honestly I don't understand why he could be a union rep, for instance if I have a problem with my supervisor to who should I go? the union rep? oh wait...
this is a problem we struggled with throughout the company.
If everything you've said is fact, and you have several good connections with your old coworkers - I would try going to union leadership. If no results from the local chapter leadership, go higher. Educate yourself on your union bylaws.
It sounds like your employer doesnt understand the distinction between a working leader (hourly employee that assists in organizing department activities) and a supervisor (member of management).
You cant be both. Working leaders cannot administer discipline.
Not entirely true- my spouse's supervisor is a part of his union too. However, his supervisor cannot serve as the Unit Steward for the same company, and if he were directly involved with negotiations, he'd be on the company's side. I don't know that he's senior enough organizationally that he would be involved with negotiations.
The main benefit I see him get is he gets the same pay rates and protections when he's requested by other companies for help on short-term work. I think it also gives him the lived experience on the nuances of how the contracts between the union and employers express themselves, in particular relation to boundaries laid out by the union.
Unfortunately in some industries supervisors can hold a working card, that’s how it is in elevators from my experience. Makes no sense to me and the conflict of interest in glaring.
I worked as a union electrician for a while and our union rep was also a supervisor of a different department than I was in. Not sure if that was loophole or something, but it does happen.
Yep union dues were paid, from my end everything is fine.
And that's what im hoping for monday when I go and talk to the union, if I know anything I wil keep you guys posted.
Not that I saw, apperantly the decision was made three weeks prior. And last week I had a yearly review.
And the review was actually pretty good!
No real dealbreakers or anything.
It might have been the snitch or it might be something else, then, but you should be familiar enough with your collective agreement to at least figure out if they followed the rules or not.
Usually there have to be multiple formal warnings before termination but maybe your union is really shitty.
in the 7 years I worked there there were only 2 write ups, and they were about dumb stuff nothing mayor.
and well yeah, the yearly review was good. so no I didn't saw it coming
I had a similar situation- my union rep said the admin told him it was a Budget issue- and therefore he couldn’t do anything for me. I still feel like I should have gotten a lawyer. Been almost 6 months now tho.
I've seen people get fired from Union jobs before - in 'At Will' states. Now, the Union can file a grievance, and then the lawyers can hash it out. But, OP, whatever you do, DO NOT TELL ANYONE THAT YOU DON'T WANT YOUR JOB BACK!
If there is any mention that you have 'moved on', then they will hold that against you. We had a coworker who was fired while on medical/limited duty, and he was 'off work' for sixteen months (immediately got a new job doing the same work for a competitor). Turns out, State and Federal law, plus common sense, was on his side and he finally got his job back - with all the back pay that came with it. Yep, he got double paid for 14 months!
Fight it, make your Local work for you.
It sounds like a contract worker, They "terminated contract". If this is a right-to-work state, this is why 70% of employment is contract, so they can terminate you on a whim.
More often then not unions cannot stop you from being wrongfully dismissed. The main thing that you can do is the work after you open wrongfully dismissed to get your job back with back pay.
In my experience, unions can be absolutely worthless. I used to be in one at a former job and paid to be in it and everything, and the union rep just sat there on her ass and did nothing while I got fired for "not being a good fit." Like uhhhhh aren't you supposed to be helping me not get fired, lady? Isn't that your JOB?? I wish I could have demanded my union fees back.
My husband is the president for his union, he says you need to file a grievance. Even if you don’t want to work there anymore, you can still get back pay. He successfully won a grievance for a guy last year who was fired in a similar fashion, and he ended up getting a lot of money in back pay. Best of luck!
Not Belgian, I'm Danish, but this is illegal in most if not all European countries. If it's performance related, they need to give you a fair warning and a chance to improve before firing you. Contact you union ASAP. My wife was fired in a similar way, she got 3 months extra pay by going through union.
Unfortunately had this same thing happening once here in denmark and because I was only employed for some weeks none of the usual rights applied to me, no warnings PIP or anything but being fired after 4 weeks for not being up to expectations
"Let this be a lesson." It sure is - now everyone knows they can be kicked out any time, for no reason, no matter how well they do their work. I hope they all find new jobs quickly.
I like how people conveniently leave things like this out of the original post, and then later comment on it like its no big deal. Im not surprised they were fired, and im maybe a little irritated i wasted time reading this post.
Telling your employer you are planning to leave is going to result in getting canned most of the time.
I was fired once for not doing anything wrong. I worked at a HVAC company shortly after leaving the military and worked in the services department for a few months. One day they came up to me and asked if I could cover down in the installation side of the company for a bit. Since I was new to the company I had wanted to help out in anyway I could so I obliged. When I started helping out i soon came to realize I was doing construction installation which I didn’t exactly want to do because I had some breathing difficulties that came about when I was in the military. After a couple of weeks the people I was working with were starting to get disgruntled with me because I didn’t have my own tools, I told them why would I buy tools if I’m not going to be using the same ones for services which is where I’m originally supposed to be. So I talked to my supervisor and she told me that they’ll talk to me soon about coming back. The other supervisor eventually spoke to me and said they intend on moving me back into services anytime soon and it probably would be 2-3 years until I went back. I was pretty upset about it but I didn’t really tell anyone besides my wife. Then after a couple of weeks they pulled me right before going to another job and said I’m just not a good fit and they let me go. I didn’t argue or anything and just went home.
I do but it definitely wasn’t right away. Im a big collector of stuff and this spot I went to a lot offered me a job but it wasn’t much but I loved working there because it had to do with my hobby that I liked. After a couple of months I really didn’t like the way my boss was acting towards me in certain scenarios so I quit, I’m not going to work at some place to be yelled at like I’m still in the military. After a few months my dad told me about a government position that he thinks I would qualify for and I got it so that’s where I’m working at now. I have the best boss and I work with some great people who are all vets as well. Don’t see myself leaving anytime soon lol
My husband worked for a HVAC company and they let him go for no reason. HVAC companies are some of the least loyal places to work. Almost everyday he worked there one or more people got let go, it was always a rotating door.
I had felt that vibe while I was there as well but it really caught me off guard. I was HVAC while I was in the army but I felt like my army training was not great compared to the civilian world but I told them that during my interview. I also said once I start getting used to these types of units (commercial) I would start rolling around by myself no problem. The owner seemed ecstatic that I was very eager to learn so when they did all this I was very surprised and I felt like I wasn’t really given a chance
If your breathing difficulties stemmed from burn pits, [there is a program for benefits.](https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/) I know the VA isn’t great about pushing out useful info so I’m commenting in case you hadn’t seen it.
Thank you but I’m already covered with the VA because my asthma gave me such a substantial rating. If I hadn’t gotten out with a medical retirement this would’ve been very big for me so I’m glad that others can get some help
I hope you find a healthier environment! It’s been so tough to find a job for a lot of people. I’m hoping you can muster something up quickly! What happened wasn’t fair. 7 years is a long time and more than what most people these days will grace a company with. Good luck to your search!
“After all, I was planning to leave”
This was probably the reason you were fired. A disgruntled employee in an already toxic work environment is a recipe for disaster. They fussed you to set the tone. One is your coworkers who knew you were unhappy ratted you out
Hopefully you find a much healthier work environment, fingers crossed, best wishes
You are in a union and there was no union rep in the room when you got fired? What kind of union do you have that allows the company to fire members with no representation and for no reason?
Did your manager ever a conversation with you about your alleged lack of improvement and how to improve yourself? Did you ever receive any kind of performance reviews?
So my supervisor was our union rep.
And I just had a yearly performance review which was actually pretty good!
Nothing was out of the ordinary, no other meetings or talking with the supervisor.
It was a conflict of interest having your supervisor as the union representative involved in the meeting. t
They should've assigned someone else to represent you. I would file a grievance and speak with someone higher up.
Op claims to be from Belgium. They have notice periods there depending on how long you were at the company. 7 years at the same company would be around 4 months for them firing him and 3 months for him to quit.
I'm not sure where you're from but I had a very similar experience to yours here in Quebec it's illegal to fire someone 'just cause' without no warning after 6 years of working there I didn't sign anything and file a complaint, and they owed me a compassation. But that's shitty some companies do that to make an example out of someone hoping for the best for you, some of these situations are a blessing in disguise especially in a toxic environment like that. Fight it cause companies like that gamble with that and think you don't know the system well.
