This article was published in the June 2024 edition of UAWD’s newsletter, Members Voice. Read the full newsletter here.
by NICK LIVICK, UAW Local 31 — Management loves to blame workers for absenteeism. They say we don’t want to work anymore and that we abuse FMLA. When we don’t have enough workers to run, their solution is to scold us and say “Why can’t you come to work? You just got a big raise.”
Here’s why that’s a load of bullshit.
Every year, management eliminates jobs and redistributes that work, causing remaining jobs to become overloaded. They hide this by shaving seconds off elements. This increased workload means increased wear on bodies. Eventually, more of us will have to take time off to have surgery or physical therapy.
At the same time, management goes all out scheduling overtime. Many plants are working 9-to-12-hour days, 6 to 7 days a week. Not only does this significantly increase wear on our bodies, it also leaves us with no time to recuperate and spend with family. Our time off hasn’t increased in any meaningful way in decades. Management forces us to use some of our vacation time for July shutdown, which leaves us with even less time off.
If this is how management wants to run, no one should be surprised by absenteeism. It’s entirely predictable, in fact it’s guaranteed, under the current system. Emergencies happen. Kids get sick. Even the hardest workers need a break at some point to see our families and friends.
Want to solve the problem of absenteeism? Provide workers opportunities to plan our absences where we can. And expect emergencies. That means hiring more AROs (full-time rotating workers), so there’s a buffer when one of us has a kid get sick or a breakdown on the way to work. Get serious about solutions. Stop blaming the results of your misguided cost cutting on us.