Does Daily Seniority REALLY matter? YES!

Daily seniority is one of the important issues facing members in this round of negotiations.

Why?

The purpose of a seniority clause in the Collective Agreement is to ensure the job protection of members based on their hire date. The longer a member has been employed with the company, the more hours he/she is entitled to. The more hours a member accumulates, the faster he/she reaches the next wage increase.

The contracts that expired March 29 provide for two different kinds of seniority rights: Grid A (pre-ratification members) are scheduled by daily seniority, and Grid B members (Junior Clerks/Clerk IIs) are scheduled by weekly seniority.

Daily seniority means members are scheduled hours each day based on their hire date. The more senior member will always have at least as many hours as other persons, hired after him/her. It also allows members to claim hours up to 8 hours per day, and 40 hours per week, according to their seniority.

Members on Grid B follow weekly seniority, which means the most senior member on Grid B must have at least as many hours scheduled for the week (not each day!) than any member hired after her/his hire date. The problem with weekly seniority is that it can take a member much longer to accumulate 520 hours toward the next wage increase because the manager is not obligated to maximize Grid B members’ hours for every single day of work, which means a member may not be scheduled for a full 40 hrs/week.

So, weekly seniority means there is little incentive for newer members to stay around long enough for the next raise, and this contributes to high staff turnover. Why stay around for years to make good wages, when you can go down the street and start making what might take 5 years to make at Save-On/Overwaitea or Safeway?

For seniority to provide better futures for ALL members significant changes need to be made to the existing contract and that means scheduling all members by daily seniority.

When new hires see there is real potential to reach the top wages of their senior co-workers, they will have incentive to stay on. They will gain experience, workloads will become more reasonable for every member, and the problem of employee retention will begin to disappear.

Be aware of your Seniority Rights!

Many retail food and commercial stores are not posting their seniority lists: this is a violation of the agreement between the union and the company. The company is obligated to post seniority lists in every store.

Why is this important?

Members in each store are given hours, new positions and job security based on their seniority date. Without these lists, management will follow their own agenda and that means favourtism and infringing on the rights of members.

“Under the Collective Agreement, members are to be protected by important and explicit language regarding seniority rights,” says UFCW 1518 Secretary-Treasurer Frank Pozzobon. “If management tries to infringe on your seniority rights, contact your Shop Steward or Union Representative to discuss grounds for a grievance.”

We can’t let management continue their attempt to take away our members rights.