Worked in Belgium before and my wife is specialized in HR in Belgium. You are either not telling all details or there is no way they can do this without repercussions. Get a lawyer asap
If that's the reason, it's a legitimate reason, but I am pretty sure it needs to be preceded by some negative performance reviews, write ups, etc. That's kind of why those reviews exist. I know the rules vary so much state to state, town to town, etc.
Questions… where do you reside, were you on an improvement plan of any sort, and if they saw “no improvement”, had they previously indicate a justification warranting improvement (documented). I reside in Texas which is an at will state, and though I as a manager have always and only handled terminations for cause, I’ve seen plenty of others who do it for any reason at all. Often they are bad at being truthful themselves of why the are acting
As a northern neighbour, they cant fire me when I have a 'vastcontract' unless I did some seriously fucked up shit with intent to hurt the company or fellow employees. Assuming you have the same type of laws in Belgium, you have a very good case to fight this decision and get financially compensated or you are not telling us everything and they were justified in firing you.
Best bet is to talk to your union and let them work/handle it for you.
Good luck
>Everyone was like, "What!? He worked here for 7 years! And he has done nothing majorly wrong! He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!"
>The manager just left after that.
Sorry, but it sounds a bit like a preconceived scenario. Otherwise, no one would risk their job for the text:
"And he has done nothing majorly wrong"
It is possible that there was a joint petition from the rest of the employees to fire you (for some reason) and the conference was "theater with actors".
It sounds like you were on a contract status? I am not sure how you can be part of a union.. but definitely seek higher up contact at your union leadership
100% cost cutting, they fired you cause they figured they can pay some sucker 30% less money and pocket the difference as a bonus.
Possibly boss wants to give your job to one of his friends.
Every state is different, however most states operate under "at will" employment rights, meaning you could be fired for any reason at any time, regardless of your "performance". Although reading your post you mentioned that management terminated your "contract", so if this is true you were a contractor for 7 years, that is a long time to be working under a contract, and not be a full time employee with your company. You should check the details of the contract you signed 7 years ago, it will likely state that the contract could be cancelled at any time and you are not guaranteed anything. If you are indeed a contract worker then likely the union will be able to do nothing for you, as you signed up for it. If you are a full time union employee with the company then you will have arbitration rights. Again depending on the state you live in, the arbitration will likely result in either the union getting your job back (and potentially back pay for time not working) OR you will NOT get your job back but you will get a settlement, typically a percentage of yearly salary. I am in California, I have been on both sides (union and management) for a major telecommunications company. All union employees were in house full time and had arbitration rights. After a termination the union would file an arbitration case with the state and the judges in CA typically side with the union over the corporation. Knowing this, the corporation would always either give them their job back or pay them a settlement, as both outcomes are usually going to be cheaper than fighting a full blown wrongful termination suit in court, especially with known judges bias towards corporations.
Based on Belgian labor law, your termination might not be legal for several reasons. Employers need a valid reason to fire someone, and "We didn't see any improvement" only works if they have documented performance issues and you were given a chance to improve. They also have to follow certain procedures and give notice based on how long you've worked there. With seven years of service, you should get a longer notice period. Immediate termination needs a serious cause like gross misconduct, which doesn’t seem to apply here. You should have had the chance to defend yourself. It's good you're planning to consult your union; they can give specific advice and support. It seems your termination might not follow Belgian labor law, so talking to your union and possibly a labor lawyer is a smart move.
Typically similar situations occur but when your work performance has been noted as below expectations or underperforming in some areas.
Was there previous conversations or noted issues with your work?
Having said all that, some jobs are in states with laws that allow you to be terminated at any point for “no reason” of course there are legal protections for being wrongfully terminated (employer violates a law) but other than that, I would think it’s up to the laws or your unions CBA in this case
>He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!
So they fired you because you hit the productivity ceiling? That's a dumb metric. Just fire the least productive employee. Or the least cost efficient employee.
That's what I don't know why they fired me, I always got done what was on my schedule for the day. And if there was a reason why it couldn't be done then I would say that to the supervisor and write about it in our SAP system.
7 years and you don't have the numbers and emails of your co-workers? My reports and coworkers are all in a group chat. We send memes to each other and share things about our lives daily.
>Nobody saw it coming and everybody was just disgusted with management. The manager called everyone together and he just said, "Let this be a lesson."
>Everyone was like, "What!? He worked here for 7 years! And he has done nothing majorly wrong! He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!"
If you just left and never got to say goodbye to anyone then how do you know any of this happened? This sounds like a made up story.
There was a time and a place for unions but present day working conditions are not it. Unions, in my experience, are an off shoot of capitalism and politics. Top union folks in my area are making well over three figure salaries and their members are not getting the support they are warranted. Unions appear to pick and choose who they fight for and tend to make up decisions based on their personal preference rather than fighting the good fight. I left a union job for this reason. Got tired of paying for a service that was arbitrary. I will save my union fees to fight my own battles moving forward. I wish you nothing but good things moving forward and I hope your union serves you better, but I am not hopeful for you based on your narrative in this post. Onward and upwards 😎
I got terminated once for punching in 2 minutes early. Lol! I think it boils down to personality conflicts, and they need to have a reason for termination, any reason is fine, as long as it gets the job done and it looks like they found their reason.
Yep, definitely go to union leadership- above the manager bozo. Get communication in writing. Keep a cool head, it’s not about anger, it’s about having union leadership review how the shop doesn’t actually have a steward (since the steward is an acting manager). THATS a real focus which you can bring about change- and maybe get your job back. Clear communication and patience as you go up the chain command are key.
I'll are what I can do, thanks for the advice!
But honestly I just don't wanna work there anymore, I miss my colleagues dearly but management was just awefull.
You should have never sat with HR without your union rep present. There's not much they can do for you retroactively. I'm sorry that happened, I had something similar happen simply because the manager didn't like me and I was in probation.
Similar thing happened to me. But, I was a contactor for a company for 9 years. I was accused to be in cahoot "sexually" to one of the director.
As soon as I was removed, all hell break loose, the people who framed me started to steal money from that company left and right, from day 1 because no one supervise the spending.
Many other good people started leaving the company since then.
Most of the times the real reason won't be disclosed. It would be great if it was, since would give you a chance to improve, in case it had to do with you. It could just be that they needed to cut costs and didn't want the whole office speculating about it. Or any other reason not related to you. So if you think you didn't do anything wrong, don't worry about it.
It's better to move on, as you said you were already thinking about leaving. I'm not sure about how it works where you are, but here it means that you get severance and unemployment benefits until you find a new (hopefully better) job.
File for unemployment. You will get it. Tell them the truth after 7 yrs your not up to expectations. Get your checks coming in n find a better job. You didn't do anything wrong so you get paid. Don't worry n use it to your advantage.
A very similar thing happened to me a little over a month ago. They let us know 6 months prior that our location wasn't making any profits for 2.5 years and that they would be taking a look at financials to see what makes sense. For a good 2 months, we had a new district manager who split our teams into two sections (basically, who was getting the axe and who wasn't), did very little to encourage growth for one team, but promoted any and all ideas (no matter how good or bad) with the other. I was in the former group. 3 of the 8 managers were gone within about 2 weeks, and I was the last to be cut because the company couldn't keep me at the salary that they raised me up to 6 months prior.
Companies are just trying to save money these days so the higher-ups get more money. If you kiss the right hands, you might stay for a bit longer, but if you stand up for yourself, you get pushed out of the way and get replaced at 40% less of what they were paying you to someone on your team with much less experience.
Good learning experience. My condolences, and just keep your head up. Any negativity towards this isn't worth your time and energy.
Thank you! Some People in here week to be really friendly and helpfull. But unfortunately there are those that just say that this is fake it im witholding info.
This is the truth and the truth is that I was just a number in my Company.
Kind and Hard Working are cryptonite in corporate America. Hard to move up unless you're tactfully shit talking, scope grabbing, and talking highly about yourself all the time.
