The Detroit Medical Center is spending a considerable amount of money, time and effort to prevent one small department of 15 people from joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union. These are people who contacted the union of their own free will, out of concern for their jobs and the way they were treated (or might be treated) by management. No one forced them. No one made them any promises. They contacted the union, and signed cards of intent to join.
A little over a year ago, this department got a new supervisor. She immediately set about cracking down on all the rules. She took an intense dislike to one young lady in this department, began to nitpick her, and continued until she found a reason to fire her. Although this young women sought help through Human Resource and upper Management channels, she received no help. The infraction for which the young woman was fired was something that pretty much everyone in the department had done at one time or another. The supervisor smugly marched around with an air of superiority, and an "upper management has my back, I have nothing to worry about" attitude. Consequently, the other people working in this department realized that this very same thing could happen to them at any time. They have no protection and no recourse if they are treated unfairly by management. Now the young lady in question wasn't perfect. She was brash, and a bit cocky, and should have kept her head down once she realized that she had been targeted. But then again, as long as you do your job, should you be targeted just because your boss takes a personal dislike to you? She checked her email on the company computer while she was on her break. Technically against the rules, but a firing offense? That was the final straw after being piled on for months.
So the people in this department became alarmed because the supervisor was so arrogant. They concluded that one vindictive, controlling, ego-maniacal supervisor held their future in her hands. If she could do it to one person, what would stop her from doing it to any of them? If they made a mistake, or she just took a dislike to them, their years of service to the company would mean nothing. They contacted the Teamsters. There are other departments in the medical center who belong to the Teamsters, and these workers decided they wanted the benefits and protections that union employees have.
For the last several months, the Detroit Medical Center has waged a campaign against these 15 people and their legal right to join the union. Even though the DMC has long publicized that they are a non-profit entity, and that they are a servant of the people because they serve the inner city poor and the uninsured, it hasn't stopped them from declaring war on the very employees they claim to value and respect. They have challenged their right to join the union with the National Labor Relations Board. Further, even though DMC has their own staff of corporate lawyers, they are not using them. They have hired a team of lawyers (our estimate: approximately $1000 per hour). Even though the DMC is one of the largest employers in the city of Detroit, the law firm they hired to fight their employees is from Ann Arbor. Their law firm has vowed to drag this out as long as necessary (4 to 6 weeks) to prove that these people are not qualified to join the union. Their witness' shade the truth, avoid it, and sometimes outright lie.
In the meantime, these employees are being subjected to misinformation about what the union would do for them. They are told that if they join the union, management will not be able to work schedules out with them, everything will have to go through the union. They are told that all decisions regarding their jobs will have to go through the union. Management says that these people joining the union isn't in the company's "best interests", not the employees best interest, not the patients' best interest, but the company's best interest. They are being coerced and nitpicked and targeted. The company hopes that they can wear them down. The company hopes that they can once again subjugate these people into good little automatons, never questioning whether something is fair, never asking for their rights, just doing what they're told. If the supervisor is a tyrant, the company doesn't care, and no employee better dare bring it up. Because management is always right.
I will tell you honestly, that I am a Teamster. I am proud to be a Teamster. That doesn't mean that I think everyone needs a union. If you work for a great company, your manager treats you fair, they keep all their promises, and you are happy...you don't need a union. I think that's great. I have worked in places like that. I wish every company was like that. But the sad fact is, they are not. Some companies are mismanaged (DMC spent years functioning in the red because they tried to expand, bought up losing clinics and hospitals, and bled money out the door), some managers don't care about anything but their numbers, some supervisors are petty and unfair. Companies lie. They don't look out for the very people who make the company work. Those workers need a union. The workers in this department at DMC feel that they fall into this category. But the company says it doesn't matter. They don't have the right to join the union. And that just doesn't seem right to me. It just seems sad.
So, when you see those commercials on TV and all those billboards around town saying what a great place the Detroit Medical Center is, I hope you will take a moment to think of the 15 people working there who are struggling for their rights, working under threat and pressure, while the company spends time and money and effort to keep them from the very foundation Detroit was built on: the workers right to organize, make a fair wage, have safe and fair working conditions, and perform their jobs well, without fear.
