My son was 16 years old when he started working for Kroger's and he's 18 years old now. Early on we discussed whether he should join the union and due to his minimum wage pay and part-time hours, he decided not to join.
Now, he's a senior in high school and is taking a career prep class, The teacher asked him to bring in a copy of his pay stub. The teacher discovered Kroger has deducted around $600 in union dues from my sons paycheck since he began working there. Because my son's check is automatically deposited into his checking account and because he was a teenager who didn't understand payroll deductions, he had no idea they were taking union dues out of his paycheck until now!
How could they have enrolled a minor in the union without his knowledge? He has NEVER received a raise. He requested to be trained as a checker and this has NEVER happened. He even did sanitation duty while he was still a minor (which is against Texas laws). He works around 30 hours per week now or anything under 40. His shifts often include getting off at 11 PM and returning at 7AM or 8AM the following morning.
My son is a hard worker and he hates conflict. He's young and used to letting people run over him before he stands up for himself. He wants his money, back but doesn't want to cause any trouble. YOUR THOUGHTS???? ADVICE? SUGGESTIONS?
My thoughts is to let him stay in the union. If he's been in it for over 2 years without problem then why start in on it now? What I would be more annoyed with is kroger not giving him his raises.
That sounds like more of a problem then him paying ~5 a week to a union.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
Make sure he is in the union, so have him call his UFCW local office and talk to them, it never hurts to double check. We don't have any cashiers under 18 because of alcohol and tobacco sales, so he might be able to talk to his ARM and see if he can be trained on register. Look at his ExpressHR on kroger.com, it should show on there if he has raises coming, because with most stores it's hours worked.
And also what BagBoy said. He should have had raises, and if he is eligible for them, demand he get retro pay. If they give him grief about it, well good news that he's in the union....have him call his rep.
He probably did sign himself into the Union when he was signing paperwork upon hire. Is the AA at his store also a union shop steward or activist? If so then this is one of the fastest ways of promoting union membership and keeping the union strong. The store itself would love to do away with such unions. Do you want your son to stand up for his own rights? Before anything else, he should get copy of his union rights and start reading up. The money itself may be lost, but the oppertunity is there for him to learn. This is the perfect battle ground to perpare your young warrior. BTW I don't think baggers qualify for raises. Perhaps he can use his seniority and the union to his advantage to advance up.
When you go to orientation they have a union representative talk and pass out cards to sign upon being hired by Kroger. He likely signed the card and probably forgot about it as well. Its not the union's fault that he hasn't gotten a raise or being promoted to cashier it is Krogers fault. Both drafted up the contract and Kroger has the right to choose who to promote as well. The only problem with the contract is that the union can ask for raises, but Kroger won't agree upon some of the raises for part-time employees.
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My Views and Opinions do not reflect that of the Kroger company. I'm an indivdual expressing my 1st amendment right.
I know this is an old post but what ever happened? My son also was also tricked, he signed something because he was told he had to. Even after I told him not to sign anything. But when your a teen and at your first job and a boss says you have to sign, you sign it. I looked for a few weeks and no dues, so i thought ok it wasnt the union. Well it takes a few months and after almost a year (tax time) we found out he was paying dues. We live in a right to work state Tried to withdrawal but they said you have a 30 day period to withdrawal. Its really sad how they take advantage of these teenagers. For months during high school he worked 6 hours a week (1 day) i believe he had to take a lunch as well. So he basically worked an hour for free each week!!
I know this is an old post but what ever happened? My son also was also tricked, he signed something because he was told he had to. Even after I told him not to sign anything. But when your a teen and at your first job and a boss says you have to sign, you sign it. I looked for a few weeks and no dues, so i thought ok it wasnt the union. Well it takes a few months and after almost a year (tax time) we found out he was paying dues. We live in a right to work state Tried to withdrawal but they said you have a 30 day period to withdrawal. Its really sad how they take advantage of these teenagers. For months during high school he worked 6 hours a week (1 day) i believe he had to take a lunch as well. So he basically worked an hour for free each week!!
If they are enrolled in the union then you have to wait for the signup period (typically around the end/beginning of the year) and submit in writing that you wish to withdraw the membership. Yes, they make it a hassle on purpose.
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Would you like fries with th... I mean, your milk in a bag?
Kroger is a union job. The union will force you to join per the contract. If you do not join after 90 days you are termed. This is in the first chapter. The first clause is the employer recognizes the union. Recognizes it's right and authority. Further in it states that employees must join if not they can be termed after a certain time frame. After 2 years I'm surprised you didn't know. We sign these papers upon hiring. It's not wrong to force employees to join a union. If you don't want to pay union dues then quit.
To be an active employee you must work one 4 hour shift a month. If you are classified as an active employee you pay union dues. Most of us do paycheck deductions because we don't have to think about it. One missed check, unbalanced check or misplaced check = job loss. Can't risk that. Weekly deductions average about $10 per paycheck. It adds up to about $900 a year with other deductions they occasionally do. You CAN write off union deductions on your taxes. I do this every year so don't quote you can't. I get a good return on it every year. Been writing off union deductions for the past 12 years.