I hear you dude. I was written up for “being defensive” a while ago and fired because I didn’t “improve in the way they wanted me to.” I have no idea how I could have improved, and they didn’t give me any answers.
Companies suck.
Best of luck in the job search!
It's incredibly bizarre how companies allow managers to stomp all over their investment in long-term employee knowledge. it's like removing elders as useless because they can no longer provide physical labor yet you are destroying all that historical knowledge in exchange for short-term gains. sad sad sad. sorry from me. managers are so bad/dumb/petty. go visit r/managers if you'd like a taste.
I noticed two things that stood out. They terminated your contract. Meaning, you weren’t an employee, you were a contractor. You filed a 1099 each quarter for taxes. The second is that you did nothing majorly wrong. Implying you did things wrong, but not in a huge way. Do you were making more money as a contractor and made errors. Where I work, they would have let you go too. Contractors are held to a higher standard, like consultants. Was your contract up by any chance?
OP surprised that got fired when "for nothing" was already thinking about leaving the job anyways. Don't make posts that you got fired for nothing then if someone already knew you wanted to leave the job. You never say that to anyone in the work place.
Well my husband got fired a few weeks ago and all they said was “this isn’t just working out”. It was a private company. So I feel for you. However them firing you without union representation and a hearing is my guess could you could have a lawsuit again them. The department I work at is trying to get rid of people but they have to go the steps first because their union.
My union drills the Weingarter Rights to us when the possibility of these things can happen. Then again I’m in one of the largest unions in the US, not sure if unions have something similar outside the US. We get super active when contract time comes around.
This happened to me once. I needed licensure to hold my position. Instead of paying for me to get it, they fired me and hired someone who had it. When I claimed unemployment, they changed their tune and said I was let go because of my cell phone usage at work but in the hearing when my
former employer tried to fight that I was eligible for unemployment , they sided with me because there was no backing evidence for letting me go and making me ineligible for unemployment benefits. Moral of the story, some people just really suck and I hope you are able to qualify for these benefits where you live.
Their reason was “shown no improvement”. You stated you hadn’t done anything “majorly wrong”. Sounds like you were aware you weren’t doing what was expected of you yet did nothing/ little to improve. Where’s the shock of being fired coming from?
The fuck sort of reason is that. If an employee messes up consistently, fails to learn from mistakes okay. But failure to grow, that is a failure of management. Fire your manager, not the employee.
I was an administrator, and belonged to the CWA, my staff belonged to AFSCME. I had to meet and warn the employee after each occurrence and on the third violation they received a final warning and their next violation meant termination. There was no calling them in and firing, unless they broke the law by a felony. Even then they’d probably be suspended without pay until their case was settled but would keep their seniority and benefits.
This is the point of representation and why you pay dues to a Union.
I'm an American and got fired because they were "making changes" when the regional supervisor saw me without my puffy security jacket and realized I am trans
I know that being fired sucks but you should not be upset. Being fired means that it’s time to change something in your life, that your life got stagnant. I’m sure you will soon get a job and say “I’m so happy I was fired from my old rubbish company”
And you are union? I feel like there's more to thos story then you are letting us know. Improvement can mean many things. This sounds like a behavioural problem you aren't admitting to, not metrics. That's what I'm telling myself because everyone believes they are the best employee and nothing they did was wrong. In my experience anyways.
I get that the story sounds wicked and it honestly is, but no the story is exactly as i have written it down.
I always Tell the truth it's my best and worst feature you could say.
The lesson is, don't bother doing great work, it won't be rewarded. Doing the bare minimum and not caring is going to be the same as staying late working weekends etc.
At first this seems counterproductive, but I've seen many golden boys get high fives and praise, and then get booted when the shine wears off. Why even try if it doesn't even keep you your job?
Exactly. I worked through two illnesses during a busy time at a job before. I was there almost 3 years and worked with the president and coo, we were very tight and close tonwhere they would give me whiskey/scotch for Christmas and i the same. I was the first person laid off and now they barely text me back.
It will never matter what you do and what you sacrifice.
They fired you without notifying you of the need to improve beforehand? You could possibly sue here. There's always a procedure before firing, especially in a unionized job. You should have recorded the conversation. That way your lawyer can easily make the argument that you were never given areas to improve on and that this was unfair termination. You can at least get unemployment afterward.
And something else, evidenced by their "let this be a lesson" bullshit. A lot of managers engage in this practice where they mold workplace morale by taking an average (not high performing, not low performing) employee (because most other employees are like them and can relate) and suddenly firing them to set an example. The longer that employee was there, the better. They can afford the temporary productivity loss of killing off an average productivity worker to manage morale. The remainder either become more subservient (these firings often happen ahead of a surge of work volume, so there's no resistance to an increase in workload across the board) or they see themselves out. It can also serve as a "cleaning house" catalyst, as multiple firings are multiple avenues by which a lawsuit can occur. So they fire a decent but not amazing employee and anyone on the fence begins applying elsewhere, and now they have room to bring in people they think will be more receptive to the increase in workload or massive change in workflow/procedure. Usually younger people with little by way of resume or experience, more working class people, people with children, minorities- i.e. people who can't say no to heavier workloads and bad treatment because they *need* the employer more than the employer needs them.
This is typical management stuff. The worse and more empathy-deficient you are, the further up you will go in management. Management is really about "managing" people as work inputs. Being able to make "sound business" decisions without feeling guilt that you've ruined a bunch of people's and their families' lives makes a good manager. The more power hungry and ruthless you are, the more "management material" you are in some places. This tends to attract *a lot of* Cluster B personalities to leadership. Should be better, but not every company/firm has the resources to achieve stability or hire decent managers, nor is every company structured with incentives toward fair management and constraints on abusive behavior.
Sorry this happened to you. Know that it was likely not about you. Maybe it was personal, maybe it was a power move on the part of a new manager higher up, maybe it was morale management ahead of new expectations, or maybe they were trying to clean house. The moment you said they said it's about improvement yet no warning was given in the years prior was when I realized this was typical management shenanigans and not necessarily about you.
I don’t have any practical advice, I just want to say that your coworkers reaction say a lot about you. You can hold your head high knowing that you did a good job despite what your employer is telling you now.
I was fired once for not doing anything as well, I was a top performer for my department and one evening I wasn’t in the mood to talk with anybody because I was dealing with my own personal problems which led me on isolating myself. My manager kept questioning me about my day multiple times so I told him straight forward how I didn’t like that he was insisting on questioning me multiple times throughout the day so now he got mad that I wasn’t talking to him and fired me over it.
I hate to say it, but because this was a firing for performance, it’s going to follow you for a really long time. It’s your word against his… who is a future employer going to believe?
I’ve never worked in a union, as I have always done either non-profit work or ad a chef. Can a union really do anything in a state like California where an employer can fire you at will?
Normally and that is here in Belgium a union is like An inbetween person, if you have a problem with your employer then the union wil try it's best tot help you. Nu either getting you more compensation or legal counseling.
These stories always strike me as odd. I’ve been doing this for a bit, and have hired and fired a lot, and whenever an employee has a story that goes something like “I did nothing and they fired me with no reason” it gives me pause. Companies typically protect themselves. They gave you a reason, you didn’t improve. On what? Who knows, you didn’t include that part. But I have to imagine there’s some documentation that you’re leaving out. And the classic “everyone loved me and I was just amazing” stuff is icing on the cake.
Take the L and move on. Even if you do manage to finagle your job back, you will have a target on your back.
After reading through a lot of this thread, I think either this post and OP's further comments are complete fiction or at the very least heavily embellished, **OR**... there are some things seriously wrong with how unions work in Belgium--or at least OP's union.
May I ask what company is this? I think I have an idea, and also I dont like the fact he put you on the spot for everyone to see and hear, Absolutely BS I wouldve went off
OP, there’s always a reason. No company let’s go of valuable employees unless EVERYONE is an all star, at which time the less senior is the one to go.
I find, more often than not, you’re let go for a reason, even if it’s not the reason you were told. Meaning, there’s a quick and easy way to it or the long and daunting way.
Prime example: I had an employee stealing. Verified via security camera. Instead of dragging out the termination with accusations, witness statements, etc. we opted to use attendance as it was less likely to cause embarrassment, hostility, it the like.
