March 10, 2006 at 12:00 AM
Around the country Jazz Tech CAW members have refused to follow the company’s directive to swipe into Kronos. Our members do not want to punch a clock and the CAW is opposed to the idea as well. The Bargaining Committee has been honest with the membership that there is no legal way to stop swiping. Employers have the legal right to introduce punch clocks – and Kronos is an electronic punch clock.
The CAW Bargaining Committee, following a conference call with the District Chairs and Vice-President, met with the Company this week to address the issues brought forward by the district chairs that are fuelling our members’ anger and frustration. We also reviewed the previous commitments made by the employer in a letter dated February 14, 2005 and found that while the company failed to meet deadlines and some provisions were changed, they have lived up to the intent of the agreement.
The CAW had commitments that were to be met before Jazz initiated swiping. There have been numerous bulletins from the union on this issue. As we could not stop the implementation of Kronos, the Bargaining Committee focused on getting commitments from the company concerning the information that would be printed on the pay stub while at the same time negotiating protections for our members.
The Bargaining Committee approved the format of the pay stub but once implemented found that there were problems with the accuracy of the information. As far as we can determine, the information in Kronos is accurate. However, the problems occur when the information is transferred to Ceridian resulting in inaccurate and confusing information on the pay stub. To correct this, commencing with the March 25th pay period members will receive an individual time bank statement from Kronos that is functionally easier to understand than the pay stub information.
Members have expressed concerns about the further use of Kronos for swiping job tasks. In the future an electronic system, Trax, will replace RCMS. However, it will not be used to measure the individual performance of members. We have written commitments from the company that the Trax system will replace the current paper system of recording man hours required to complete tasks. This merely replaces the manual system with an electronic input system. Should the Company change the application of Trax they must first bargain the issue with the union. If we fail to reach an agreement it will be resolved by an arbitrator.
The Bargaining Committee was able to address the issues raised by the District Chairs and copies of the correspondence from the employer covering these items will be posted in the workplace. We understand that collectively we do not like the system, Kronos. There is no legal way to stop its implementation. Any further issues need to be dealt with through the grievance procedure.
If you have any further questions, please contact your Bargaining Committee representative.
In Solidarity
Anne Davidson, CAW Area Director
Tim Way, CAW Bargaining Chair, Atlantic Region
Renaud Parent, CAW Bargaining, Eastern Region
John Murawesky, CAW Bargaining, Pacific Region
Peter Brown, CAW Bargaining, Western Region
Ian Waite, CAW Bargaining, Central Region
Tracey Read, CAW Bargaining, Tech 2
For more information:
Anne Davidson, CAW Area Director