How to join
1199 Union
1199 SEIU - My Horror Story with the Union - Part 1
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hi this is cam
December 14 2013 and today I'm going to
share a little bit about my experience
with the Union where I work
they're called eleven nine on SEIU it's
a health care workers union mostly
although I don't really work in health
care I just happen to work at medical
library at a university and we're just I
think a number of years ago randomly
housed under with this union and my
experience with 1199 has been pretty
awful nothing has happened lately but
overall I have just I've had a pretty
much not mer dealing with them in any
shape or form specifically with one of
the vice presidents over my local
chapter his name is Victor Rivera and
he's just a terrible awful man as I
learn from a first-hand experience okay
so this starts back when I first started
my job in October 2008 I went to a union
orientation there were lots of people
there we were just sort of sitting
around in a large room waiting around
and finally a woman comes and announces
that I don't think she had anything to
do with the Union but she got word that
the union representative one of the vice
presidents the Victor Rivera wasn't
going to be able to make it but the
union would be reaching out to us to
schedule meetings to go over what it
means to be part of eleven on and on to
get our paperwork to officially sign up
for union membership and for us to just
be paying attention to our you know the
phone or email and that was that so you
know months went by fast forward to May
like late May of the next year 2009 and
all this time I hear nothing at all from
the Union and I honestly I kind of
forgot about Union membership because
you know initially they were supposed to
contact us and they never did
and so in late May I get this letter out
of the blue that's from the Union and
they're like oh we we noticed that you
haven't been paying your membership dues
and you have you never signed up for
Union to be a part of the Union you owe
like close to $500 because they're
charging me from my start point of
employment and I was really thrown off
by this because I'm like oh yeah that's
right no one ever showed up no union
representative ever showed up for the
orientation and gave us paperwork and
explained the benefits of being in the
Union so and now I see like when they
realize that they're not getting money
from me they finally contact so after
getting this letter you know my initial
response is okay I'll sign up for a
union membership I still don't have a
contract I don't have the paperwork I
just have this letter and I don't really
I'm immediately you know uneasy about
the whole retroactive dues it's a large
sum of money it's a hardship for me like
to have to pay like nearly $500 all at
once and you know because I'm not making
a ton of money and so I start reaching
out trying to reach out to anyone I can
at the Union no response whatsoever like
there's a secretary at our local chapter
her name was Donna Broomfield tried
reaching out to her never
I left her voicemails Austin her emails
got nothing I was just like you know
like wanting to meet with someone
because I'm like yeah I realize I have
to sign up but it would be nice to go
over the contract that you have with my
employer and to kind of know what the
union is all about because as as of now
I have no idea I don't know anything
about Lebanon and on all I know is that
they don't show up for orientations and
and they are apparently pretty
unorganized and so I don't get I hear
nothing back at all it's becoming like
impossible to get a hold of these people
even though they're like you know
scrambling to get my money okay so after
digging around a little bit I contact
someone that's like a little higher
and my local chapter and they they do
get Donna brimful to actually contact me
and she claims that she's not received
any emails or voicemails from me which I
don't know if she just honestly is so
unorganized she didn't get them or
ignored them or whatever but anyway I'm
like fine look you know I still would
like to meet with someone and before I
sign any kind of paperwork I would like
to you know get my orientation that I
never got I would love to sit down with
someone of the Union to explain to me
the benefits of joining 1119 arm and uh
and then it was it was really strange
because like a day or two goes ba and on
I don't remember what day it was but I
get a phone call at work while I'm at
the library at the library desk and it's
Victor Rivera and he's he's not friendly
whatsoever and this is the first time
I've ever heard from this man who's the
vice president
11:19 on and he's uh immediately he's
he's like asking me what my problem is
and I mean not like oh do you have it's
like what's your problem anyway well you
know why haven't you signed up for
membership and I just tell him like what