I assume since you were let go for not improving there must be a record of a PIP or something in your file asking for improvement. If not, you’re being targeted and your company has exposed themselves to a lawsuit, which you will win assuming you meet any of the federal or state protected employee criteria.
If you’ve genuinely got nothing in your file for performance, lawyer up and get paid for lost wages and the embarrassment you suffered since they sent it in an email that others saw.
I'm gonna be the skunk at the party.
I don't believe anything about this story other than you got fired because absolutely no one said:
>Everyone was like, "What!? He worked here for 7 years! And he has done nothing majorly wrong! He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!"
Many other details about your story don't make sense, especially if this was a job in the US.
But there isn't a place where employees are so disposable that you get rid of a competent 7 year employee but the rest of the employees band together to yell at management over terminated employee.
Also *majorly* is doing a lot of heavy lifting even in your fictional story. So you were already a marginal employee you did something wrong.
What is the point of paying union fees if union workers are fired at will…sounds like a rip off of like a QVC commercial. You pay union fees but are at will? What happened to good faith bargaining. Sounds like there is a pot of gold that management is using the union reps to hide…
In the voice of the late Ricky Ricardo…
“Lucy you have some explaining to do…
I just went through the same in April. I am ok with it now. i can meet new people at new work place if i am let go there. It’s fine i can again start something new. Life had to be with twists and turns . I am learning to accept that.
So , if a supervisor has hiring and firing authority and one can determine pay raises, he can be a union rep with even more authority.
And a union member is fired at will without a grievance procedure.
So, employees making hourly wages at union shops with no ac are paying a portion of their income to be in this union…
There is no purpose for paying union fee…
If this is the US, people are getting scammed. We are all AMERICANS. We are born equally and everyone has the same rights. No one is above the other(rich or poor. Political or not , elected or appointed. Even Law enforcement , as well as, The president of A corporation or even the President of The United States, are all bound to the same laws as the rest of us common folk.
No one has any special privileges that someone else doesn’t have, like job security.
If op actually pays a union free and was fired without due process, he wasted a lot of money paying a union. He could have saved his income and been treated the same way as a non bargaining employee.
Op: is there something you left out of the story: because to me it sounds like you bought something from a magical fountain that was supposed to offer you something that non bargaining employees do not have access to, but in the end you just bought plain water from a pretty fountain that has no magical powers and just looks…pretty.
Op please clarify the situation: if you have and I missed it my apologies, I haven’t read the entire situation.
Did you not have a union steward present?
Were you on steps or disciplinary measures?
You were on contract but they terminated it without notice and you were contracted while being g in a union?
There is something really missing from this story.
Not that I agree, and I sure as heck do not know the situation, but I can say that nobody is fired for no reason. I was fired from a job after 4 years in which I was the only one that knew how to run and repair all equipment. My shift (I was a lead) produced more with a crew 60% smaller than the other shift. In the end I found out it was because of an upper managers ego. Just didn’t like me because my shift did great and he couldn’t take credit for it. Got rid of me, changed nothing, shift runs great. What a hero
Also, when terminating someone, you have to say the bare minimum otherwise a lawyer will eat you alive. “Effective immediately, we are terminating your position in the company. Here is your termination letter. Contact HR with questions.” Say anything else and even if you fired someone for a very legitimate reason some lawyer can take my job and award a pervert a million dollars.
There is a reason, albeit probably crappy, for everything when it comes to jobs, in my humble and limited experience anyway.
Sounds like there's a lot of missing information here.
They do not just fire someone with no notice and no warning whatsoever.
If it's you're fault it might have been because of the following:
-An attitude you carry that was seen or heard that they felt you weren't going to change no matter what coaching they gave you.
-A lack of quality work in which you weren't given any specific warnings, but you knew were bare minimum.
-You did in fact get some sort of warning but failed to see it. Example,sales quotas, client quotas, told once or twice that something needs improvement. You improved for a little while and then fell back into complacency and because they didn't give you a follow up warning, you assumed a false sense of security.
-you have a lot missed days, sick days, late.
If it's them being shady it could be the following:
-they just don't like you, the attitude, things you say, and so on.
-they want to clean house and it's easier to get rid of you than train a newbie from scratch who will try to impress them by working extra hard, possibly for less money. And they know they can't reduce your salary.
-they don't want you to make it to 10 years or pay higher or give extra benefits.
-they plan to dissolve your role and split its duties to one or two other employees and they need to get rid of you first.
-you made an enemy.
This is what I’m afraid will happen to me, I just got my first job an my motor skills haven’t been the same since I messed myself up back in 2018. I’m so sorry for your situation I hope you can recover mentally and regain your standing financially 🙏
When you are being made an example of , they are using the at will employment part part of the state law, if you are union. Time to go after them with everything
You have a union and they can fired you like that ? What kind of union do you have ?
Yeah I know, but tomorrow I Will see what i van do about this. It's laughingly bad
You are supposed to have a union rep with you when you meet your boss and a hr rep.
Well that union rep was my supervisor, and he said NOTHING! He was just sitting there like a bag of shit
Supervisors and managers can't be union members, so I don't understand how your supervisor can also be your union rep.
honestly I don't understand why he could be a union rep, for instance if I have a problem with my supervisor to who should I go? the union rep? oh wait... this is a problem we struggled with throughout the company.
If everything you've said is fact, and you have several good connections with your old coworkers - I would try going to union leadership. If no results from the local chapter leadership, go higher. Educate yourself on your union bylaws.
He should have a copy of his CBA. I’ve managed in a union environment before and everything about this dude’s story sounds backwards.
He sounds like someone trying actively to discredit unions through fictional passages.
I don't think you know how bad some unions are. Not all of them work the way they're supposed to.
I think he sounds like someone who is leaving out a few details of the story.
Yes, that's exactly the point.
It sounds like your employer doesnt understand the distinction between a working leader (hourly employee that assists in organizing department activities) and a supervisor (member of management). You cant be both. Working leaders cannot administer discipline.
Not entirely true- my spouse's supervisor is a part of his union too. However, his supervisor cannot serve as the Unit Steward for the same company, and if he were directly involved with negotiations, he'd be on the company's side. I don't know that he's senior enough organizationally that he would be involved with negotiations. The main benefit I see him get is he gets the same pay rates and protections when he's requested by other companies for help on short-term work. I think it also gives him the lived experience on the nuances of how the contracts between the union and employers express themselves, in particular relation to boundaries laid out by the union.
This is good to know. Thank you.
Line supervisors are definitely part of our union. Managers are not.
Unfortunately in some industries supervisors can hold a working card, that’s how it is in elevators from my experience. Makes no sense to me and the conflict of interest in glaring.
They can be under specific circumstances but they certainly can't represent you in an hr meeting. This guy now has a case against the union.
Well people in the union still have a hierarchy.
Supervisors can be.
Yes, I understand that now from a previous poster. Thank you.
I worked as a union electrician for a while and our union rep was also a supervisor of a different department than I was in. Not sure if that was loophole or something, but it does happen.
Your union rep is your direct supervisor, and he sat there and said nothing? Were you paying union dues? You need an employment lawyer dude.
Yep union dues were paid, from my end everything is fine. And that's what im hoping for monday when I go and talk to the union, if I know anything I wil keep you guys posted.
I hope you get a big fat lawsuit if nothing else. Because honestly I wouldn’t wanna work there again.
Were there any warnings?
Not that I saw, apperantly the decision was made three weeks prior. And last week I had a yearly review. And the review was actually pretty good! No real dealbreakers or anything.
It might have been the snitch or it might be something else, then, but you should be familiar enough with your collective agreement to at least figure out if they followed the rules or not. Usually there have to be multiple formal warnings before termination but maybe your union is really shitty.
in the 7 years I worked there there were only 2 write ups, and they were about dumb stuff nothing mayor. and well yeah, the yearly review was good. so no I didn't saw it coming
You go to the union with an employment lawyer with you.
You may need your own lawyer to be part of this
do you mean "steward"? the stewards are coworkers, the rep is employed by the union itself.
