Bottom line....
No member, should be running to management to "inform" on another.
But....
No member, should expect another to "collude" in a deception.... to cover their arse.
It's just asking for trouble.
-Bug-
I have to say that I both agree and disagree with you. Let's not forget that we ultimately work for UPS, which means that - in the general sense and with a great bit of larger meaning - the customer comes first. I think this is best explained by example:
Tom from UnLoad witnesses a fellow employee (Jimmy) pulling down walls or otherwise mistreating packages inside the trailer. Management does not witness any of the things Jimmy is doing. If Tom tried to explain to Jimmy that what he was doing was improper and was causing damage to the packages and their contents, explaining proper work methods and the benefits of them, and Jimmy chose to completely ignore him, I would say that Tom has not only the right but it is a
duty to the customer to report what he is seeing to management.
While I think we can agree that one-time, harmless offenses shouldn't result in immediate "informing" to management, long-term offenses or very severe/unsafe offenses ought to be reported. I think that it is a duty to the customer that we hold not only ourselves but the best and worst of our brothers to the
highest standard possible. The first thing on the checklist is peer motivation/instruction. If we cannot influence our peers in a positive manner, than I believe we have to "hand off" the issue to management, not forgetting to keep the positive attitude and motivation that is oh-so-important.
I think that the divergence in thought that I and many other people have is in the purpose of the union. Taken from Wikipedia:
A trade union is an organization of workers who have united together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and better working conditions.
-Source: Wikipedia Entry - Trade Union
The first thing listed is the protection of the
integrity of the trade. This is our loyalty to our customers. The second thing is
higher pay, which I think speaks for itself. The third thing is simply an odd way of wording "
growth of the industry," which is mutually wanted between the union and the employer. And finally the fourth thing is
better working conditions, which one could argue is the exact reason "informing" to management is the right thing to do. UPS spends lots of time and money developing methods that are meant to fulfill to this fourth point, and if I saw an employee purposefully and knowingly disregarding these methods, if would make me wonder whether they believe in the union in the first place.
To summarize, I guess I would say we disagree because I don't see Unions the same way you do, the same way a lot of others do. A lot of people (not necessarily you) see unions as simply a way of dodging punishment. People join the union so that they can be lazy and not follow the rules, and be afforded the protections of the entire work force. I see a union as a way to argue for better working conditions, as a way of protecting the integrity of the trade so that our customers receive the best possible service that we can give, while at the same time protecting our safety as workers and providing us with a fair salary. Ultimately, Unions are here to make sure that we are treated
fairly.
TL;DR: I will report a fellow union member if they are doing something unsafe or something that hurts the service that our customers are receiving, because that's not what unions are about.
bird who won't change his ways is going to get himself fired eventually so why help the company cut his throat?