do you mean why I haven't I never
received any paperwork I showed up that
at the orientation and no one was there
and we you know I was told that someone
from the Union would contact me and
Victor Rivera on the phone he just is
like well a lot of people are in your
situation what are you going to do about
it and I'm like what do you mean a lot
of people are in my situation and he
tells me he's like well we failed to
contact a lot of people now we're
getting hold of them and you know you're
not all in one who owes you know these
retroactive dues and I'm like that's
supposed to make me feel better that you
know I didn't say this but I'm like that
you people are you made this mistake
with like all the new employees and now
you're going after them and expecting
them to you know pay these huge lump
sums of money because you didn't show up
to your own orientation and you waited
like months almost a year to like get in
touch with us and he admits that it was
a mahal that it was the union's fault
he admits that which is kind of
surprising as I got to know Victor
Rivera
her and and he his throughout the phone
conversation his town just gets more
also as well and you know when I asked
when I try to ask him
young general questions about the Union
and like the the contract they have with
my employer he just immediately shuts me
down he's like what does it matter why
do you need to meet with the Union you
have to sign up or you'll lose your job
there's no you know it doesn't matter if
you lock the union it doesn't matter if
you lock our contract with your employer
you have to sign up or you're going to
be fired and I'm just like okay look I
need to talk to someone else we're
getting nowhere because at this point
I'm just like this man is being really
hostile with me he's obviously it I mean
it becomes very clear to me that he's
contacting me the union's only content
to me at this point because they want
money they don't care about doing
anything for me as an employee
they don't care on you know anything
about acting on my behalf ah there it's
like the worst example of a union I've
ever seen and so I just tell them so
look I'm left on someone else I need to
go I'm actually at work right so the
phone call ends ok so after this awful
phone call with Victor Rivera at 11:19
on like a day later I get an email from
someone at Labor Relations which has
nothing to do with the Union it's on you
know their labor relations with my
employer the unit at the University and
he's like he he included in the message
an email from Victor Rivera asking for
me to be terminated because I'd failed
to sign up for a union membership and
and just got liver relations he's very
friendly he's like you know you need to
reach out and talk to someone at the
Union right away and hopefully solve
this problem that's going on and I'm
just very flabbergasted that this
victory very vice president xi on and on
his immediate go-to thing is to have me
fired and I'm like okay isn't the Union
supposed to help keep me from being laid
off and whatever and they're you know
this is my first encounter with eleven
Einon and Victor Rivera's trying to have
me fired even after he admits that it's
not my whole that I haven't
for you know membership because no one
ever contacted me no one ever got me the
paper or no no one ever got me a
contract to even read and so I'm you
know kind of freaking out this one
because I don't want to lose my job but
also don't want to join the Union even
though I know I kind of will probably
have to but I'm like how can I be
excited about giving the Union money on
a monthly basis after paying them a lump
sum ah when they're kind of like going
after me asking that I be fired and so
Austin more messages to the Union and to
the labor relations guy explaining the
situation from my point of view and lo
and behold a day or two after that goes
by and then Friday nah I'm working alone
at the library at the time I was working
circulation and I was I was in the
process of getting ready to close and
this large really large hefty man very
jolly just a big man much larger than me
come stomping in and I see a shirt it's
like he's wearing a purple shirt shirt
that has like the Union 1199 SEIU and so
I'm like okay and I just know right away
I have a bad feeling that this is Victor
Rivera and I'm like well was he stomping
in the library and so he comes up to the
desk he's like you I got to talk to you
right now you're Cameron aren't you and
and I'm like well yeah you know I'm kind
of working right now he's like I just
need ten minutes I need I need you to
come with me for ten minutes and we got
a we got to figure this out right now
and I'm just like I can't come with you
anywhere I look around I'm the only
person working you know this is I'm like
you should have called you should you
know if you want to come during the day
or you know another time with their