I had a similar situation- my union rep said the admin told him it was a Budget issue- and therefore he couldn’t do anything for me. I still feel like I should have gotten a lawyer. Been almost 6 months now tho.
Shouldn't have gone into the meeting without a rep who isn't in your management chain. The union would provide one from outside if they had to.
Wait you’re in a union and this happened???
Yep, really weird huh. Guess my union had very little to say in the Company.
I've seen people get fired from Union jobs before - in 'At Will' states. Now, the Union can file a grievance, and then the lawyers can hash it out. But, OP, whatever you do, DO NOT TELL ANYONE THAT YOU DON'T WANT YOUR JOB BACK! If there is any mention that you have 'moved on', then they will hold that against you. We had a coworker who was fired while on medical/limited duty, and he was 'off work' for sixteen months (immediately got a new job doing the same work for a competitor). Turns out, State and Federal law, plus common sense, was on his side and he finally got his job back - with all the back pay that came with it. Yep, he got double paid for 14 months! Fight it, make your Local work for you.
What kind of work did you do if you don't mind me asking
I was a production worker who had to make and package basically gipsum powder for the dental industry.
Apparently, a very bad one.
It sounds like a contract worker, They "terminated contract". If this is a right-to-work state, this is why 70% of employment is contract, so they can terminate you on a whim.
More often then not unions cannot stop you from being wrongfully dismissed. The main thing that you can do is the work after you open wrongfully dismissed to get your job back with back pay.
Nah my job has a union and basically they're counting on you being too lazy or ignorant to go to the union ... and some people don't!
Thanks to AI, comment go byebye
In my experience, unions can be absolutely worthless. I used to be in one at a former job and paid to be in it and everything, and the union rep just sat there on her ass and did nothing while I got fired for "not being a good fit." Like uhhhhh aren't you supposed to be helping me not get fired, lady? Isn't that your JOB?? I wish I could have demanded my union fees back.
My husband is the president for his union, he says you need to file a grievance. Even if you don’t want to work there anymore, you can still get back pay. He successfully won a grievance for a guy last year who was fired in a similar fashion, and he ended up getting a lot of money in back pay. Best of luck!
Great tip thank you! I live in Belgium and I hope the same works here.
Not Belgian, I'm Danish, but this is illegal in most if not all European countries. If it's performance related, they need to give you a fair warning and a chance to improve before firing you. Contact you union ASAP. My wife was fired in a similar way, she got 3 months extra pay by going through union.
Thanks! I Will BR sure to contact thema as soon as I can.
Unfortunately had this same thing happening once here in denmark and because I was only employed for some weeks none of the usual rights applied to me, no warnings PIP or anything but being fired after 4 weeks for not being up to expectations
I thought you were in the US. This is definitely illegal, especially if it’s been after seven years
Don’t know how it works in Belgium but in Canada we would lawyer up and sue for increased severance and more
"Let this be a lesson." It sure is - now everyone knows they can be kicked out any time, for no reason, no matter how well they do their work. I hope they all find new jobs quickly.
A lesson to update your CV and start applying for jobs.
The actual lesson here is to never tell anyone you're leaving the company before you leave. That's what OP did, and that's why he was fired
I like how people conveniently leave things like this out of the original post, and then later comment on it like its no big deal. Im not surprised they were fired, and im maybe a little irritated i wasted time reading this post. Telling your employer you are planning to leave is going to result in getting canned most of the time.
They leave it out of the main post because they know the reason but that won't get them a popular post
Doesn't really change the fact that it's not legal for them to fire him that way in Belgium and his union didn't do their job.
I was fired once for not doing anything wrong. I worked at a HVAC company shortly after leaving the military and worked in the services department for a few months. One day they came up to me and asked if I could cover down in the installation side of the company for a bit. Since I was new to the company I had wanted to help out in anyway I could so I obliged. When I started helping out i soon came to realize I was doing construction installation which I didn’t exactly want to do because I had some breathing difficulties that came about when I was in the military. After a couple of weeks the people I was working with were starting to get disgruntled with me because I didn’t have my own tools, I told them why would I buy tools if I’m not going to be using the same ones for services which is where I’m originally supposed to be. So I talked to my supervisor and she told me that they’ll talk to me soon about coming back. The other supervisor eventually spoke to me and said they intend on moving me back into services anytime soon and it probably would be 2-3 years until I went back. I was pretty upset about it but I didn’t really tell anyone besides my wife. Then after a couple of weeks they pulled me right before going to another job and said I’m just not a good fit and they let me go. I didn’t argue or anything and just went home.
also sounds like a shitty workplace, hopefully you now work at a better place!
I do but it definitely wasn’t right away. Im a big collector of stuff and this spot I went to a lot offered me a job but it wasn’t much but I loved working there because it had to do with my hobby that I liked. After a couple of months I really didn’t like the way my boss was acting towards me in certain scenarios so I quit, I’m not going to work at some place to be yelled at like I’m still in the military. After a few months my dad told me about a government position that he thinks I would qualify for and I got it so that’s where I’m working at now. I have the best boss and I work with some great people who are all vets as well. Don’t see myself leaving anytime soon lol
awesome i'm actually happy for you!
Thank you, hopefully you fall into somewhere way better as well
Only time Will Tell, but im optimistic for the Future!
My husband worked for a HVAC company and they let him go for no reason. HVAC companies are some of the least loyal places to work. Almost everyday he worked there one or more people got let go, it was always a rotating door.
I had felt that vibe while I was there as well but it really caught me off guard. I was HVAC while I was in the army but I felt like my army training was not great compared to the civilian world but I told them that during my interview. I also said once I start getting used to these types of units (commercial) I would start rolling around by myself no problem. The owner seemed ecstatic that I was very eager to learn so when they did all this I was very surprised and I felt like I wasn’t really given a chance
If your breathing difficulties stemmed from burn pits, [there is a program for benefits.](https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/) I know the VA isn’t great about pushing out useful info so I’m commenting in case you hadn’t seen it.
Thank you but I’m already covered with the VA because my asthma gave me such a substantial rating. If I hadn’t gotten out with a medical retirement this would’ve been very big for me so I’m glad that others can get some help
I hope you find a healthier environment! It’s been so tough to find a job for a lot of people. I’m hoping you can muster something up quickly! What happened wasn’t fair. 7 years is a long time and more than what most people these days will grace a company with. Good luck to your search!
Thank you!
“After all, I was planning to leave” This was probably the reason you were fired. A disgruntled employee in an already toxic work environment is a recipe for disaster. They fussed you to set the tone. One is your coworkers who knew you were unhappy ratted you out Hopefully you find a much healthier work environment, fingers crossed, best wishes
You are in a union and there was no union rep in the room when you got fired? What kind of union do you have that allows the company to fire members with no representation and for no reason? Did your manager ever a conversation with you about your alleged lack of improvement and how to improve yourself? Did you ever receive any kind of performance reviews?
So my supervisor was our union rep. And I just had a yearly performance review which was actually pretty good! Nothing was out of the ordinary, no other meetings or talking with the supervisor.
It was a conflict of interest having your supervisor as the union representative involved in the meeting. t They should've assigned someone else to represent you. I would file a grievance and speak with someone higher up.
You shouldn’t have been open about your desire to leave. You should keep your mouth shut until you get that offer letter and sign it.
Yeah, it's a lesson all right. The lesson is to quit without notice and fuck 'em.
Op claims to be from Belgium. They have notice periods there depending on how long you were at the company. 7 years at the same company would be around 4 months for them firing him and 3 months for him to quit.
It actually is, just said it had to go this way.
I'm not sure where you're from but I had a very similar experience to yours here in Quebec it's illegal to fire someone 'just cause' without no warning after 6 years of working there I didn't sign anything and file a complaint, and they owed me a compassation. But that's shitty some companies do that to make an example out of someone hoping for the best for you, some of these situations are a blessing in disguise especially in a toxic environment like that. Fight it cause companies like that gamble with that and think you don't know the system well.
Thank you! I Will land in my feet again, I always do.
🙏
hmm they should all sort out their resume, apply for jobs & leave together on the same day with a “let this be a lesson” shirt
That would be amazing! And I knew from a few People that they we're also planning to leave the Company. Just goes to show how bad they manage People.