If they didn't want to pay union dues then they should of found another employer. Nearly all grocer jobs are union. Unions are good. As they allow equal pay and equal opportunities. Allow job protection too. Unions offer a binding contract with rights. I've worked enough private companies that I'm sick of having zero rights.
To officially quit the union you have to quit the job. If you are so much classified as an active employee you have to pay union dues. Only way to get out of the union is to quit completely. Work so much as one day a month or even less than that they will force you to pay union dues. If you chose not to pay them they do go to collections. Even then contact the union to make sure their system is updated or they will continue to make you pay dues. As a parent I'm surprised you didn't know. I mean 2 years of not knowing. Son's 18 now I think it's time you sat down and explained bills, working rights and what it means to have a job. You do want to pay union dues because it will go to collections.
Kroger is a union job. The union will force you to join per the contract. If you do not join after 90 days you are termed. This is in the first chapter. The first clause is the employer recognizes the union. Recognizes it's right and authority. Further in it states that employees must join if not they can be termed after a certain time frame. After 2 years I'm surprised you didn't know. We sign these papers upon hiring. It's not wrong to force employees to join a union. If you don't want to pay union dues then quit.
To be an active employee you must work one 4 hour shift a month. If you are classified as an active employee you pay union dues. Most of us do paycheck deductions because we don't have to think about it. One missed check, unbalanced check or misplaced check = job loss. Can't risk that. Weekly deductions average about $10 per paycheck. It adds up to about $900 a year with other deductions they occasionally do. You CAN write off union deductions on your taxes. I do this every year so don't quote you can't. I get a good return on it every year. Been writing off union deductions for the past 12 years.
If they didn't want to pay union dues then they should of found another employer. Nearly all grocer jobs are union. Unions are good. As they allow equal pay and equal opportunities. Allow job protection too. Unions offer a binding contract with rights. I've worked enough private companies that I'm sick of having zero rights.
To officially quit the union you have to quit the job. If you are so much classified as an active employee you have to pay union dues. Only way to get out of the union is to quit completely. Work so much as one day a month or even less than that they will force you to pay union dues. If you chose not to pay them they do go to collections. Even then contact the union to make sure their system is updated or they will continue to make you pay dues. As a parent I'm surprised you didn't know. I mean 2 years of not knowing. Son's 18 now I think it's time you sat down and explained bills, working rights and what it means to have a job. You do want to pay union dues because it will go to collections.
All that you wrote above only applies to states that are NOT "Right to work" states. If you DO live in a right to work state, you are NOT obligate to join the Union. I never joined the union and worked for Kroger for seven years. The union is not worth it.........they seldom actually DO anything except for collect money, stockpile money, sit at their desks and ignore the phone calls (did I mention they collect lots of money?) Most of the benefits received by the employees is imaginary, or at least overrated.......it's "what MIGHT happen if you MAYBE will get in trouble" but if an employee REALLY needs the union they are almost worthless. And the pay scale is comparable to other companies that do not have unions. The unions are in Kroger's back pocket. They sold out to Kroger and don't really back up the employees. Although they do help keep the crappy, lazy and inept Kroger employees drawing a paycheck.
Kroger loves to secretly order people to sign things, and if anyone wants to see the amazing and often contradictory paper it is all "proprietary". I would be more concerned about the "proprietary" agreements you don't know about. For example it is not uncommon for Kroger to require the signing over of all real and intellectual property for life, along with non-disclosure and (strangely) arbitration agreement that even the signer is never allowed to see. They are always gaming and pushing the envelope on ethics and the law.
My son was 16 years old when he started working for Kroger's and he's 18 years old now. Early on we discussed whether he should join the union and due to his minimum wage pay and part-time hours, he decided not to join.
Now, he's a senior in high school and is taking a career prep class, The teacher asked him to bring in a copy of his pay stub. The teacher discovered Kroger has deducted around $600 in union dues from my sons paycheck since he began working there. Because my son's check is automatically deposited into his checking account and because he was a teenager who didn't understand payroll deductions, he had no idea they were taking union dues out of his paycheck until now!
How could they have enrolled a minor in the union without his knowledge? He has NEVER received a raise. He requested to be trained as a checker and this has NEVER happened. He even did sanitation duty while he was still a minor (which is against Texas laws). He works around 30 hours per week now or anything under 40. His shifts often include getting off at 11 PM and returning at 7AM or 8AM the following morning.
My son is a hard worker and he hates conflict. He's young and used to letting people run over him before he stands up for himself. He wants his money, back but doesn't want to cause any trouble. YOUR THOUGHTS???? ADVICE? SUGGESTIONS?
2 years ago when they sent new hires to training centers you were auto enrolled. Now they dont do have training centers no more and you are no longer auto enrolled. Its not worth it at all if hes a part timer. Union is a scam.Lol good luck getting out of it
It was just under a year when we discovered they were taking union dues. And paystubs are only online, assumed what they took out was taxes. It is only $10 a week but when you only bring home $46 a week, ten dollars is a lot. Also, Indiana is a right to work state so he didnt have to join. But they made it seem that he didnt have the option.