other employees here my supervisor he
knows all about this this issue that I'm
having with the Union and he'll be more
than happy to you know allow me Tom to
meet with you at an appropriate you know
time when there's other people around
and so he's Victor I mean he's not
friendly from the very GetGo he's he's
very hostile and he's like I came all
the way from my office in Midtown to
confront you and now
his word I remember he said to confront
you not a lot discuss you know union
membership with you there's nothing
friendly about this and he's like and
you're gonna talk to me and and I'm at
first I'm like well okay you can talk
bah you know I have to work closing in
like 15 minutes so I have to start you
know shutting down the cash register
putting books away taking care of
last-minute things with the students and
and then like as I think about it as
he's just sitting there kind of like
it's almost like steam is coming out of
his ears this I mean he's like huffing
he's so mad I don't know if he's mad
because he came all the way up from his
office in Midtown or he just doesn't
like me for whatever reason because I'm
making a small part of his job difficult
bah anyway he he just continues sitting
there and I'm like look you know I think
you're gonna you you're just gonna have
to go and I can like make an appointment
you can make an appointment we can talk
but right now this is just not there
calm Oh and he doesn't like that he just
goes off on me and he's like pointing
and like there's literally like spittle
coming out of his mouth
as he and he's like talking very loud
and it gets the point where he's yelling
he's like you know you need to just sign
this paperwork now if you want to keep
your job you're gonna be fired if you
don't take care of this right now I'm
here what are you gonna do and I'm just
like look you got to leave this is
getting out of hand and I mean I
maintain my composure I'm not like
yelling because I'm like this is a
library this is where I work this is
becoming embarrassing because students
are around and they're kind of looking
and there were some students sitting
nearby and like as Victor like started
talking and yelling louder and louder
these students get up and leave and I'm
like gee thanks for helping me out
but uh and I you know at this point I've
asked him to leave three or four Tom so
I'm like you got to go I have to
actually do my job close the library and
you're you know you're causing a scene
and he's you know telling me you're
gonna lose your job he just won't drop
it at all and uh and so I'm like look uh
I'm gonna have to call security if you
don't leave and he's like okay fun do
whatever you want he's not going anyway
he's like leaning over the counter he's
and he's like whoa and oh at one point
he told me he's like well I can wait for
you outside
I'll be outside and you get out of work
and I just am like I started feeling
like you know I was in gambling debt and
the loan sharks have sent the the bully
with his baseball bat to like break my
legs I mean that's what I mean no joke
at all about to make lot of it because
it was a very serious situation I
thought any moment he was going to like
reach over and start trying to punch me
I mean he was huge hugely like upset and
frustrated and you know very hostile and
just his whole demeanor was very
threatening and I honestly thought he
was going to hit me and when he starts
saying that he was going to wait for me
outside I was like this I can't do this
so I you know I call security and I'm
like I've asked this man to leave quite
a few times now he needs to be escorted
out and so Victor Rivera he starts like
arguing with a security guard that he
has every right to be there and you know
he's trying to do his job and that you
know I'm gonna be fired if I don't deal
with him and he starts telling those
security guards that I haven't paid my
membership dues and I'm gonna lose my
job and and she's just like the security
guard was great she's uh just telling
him like look he's the only library
employee here he's sort of in charge of
things he's actually I don't care why
you're here you need to go and so after
a lot of back and forth he's arguing
with her the whole tom uh he does leave
with her because I think he realizes at
this point if she has to call backup
he's gonna be in serious trouble and so
he does leave and I'm just like I'm
freaking out because I'm like I can't
believe this just happened like a
victory bear of $11.99 my real first
encounter with this union that supposed
to be a part of has come and look
threatened to that I'm going to be fired
and you know and is yelling at me and
telling me that I have to deal with him
right now whether I like it or not and I
was very shaken by the whole thing
all right I'm going to pause here this
is part one of my my
awful story of my dealings with 1199
SEIU and I'll tell you how this all was
rectified in my next post