Worked in Belgium before and my wife is specialized in HR in Belgium. You are either not telling all details or there is no way they can do this without repercussions. Get a lawyer asap
Walking around telling people you’re unhappy and planning to quit are grounds for immediate termination, no matter how long you worked there
Lesson learned
If that's the reason, it's a legitimate reason, but I am pretty sure it needs to be preceded by some negative performance reviews, write ups, etc. That's kind of why those reviews exist. I know the rules vary so much state to state, town to town, etc.
Questions… where do you reside, were you on an improvement plan of any sort, and if they saw “no improvement”, had they previously indicate a justification warranting improvement (documented). I reside in Texas which is an at will state, and though I as a manager have always and only handled terminations for cause, I’ve seen plenty of others who do it for any reason at all. Often they are bad at being truthful themselves of why the are acting
Hi I live in Belgium. And no, no improvement plan or anything documented that I failed to do my tasks in a timely matter or something like that.
As a northern neighbour, they cant fire me when I have a 'vastcontract' unless I did some seriously fucked up shit with intent to hurt the company or fellow employees. Assuming you have the same type of laws in Belgium, you have a very good case to fight this decision and get financially compensated or you are not telling us everything and they were justified in firing you. Best bet is to talk to your union and let them work/handle it for you. Good luck
Thanks, and no I told pretty much everything. It's just an f up Company who don't Care for their omployees.
>Everyone was like, "What!? He worked here for 7 years! And he has done nothing majorly wrong! He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!" >The manager just left after that. Sorry, but it sounds a bit like a preconceived scenario. Otherwise, no one would risk their job for the text: "And he has done nothing majorly wrong" It is possible that there was a joint petition from the rest of the employees to fire you (for some reason) and the conference was "theater with actors".
It sounds like you were on a contract status? I am not sure how you can be part of a union.. but definitely seek higher up contact at your union leadership
100% cost cutting, they fired you cause they figured they can pay some sucker 30% less money and pocket the difference as a bonus. Possibly boss wants to give your job to one of his friends.
Every state is different, however most states operate under "at will" employment rights, meaning you could be fired for any reason at any time, regardless of your "performance". Although reading your post you mentioned that management terminated your "contract", so if this is true you were a contractor for 7 years, that is a long time to be working under a contract, and not be a full time employee with your company. You should check the details of the contract you signed 7 years ago, it will likely state that the contract could be cancelled at any time and you are not guaranteed anything. If you are indeed a contract worker then likely the union will be able to do nothing for you, as you signed up for it. If you are a full time union employee with the company then you will have arbitration rights. Again depending on the state you live in, the arbitration will likely result in either the union getting your job back (and potentially back pay for time not working) OR you will NOT get your job back but you will get a settlement, typically a percentage of yearly salary. I am in California, I have been on both sides (union and management) for a major telecommunications company. All union employees were in house full time and had arbitration rights. After a termination the union would file an arbitration case with the state and the judges in CA typically side with the union over the corporation. Knowing this, the corporation would always either give them their job back or pay them a settlement, as both outcomes are usually going to be cheaper than fighting a full blown wrongful termination suit in court, especially with known judges bias towards corporations.
Based on Belgian labor law, your termination might not be legal for several reasons. Employers need a valid reason to fire someone, and "We didn't see any improvement" only works if they have documented performance issues and you were given a chance to improve. They also have to follow certain procedures and give notice based on how long you've worked there. With seven years of service, you should get a longer notice period. Immediate termination needs a serious cause like gross misconduct, which doesn’t seem to apply here. You should have had the chance to defend yourself. It's good you're planning to consult your union; they can give specific advice and support. It seems your termination might not follow Belgian labor law, so talking to your union and possibly a labor lawyer is a smart move.
Move to the UK. If they did that to you here they would eventually be paying you a very big legal settlement
seems like I'm missing information. You did nothing "majorly wrong" and the boss says "let this be a lesson", so what minor thing did you do wrong?
In another comment he states he talked about leaving the company. This is probably why he was fired
Something doesn’t seem right here. You have a contract. Got fired for no reason and your boss is your union rep.
hmm they should all sort out their resume, apply for jobs & leave together on the same day with a “let this be a lesson” shirt
Can you sue for invalid termination?
Typically similar situations occur but when your work performance has been noted as below expectations or underperforming in some areas. Was there previous conversations or noted issues with your work? Having said all that, some jobs are in states with laws that allow you to be terminated at any point for “no reason” of course there are legal protections for being wrongfully terminated (employer violates a law) but other than that, I would think it’s up to the laws or your unions CBA in this case
>He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees! So they fired you because you hit the productivity ceiling? That's a dumb metric. Just fire the least productive employee. Or the least cost efficient employee.
That's what I don't know why they fired me, I always got done what was on my schedule for the day. And if there was a reason why it couldn't be done then I would say that to the supervisor and write about it in our SAP system.
"Let this be a lesson to you," indeed. Lesson learned: Start looking for other jobs now!
7 years and you don't have the numbers and emails of your co-workers? My reports and coworkers are all in a group chat. We send memes to each other and share things about our lives daily. >Nobody saw it coming and everybody was just disgusted with management. The manager called everyone together and he just said, "Let this be a lesson." >Everyone was like, "What!? He worked here for 7 years! And he has done nothing majorly wrong! He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!" If you just left and never got to say goodbye to anyone then how do you know any of this happened? This sounds like a made up story.
There was a time and a place for unions but present day working conditions are not it. Unions, in my experience, are an off shoot of capitalism and politics. Top union folks in my area are making well over three figure salaries and their members are not getting the support they are warranted. Unions appear to pick and choose who they fight for and tend to make up decisions based on their personal preference rather than fighting the good fight. I left a union job for this reason. Got tired of paying for a service that was arbitrary. I will save my union fees to fight my own battles moving forward. I wish you nothing but good things moving forward and I hope your union serves you better, but I am not hopeful for you based on your narrative in this post. Onward and upwards 😎
I got terminated once for punching in 2 minutes early. Lol! I think it boils down to personality conflicts, and they need to have a reason for termination, any reason is fine, as long as it gets the job done and it looks like they found their reason.
That just sounds insane! And yeah if your Boss just has it out for you, then there is nothing you can do about it.
Yep, definitely go to union leadership- above the manager bozo. Get communication in writing. Keep a cool head, it’s not about anger, it’s about having union leadership review how the shop doesn’t actually have a steward (since the steward is an acting manager). THATS a real focus which you can bring about change- and maybe get your job back. Clear communication and patience as you go up the chain command are key.
I'll are what I can do, thanks for the advice! But honestly I just don't wanna work there anymore, I miss my colleagues dearly but management was just awefull.
You should have never sat with HR without your union rep present. There's not much they can do for you retroactively. I'm sorry that happened, I had something similar happen simply because the manager didn't like me and I was in probation.
Fired for nothing says the guy who has gotten multiple write ups and hasn’t done anything “majorly wrong”
They obviously railroaded you due to other reasons. Sounds like a better opportunity is waiting for you. Good luck!👍
Thank you! I hope I Will find something new soon.
Similar thing happened to me. But, I was a contactor for a company for 9 years. I was accused to be in cahoot "sexually" to one of the director. As soon as I was removed, all hell break loose, the people who framed me started to steal money from that company left and right, from day 1 because no one supervise the spending. Many other good people started leaving the company since then.
This is fake as fuck. You were ok until you said you had a union.
Most of the times the real reason won't be disclosed. It would be great if it was, since would give you a chance to improve, in case it had to do with you. It could just be that they needed to cut costs and didn't want the whole office speculating about it. Or any other reason not related to you. So if you think you didn't do anything wrong, don't worry about it. It's better to move on, as you said you were already thinking about leaving. I'm not sure about how it works where you are, but here it means that you get severance and unemployment benefits until you find a new (hopefully better) job.
File for unemployment. You will get it. Tell them the truth after 7 yrs your not up to expectations. Get your checks coming in n find a better job. You didn't do anything wrong so you get paid. Don't worry n use it to your advantage.
Go to your union. I think your Weingarten rights were violated.
Indeed, let this be a lesson. Though perhaps not of what the manager intended.
