Supervisors work because they are told to, their superiors place them in a situation to work, or the employee(s) is purposely sabotaging the work area to be grossly unproductive. In my experience, it is the latter two.
Yes, in many cases management would under staff an area by scheduling people off or sending people home at their minimum. If a supervisor is working after doing this, than he has improperly managed his work area. File the grievance, you have every right too. If it’s against a part-time sup, he would actually be happy you did, to force his bosses to properly staff their areas so he doesn’t have to work. Another words he doesn’t have to question his boss, your grievance already did that. And any smart FT sup wouldn’t risk his job to retaliate against you for exercising your rights.Management often has personal motives to have sups work; to exceed/inflate required numbers. Some FT management, it’s a pride issue. They want to justify their position by proving time and time again they are the “go to guys”; even if it’s done artificially. For other FT management, it’s a monetary issue. They actually want to maximize their management incentive bonus on the backs of hard labor; even if it’s done artificially. They have kids in college, houses, and women to pay for, etc. The management officials whom agreed to the contract know full well that their subordinates work. They know that it is just part of the status quo, and if it’s producing profits why not turn a blind eye to it.
On the opposite end, supervisors working are responding to sabotaging and overall poor work ethic. I have seen new seniority to 40 year veterans do it. A simple example is an unloader who takes a 35 minute bathroom break every day and in reality half that time is spending talking sports with other employees. Another example could be a HVD sorter that stops the belt to take several phone calls. When you ask him why he stopped the belt he’s says he had an “emergency call”, however he has “emergency calls” several times a week. In reality he is talking to his girlfriend or a shop steward to rat some sup moving irregs. Take a DMP worker, who takes a box with a small hole in it, but still opens it up and “verifies” its contents by counting every single bolt one by one at the end of the sort. In reality, he decides to count one bolt at a time, on an overtime pay rate. Take a sorter who runs a recycle line on himself which jams his unloader’s flow. The unloader, stands there and when the supervisor finally realizes, he breaks the jam, then the unloader and sorter goes to furthest bathroom in the building. In reality they just wants to piss off the FT supervisor for sending they home at their minimum and to compel pt sups to work for an easy grievance or force more hours for themselves. Then they have bad apple stewards that rationalize this behavior at every management inquiry.
MY point is it’s a chess game between management and the Union. There are definitely little victims on either side. Each side abuses each other. Supervisors working is just part of that game. File away.