A little over a year ago, this department got a new supervisor. She immediately set about cracking down on all the rules. She took an intense dislike to one young lady in this department, began to nitpick her, and continued until she found a reason to fire her. Although this young women sought help through Human Resource and upper Management channels, she received no help. The infraction for which the young woman was fired was something that pretty much everyone in the department had done at one time or another. The supervisor smugly marched around with an air of superiority, and an "upper management has my back, I have nothing to worry about" attitude. Consequently, the other people working in this department realized that this very same thing could happen to them at any time. They have no protection and no recourse if they are treated unfairly by management. Now the young lady in question wasn't perfect. She was brash, and a bit cocky, and should have kept her head down once she realized that she had been targeted. But then again, as long as you do your job, should you be targeted just because your boss takes a personal dislike to you? She checked her email on the company computer while she was on her break. Technically against the rules, but a firing offense? That was the final straw after being piled on for months.
So the people in this department became alarmed because the supervisor was so arrogant. They concluded that one vindictive, controlling, ego-maniacal supervisor held their future in her hands. If she could do it to one person, what would stop her from doing it to any of them? If they made a mistake, or she just took a dislike to them, their years of service to the company would mean nothing. They contacted the Teamsters. There are other departments in the medical center who belong to the Teamsters, and these workers decided they wanted the benefits and protections that union employees have.
For the last several months, the Detroit Medical Center has waged a campaign against these 15 people and their legal right to join the union. Even though the DMC has long publicized that they are a non-profit entity, and that they are a servant of the people because they serve the inner city poor and the uninsured, it hasn't stopped them from declaring war on the very employees they claim to value and respect. They have challenged their right to join the union with the National Labor Relations Board. Further, even though DMC has their own staff of corporate lawyers, they are not using them. They have hired a team of lawyers (our estimate: approximately $1000 per hour). Even though the DMC is one of the largest employers in the city of Detroit, the law firm they hired to fight their employees is from Ann Arbor. Their law firm has vowed to drag this out as long as necessary (4 to 6 weeks) to prove that these people are not qualified to join the union. Their witness' shade the truth, avoid it, and sometimes outright lie.
In the meantime, these employees are being subjected to misinformation about what the union would do for them. They are told that if they join the union, management will not be able to work schedules out with them, everything will have to go through the union. They are told that all decisions regarding their jobs will have to go through the union. Management says that these people joining the union isn't in the company's "best interests", not the employees best interest, not the patients' best interest, but the company's best interest. They are being coerced and nitpicked and targeted. The company hopes that they can wear them down. The company hopes that they can once again subjugate these people into good little automatons, never questioning whether something is fair, never asking for their rights, just doing what they're told. If the supervisor is a tyrant, the company doesn't care, and no employee better dare bring it up. Because management is always right.
I will tell you honestly, that I am a Teamster. I am proud to be a Teamster. That doesn't mean that I think everyone needs a union. If you work for a great company, your manager treats you fair, they keep all their promises, and you are happy...you don't need a union. I think that's great. I have worked in places like that. I wish every company was like that. But the sad fact is, they are not. Some companies are mismanaged (DMC spent years functioning in the red because they tried to expand, bought up losing clinics and hospitals, and bled money out the door), some managers don't care about anything but their numbers, some supervisors are petty and unfair. Companies lie. They don't look out for the very people who make the company work. Those workers need a union. The workers in this department at DMC feel that they fall into this category. But the company says it doesn't matter. They don't have the right to join the union. And that just doesn't seem right to me. It just seems sad.
So, when you see those commercials on TV and all those billboards around town saying what a great place the Detroit Medical Center is, I hope you will take a moment to think of the 15 people working there who are struggling for their rights, working under threat and pressure, while the company spends time and money and effort to keep them from the very foundation Detroit was built on: the workers right to organize, make a fair wage, have safe and fair working conditions, and perform their jobs well, without fear.
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