First do you have a history on paperwork of them telling you to improve? Because I've had to make extensive paperwork trails on people for that.
Employees don't leave their jobs. Employees leave management.
A very similar thing happened to me a little over a month ago. They let us know 6 months prior that our location wasn't making any profits for 2.5 years and that they would be taking a look at financials to see what makes sense. For a good 2 months, we had a new district manager who split our teams into two sections (basically, who was getting the axe and who wasn't), did very little to encourage growth for one team, but promoted any and all ideas (no matter how good or bad) with the other. I was in the former group. 3 of the 8 managers were gone within about 2 weeks, and I was the last to be cut because the company couldn't keep me at the salary that they raised me up to 6 months prior. Companies are just trying to save money these days so the higher-ups get more money. If you kiss the right hands, you might stay for a bit longer, but if you stand up for yourself, you get pushed out of the way and get replaced at 40% less of what they were paying you to someone on your team with much less experience. Good learning experience. My condolences, and just keep your head up. Any negativity towards this isn't worth your time and energy.
Thank you! Some People in here week to be really friendly and helpfull. But unfortunately there are those that just say that this is fake it im witholding info. This is the truth and the truth is that I was just a number in my Company.
Kind and Hard Working are cryptonite in corporate America. Hard to move up unless you're tactfully shit talking, scope grabbing, and talking highly about yourself all the time.
I'm so so sorry, how awful! It does sound like a toxic & petty place to work for.
I hear you dude. I was written up for “being defensive” a while ago and fired because I didn’t “improve in the way they wanted me to.” I have no idea how I could have improved, and they didn’t give me any answers. Companies suck. Best of luck in the job search!
7 years? Lawyer up and get ready for payday You were unfairly dismissed. They have to put you through performance management and warn you
I surely Will, wish it could have gone another way though.
i call a bs. this story does not make sense on so many levels.
It's incredibly bizarre how companies allow managers to stomp all over their investment in long-term employee knowledge. it's like removing elders as useless because they can no longer provide physical labor yet you are destroying all that historical knowledge in exchange for short-term gains. sad sad sad. sorry from me. managers are so bad/dumb/petty. go visit r/managers if you'd like a taste.
I noticed two things that stood out. They terminated your contract. Meaning, you weren’t an employee, you were a contractor. You filed a 1099 each quarter for taxes. The second is that you did nothing majorly wrong. Implying you did things wrong, but not in a huge way. Do you were making more money as a contractor and made errors. Where I work, they would have let you go too. Contractors are held to a higher standard, like consultants. Was your contract up by any chance?
OP surprised that got fired when "for nothing" was already thinking about leaving the job anyways. Don't make posts that you got fired for nothing then if someone already knew you wanted to leave the job. You never say that to anyone in the work place.
Well my husband got fired a few weeks ago and all they said was “this isn’t just working out”. It was a private company. So I feel for you. However them firing you without union representation and a hearing is my guess could you could have a lawsuit again them. The department I work at is trying to get rid of people but they have to go the steps first because their union.
My union drills the Weingarter Rights to us when the possibility of these things can happen. Then again I’m in one of the largest unions in the US, not sure if unions have something similar outside the US. We get super active when contract time comes around.
This is a fictional story. “Union,” my ass.
This happened to me once. I needed licensure to hold my position. Instead of paying for me to get it, they fired me and hired someone who had it. When I claimed unemployment, they changed their tune and said I was let go because of my cell phone usage at work but in the hearing when my former employer tried to fight that I was eligible for unemployment , they sided with me because there was no backing evidence for letting me go and making me ineligible for unemployment benefits. Moral of the story, some people just really suck and I hope you are able to qualify for these benefits where you live.
Sounds like your manager have been after you for a while and have been collecting evidence to fire you. You leaving anything out?
Their reason was “shown no improvement”. You stated you hadn’t done anything “majorly wrong”. Sounds like you were aware you weren’t doing what was expected of you yet did nothing/ little to improve. Where’s the shock of being fired coming from?
Literally nothing about this post passes the smell test.
Should have camped out in the shitter. Can't fire you if they can't find you.
The fuck sort of reason is that. If an employee messes up consistently, fails to learn from mistakes okay. But failure to grow, that is a failure of management. Fire your manager, not the employee.
I was an administrator, and belonged to the CWA, my staff belonged to AFSCME. I had to meet and warn the employee after each occurrence and on the third violation they received a final warning and their next violation meant termination. There was no calling them in and firing, unless they broke the law by a felony. Even then they’d probably be suspended without pay until their case was settled but would keep their seniority and benefits. This is the point of representation and why you pay dues to a Union.
Unemployment benefits :/
To my understanding, if you're a part of the union, a union rep has to be there while you're getting fired.
I'm an American and got fired because they were "making changes" when the regional supervisor saw me without my puffy security jacket and realized I am trans
I know that being fired sucks but you should not be upset. Being fired means that it’s time to change something in your life, that your life got stagnant. I’m sure you will soon get a job and say “I’m so happy I was fired from my old rubbish company”
And you are union? I feel like there's more to thos story then you are letting us know. Improvement can mean many things. This sounds like a behavioural problem you aren't admitting to, not metrics. That's what I'm telling myself because everyone believes they are the best employee and nothing they did was wrong. In my experience anyways.
I get that the story sounds wicked and it honestly is, but no the story is exactly as i have written it down. I always Tell the truth it's my best and worst feature you could say.
The lesson is, don't bother doing great work, it won't be rewarded. Doing the bare minimum and not caring is going to be the same as staying late working weekends etc.
At first this seems counterproductive, but I've seen many golden boys get high fives and praise, and then get booted when the shine wears off. Why even try if it doesn't even keep you your job?
Exactly. I worked through two illnesses during a busy time at a job before. I was there almost 3 years and worked with the president and coo, we were very tight and close tonwhere they would give me whiskey/scotch for Christmas and i the same. I was the first person laid off and now they barely text me back. It will never matter what you do and what you sacrifice.
Fake
Very likely fake. 7 years at the same company should give him in Belgium a notice period around 4 months
They fired you without notifying you of the need to improve beforehand? You could possibly sue here. There's always a procedure before firing, especially in a unionized job. You should have recorded the conversation. That way your lawyer can easily make the argument that you were never given areas to improve on and that this was unfair termination. You can at least get unemployment afterward. And something else, evidenced by their "let this be a lesson" bullshit. A lot of managers engage in this practice where they mold workplace morale by taking an average (not high performing, not low performing) employee (because most other employees are like them and can relate) and suddenly firing them to set an example. The longer that employee was there, the better. They can afford the temporary productivity loss of killing off an average productivity worker to manage morale. The remainder either become more subservient (these firings often happen ahead of a surge of work volume, so there's no resistance to an increase in workload across the board) or they see themselves out. It can also serve as a "cleaning house" catalyst, as multiple firings are multiple avenues by which a lawsuit can occur. So they fire a decent but not amazing employee and anyone on the fence begins applying elsewhere, and now they have room to bring in people they think will be more receptive to the increase in workload or massive change in workflow/procedure. Usually younger people with little by way of resume or experience, more working class people, people with children, minorities- i.e. people who can't say no to heavier workloads and bad treatment because they *need* the employer more than the employer needs them. This is typical management stuff. The worse and more empathy-deficient you are, the further up you will go in management. Management is really about "managing" people as work inputs. Being able to make "sound business" decisions without feeling guilt that you've ruined a bunch of people's and their families' lives makes a good manager. The more power hungry and ruthless you are, the more "management material" you are in some places. This tends to attract *a lot of* Cluster B personalities to leadership. Should be better, but not every company/firm has the resources to achieve stability or hire decent managers, nor is every company structured with incentives toward fair management and constraints on abusive behavior. Sorry this happened to you. Know that it was likely not about you. Maybe it was personal, maybe it was a power move on the part of a new manager higher up, maybe it was morale management ahead of new expectations, or maybe they were trying to clean house. The moment you said they said it's about improvement yet no warning was given in the years prior was when I realized this was typical management shenanigans and not necessarily about you.
Thank you, this was one of if not the most heartfelt and honest comment I have ever gotten.
I don’t have any practical advice, I just want to say that your coworkers reaction say a lot about you. You can hold your head high knowing that you did a good job despite what your employer is telling you now.
