Your opinions please

[casxmasual]

Hi all

In your experience are there dodgy union reps out there? Perhaps In cohorts with managers, perhaps dropping people they don't like into some proverbial,
perhaps letting the inexperienced walk into dangerous territory without stepping in. Promising one thing and not delivering. Speaking as if they have your
best interests at heart, but then letting you hang yourself.

I've not been in the business long, and believe all the above applies to me. I wasn't savvy enough and am paying for it, but I certainly don't think my rep backed
me very well and suspect worse.

I can't give any details for obvious reasons.

Anyone got any experience with reps like this? Can anything be done about it?

Thanks

[bensonhedge]

Sounds like your soon to be manager!

[casxmasual]

lol doubt it, I've actually got integrity. Would be nice to know someone's got my back when I'm getting shafted from all sides.

[Lounge Lizard]

The CWU rep being the DOM's sidekick is sadly all too common these days.
We therefore think about leaving the union but never actually do.

[casxmasual]

Thanks for the reply Lounge Lizard. Yeah, is as I expected. Too true on that as well.

[Lincox]

Retired now, but about 3 years ago was getting grief from manager. Asked rep to step in. From his report back it looked like he was siding with the manager, and I said on phone to him that I thought he was in bed with the manager. Week later both arrived at the office and I was invited into the office to discuss my grievances. I said that I wanted a colleague to take notes. The manager said that the union rep was there to represent me. I insisted on a colleague because I had no trust in the union rep. The manager then turned round and said. Ok then if you want a colleague I will ask the union rep to support me, which he did. I could not believe what was happening, but this is the way Royal Mail management are using union reps to progress them on to management grades which happened in this case. The other funny bit was that the manager brought up the fact that I had said to the union rep that I thought he was in bed with the manager. Proved right wasn,t I.

[POSTMAN]

I became a sub rep...to keep an eye on the rep.
Stopped a lot of s**t happening through the back door.

Got a bad rep? become a double agent.

[bogstandard]

there are good ones also, your best bet is to ask at your office, ask your colleagues opinion that would likely be your best bet. Getting horror stories on here is all well and good but for every bad rep (and they do exist) there is a bad member who will let you and your colleagues down just as badly or worse as you may well have regarded them as a friend.

[Spartacus]

I became a sub rep...to keep an eye on the rep.
Stopped a lot of s**t happening through the back door.

Got a bad rep? become a double agent.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?