may all get a real break and be looking for jobs somewhere else.
Tully V. Palone
I don't think it's smart or right for team leaders or team members to complain about the length or frequency of people's bathroom breaks.
Yes, it's true that when T/Ls go on the line to relieve people, others on the line have fewer people, or no one, to help them. But what many people don't realize is that it doesn't have to be this way!
Back in GM days, we had hundreds of relief workers, who were available to fill in for absentees, LOAs, and bathroom or medical breaks. NUMMI did away with this layer of relief workers and replaced it with the "team system" of only one team leader for every 5 or 6 line workers. The T/L is supposed to handle absentee replacement, relief for bathroom breaks, plus all the repair work, helping people out of the hole, training, etc. This is what is called "lean production" -- cutting the workforce to the bare bones so as to make more money.
The "team system" is set up deliberately to place the burden for absentees, bathroom breaks, etc. on the workers. The Company wants us to blame each other for absences, LOAs, and bathroom breaks or trips to Medical. The truth is that Management is responsible for lack of enough manpower to cover absences from the line without hardship to other workers.
The Company wants an atmosphere of us pointing the finger at each other, accusing each other of not coming to work, or of taking too long bathroom breaks. The Company wants an atmosphere of social pressure to "hold it in" until break time or lunch time. This is wrong. It does not show you are a good worker if you "hold it" till break time, and then resent coworkers who ask for a bathroom break whenever they feel the need. None of us should have to "hold it."
Yes, there are people who do a few other things during their bathroom breaks. But why should we care about this? Do we really want to become the policemen of our coworkers' breaks?
Once you start down this road, of saying people should not stop for a soda, or people should not stop to chat, or people should not comb their hair, etc. -- then you are on the road of spying on people, timing people, informing on people, etc. This kind of atmosphere sets us all against each other and undermines our Union. The Company LOVES this atmosphere.
The Company loves it when we pressure each other to work harder and complain less. They hate it when we stand together in solidarity. When we stand together for the right of everyone to bathroom breaks, even those who take a long time. How do we know what someone might have to take care of in there?
Also, we would certainly have less bathroom breaks if we had adequate break time. 15 minutes is too little! Two and a half hours between breaks is too long!
Finally, I think both T/Ls and line workers should be able to talk and read freely as long as they are doing their jobs. The only reason someone mentioned in the last issue about T/Ls "standing around" talking and joking was in the context that the Group Leader had said bathroom breaks hurt the morale of team members. It was to point out the double standard of the G/L, who objects to T/Ms taking breaks but doesn't object to T/Ls taking breaks.
Caroline Lund
After being here for nearly a decade, we and so many others have observed how some of our Team Leaders have either forgotten or have chosen not to fully exercise their positions/responsibilities to accommodate to the needs of their teammates, so we can all build a more efficient and high quality vehicle, and accomplish this in a less stressful environment.
For those Team Leaders who may have forgotten what job they applied for, let me be the one to refresh your memory.
It wasn't just to be off the line and get more change in your pockets. You applied to get on the line when:
You applied:
to come in early to stock
to leave late, to restock
torque checks
supply us with safety equipment
making sure our work areas are ready for the start of production,
before, during and after the shift.
many other things
And last but not least, as written in our Agreement/Contract, Article 1.6, page 4, under Employees Responsibilities: "Respecting the individual rights of others" and "supporting the team concept" is a must!!
If we can just show each other more respect and be more supportive of each other, we can accomplish "the team concept."
People, please don't forget where you came from and how you felt when you were there (on the line).
From team players, Lisa and Glen
Violence, domestic abuse, child abuse. On all these subjects most people turn a blind eye: Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.Some of you may remember as a child you were told not to speak of such things.
When any of these violent acts touch our lives, when we feel the pain, anguish and shame, we still do not speak. Our loved ones, our neighbors, our friends, do not want to become involved. Just when is this act of not getting involved going to stop? It is right to stand up and speak up when we hear evil, when someone speaks evil, when we see evil.
Hear me, these are the signals that call for action. Raise your voice, speak out, tell the secrets. Don't be the one that says, I should have done something. Be aware of those in pain that are close to you. Open your eyes and see and speak of what is wrong.
In my lifetime I have experienced and been the victim. So I know of what I speak and what it means to have others come to the rescue.
Bernadette Lewis
We are soon to have an election for Chairman, since George Nano is retiring. Let's have a fair and honest election!
All election ballots should have corresponding numbers on both the ballot and the stub.
The polling booths should be controlled better. The current method is you can vote at the Satelite cafeteria, the main cafeteria, or the union hall. Members can vote up to 3 times, with no way of verifying if they have already voted.
Finally, after counting the votes, there should be a count of the ballots, compared with the count of signatures on the voting lists.
Anonymous