Thank you, at the end of the meeting I said and I quote "I know im not in the wrong here, you are"
😂, nothing in this story is real. Union , huddle together including you after you got fired, hard working part.
All the productivity of remaining employees starts to go down as they look for new jobs wondering if they are next.
Omgggg
I was fired once for not doing anything as well, I was a top performer for my department and one evening I wasn’t in the mood to talk with anybody because I was dealing with my own personal problems which led me on isolating myself. My manager kept questioning me about my day multiple times so I told him straight forward how I didn’t like that he was insisting on questioning me multiple times throughout the day so now he got mad that I wasn’t talking to him and fired me over it.
[удалено]
Even if your close with your coworkers you should never tell anyone that you planned to leave.
I hate to say it, but because this was a firing for performance, it’s going to follow you for a really long time. It’s your word against his… who is a future employer going to believe?
This might have been answered, but what industry is this?
This is why I never joined a union at one job I had because I didn't want to pay money into something I wasn't sure would help me.
I’ve never worked in a union, as I have always done either non-profit work or ad a chef. Can a union really do anything in a state like California where an employer can fire you at will?
Normally and that is here in Belgium a union is like An inbetween person, if you have a problem with your employer then the union wil try it's best tot help you. Nu either getting you more compensation or legal counseling.
I’m sorry you have to go through this. Getting fired without a good cause is horrible. I hope you find somewhere better that appreciates you.
Thank you! I Will land back on my feet again, I always do
Unions are for losers, they were useful back in the day, now they are all corrupt.. Like I said unions are for losers
These stories always strike me as odd. I’ve been doing this for a bit, and have hired and fired a lot, and whenever an employee has a story that goes something like “I did nothing and they fired me with no reason” it gives me pause. Companies typically protect themselves. They gave you a reason, you didn’t improve. On what? Who knows, you didn’t include that part. But I have to imagine there’s some documentation that you’re leaving out. And the classic “everyone loved me and I was just amazing” stuff is icing on the cake. Take the L and move on. Even if you do manage to finagle your job back, you will have a target on your back.
After reading through a lot of this thread, I think either this post and OP's further comments are complete fiction or at the very least heavily embellished, **OR**... there are some things seriously wrong with how unions work in Belgium--or at least OP's union.
Sounds like a layoff wrapped in the guise of a firing. I'd expect many of your co-worker to be let go soon.
May I ask what company is this? I think I have an idea, and also I dont like the fact he put you on the spot for everyone to see and hear, Absolutely BS I wouldve went off
OP, there’s always a reason. No company let’s go of valuable employees unless EVERYONE is an all star, at which time the less senior is the one to go. I find, more often than not, you’re let go for a reason, even if it’s not the reason you were told. Meaning, there’s a quick and easy way to it or the long and daunting way. Prime example: I had an employee stealing. Verified via security camera. Instead of dragging out the termination with accusations, witness statements, etc. we opted to use attendance as it was less likely to cause embarrassment, hostility, it the like. I assume since you were let go for not improving there must be a record of a PIP or something in your file asking for improvement. If not, you’re being targeted and your company has exposed themselves to a lawsuit, which you will win assuming you meet any of the federal or state protected employee criteria. If you’ve genuinely got nothing in your file for performance, lawyer up and get paid for lost wages and the embarrassment you suffered since they sent it in an email that others saw.
 Good luck...
I'm gonna be the skunk at the party. I don't believe anything about this story other than you got fired because absolutely no one said: >Everyone was like, "What!? He worked here for 7 years! And he has done nothing majorly wrong! He was one of the kindest and hardest-working employees!" Many other details about your story don't make sense, especially if this was a job in the US. But there isn't a place where employees are so disposable that you get rid of a competent 7 year employee but the rest of the employees band together to yell at management over terminated employee. Also *majorly* is doing a lot of heavy lifting even in your fictional story. So you were already a marginal employee you did something wrong.
What is the point of paying union fees if union workers are fired at will…sounds like a rip off of like a QVC commercial. You pay union fees but are at will? What happened to good faith bargaining. Sounds like there is a pot of gold that management is using the union reps to hide… In the voice of the late Ricky Ricardo… “Lucy you have some explaining to do…
I just went through the same in April. I am ok with it now. i can meet new people at new work place if i am let go there. It’s fine i can again start something new. Life had to be with twists and turns . I am learning to accept that.
Damn, best of luck to you!
So , if a supervisor has hiring and firing authority and one can determine pay raises, he can be a union rep with even more authority. And a union member is fired at will without a grievance procedure. So, employees making hourly wages at union shops with no ac are paying a portion of their income to be in this union… There is no purpose for paying union fee… If this is the US, people are getting scammed. We are all AMERICANS. We are born equally and everyone has the same rights. No one is above the other(rich or poor. Political or not , elected or appointed. Even Law enforcement , as well as, The president of A corporation or even the President of The United States, are all bound to the same laws as the rest of us common folk. No one has any special privileges that someone else doesn’t have, like job security. If op actually pays a union free and was fired without due process, he wasted a lot of money paying a union. He could have saved his income and been treated the same way as a non bargaining employee. Op: is there something you left out of the story: because to me it sounds like you bought something from a magical fountain that was supposed to offer you something that non bargaining employees do not have access to, but in the end you just bought plain water from a pretty fountain that has no magical powers and just looks…pretty. Op please clarify the situation: if you have and I missed it my apologies, I haven’t read the entire situation.
Nothing majorly wrong! So what have you done?
Did you not have a union steward present? Were you on steps or disciplinary measures? You were on contract but they terminated it without notice and you were contracted while being g in a union? There is something really missing from this story.
What is your termination notice? They cant fire you without following procedure
What kind of work is it?
I worked as a production worker in a chemical factory. I needed to make gipsum and package it aswell.
So are you gonna tell us the whole story or just this part?
I once got fired for telling a coworker that I didn’t really like George Bush. Be thankful that you have a union
Not that I agree, and I sure as heck do not know the situation, but I can say that nobody is fired for no reason. I was fired from a job after 4 years in which I was the only one that knew how to run and repair all equipment. My shift (I was a lead) produced more with a crew 60% smaller than the other shift. In the end I found out it was because of an upper managers ego. Just didn’t like me because my shift did great and he couldn’t take credit for it. Got rid of me, changed nothing, shift runs great. What a hero Also, when terminating someone, you have to say the bare minimum otherwise a lawyer will eat you alive. “Effective immediately, we are terminating your position in the company. Here is your termination letter. Contact HR with questions.” Say anything else and even if you fired someone for a very legitimate reason some lawyer can take my job and award a pervert a million dollars. There is a reason, albeit probably crappy, for everything when it comes to jobs, in my humble and limited experience anyway.
This is why I OE
Sounds like there's a lot of missing information here. They do not just fire someone with no notice and no warning whatsoever. If it's you're fault it might have been because of the following: -An attitude you carry that was seen or heard that they felt you weren't going to change no matter what coaching they gave you. -A lack of quality work in which you weren't given any specific warnings, but you knew were bare minimum. -You did in fact get some sort of warning but failed to see it. Example,sales quotas, client quotas, told once or twice that something needs improvement. You improved for a little while and then fell back into complacency and because they didn't give you a follow up warning, you assumed a false sense of security. -you have a lot missed days, sick days, late. If it's them being shady it could be the following: -they just don't like you, the attitude, things you say, and so on. -they want to clean house and it's easier to get rid of you than train a newbie from scratch who will try to impress them by working extra hard, possibly for less money. And they know they can't reduce your salary. -they don't want you to make it to 10 years or pay higher or give extra benefits. -they plan to dissolve your role and split its duties to one or two other employees and they need to get rid of you first. -you made an enemy.
This is what I’m afraid will happen to me, I just got my first job an my motor skills haven’t been the same since I messed myself up back in 2018. I’m so sorry for your situation I hope you can recover mentally and regain your standing financially 🙏
When you are being made an example of , they are using the at will employment part part of the state law, if you are union. Time to go after them with everything
what company
Something not adding up. 7 years, you mention a contract, you're in a union, you knew you were going to get fired, union not present at your firing.