Stewards Corner: How We Won Our Co-Worker Her Rightful Promotion
Management denied a promotion in violation of the contract, which mandates seniority-based internal hiring. Co-workers mobilized and won. Photo: UE Local 255
Workers at Hunger Mountain Co-op, a consumer-owned grocery store in Montpelier, Vermont, won a five-month fight to enforce seniority, beat back bias, and win a promotion for a beloved co-worker. We did it not just by filing a grievance, but also by mobilizing union members and the public.
The fight began last December when Genesis Van Dyke applied for a production cook position in the prepared foods department. Van Dyke had been working at the co-op full-time for seven years, was fully qualified and valued by her co-workers—and was the only applicant for the job.
But members of our union, United Electrical Workers Local 255, sensed that management was likely to deny her the position, because she had been passed over before and because management seemed biased against her.
So we began organizing even before the denial happened. Union officers, stewards, and activists in the department asked the manager about the position. Co-workers filled an “appreciations” white board in the break room with messages supporting Genesis.
EARS TO THE GROUND
Sure enough, management denied Genesis the promotion, in blatant violation of our contract, which mandates seniority-based internal hiring.
Right away, the stewards team organized a petition campaign demanding that they reverse the decision. Within two days, workers gathered 89 signatures from practically every worker who was on site at the time.
Eight people presented the petition to our general manager, and about 20 people packed the next staff meeting to demand an answer. We didn’t get one.
Instead, the union learned that management had reposted the position and quickly offered it to a new worker who had joined the bargaining unit just days earlier. Management did not fully inform the newbie about the dispute over Genesis’s promotion.
Local 255 stewards had our ears to the ground. We found out about the hire immediately and met with the person. Once he understood the situation, he was on board with the campaign. He felt that management had used and betrayed him.
ESCALATING CAMPAIGN
In January, the union filed a grievance over management’s actions. We also planned a pressure campaign that included a series of escalating actions over the following five months.
Members got involved. Many wore “Hire Genesis” buttons at work, and nearly everyone signed the petition. Members also educated and agitated in the community and on social media.
We stood vigil outside the Step 2 grievance meeting, holding signs supporting Genesis. We carried protest signs in the Hunger Mountain Co-op parking lot and collected signatures from customers. In April, about a dozen union members marched on the general manager during a community meet-and-greet in the store.
In early May, backed into a corner by the clarity of the demand and the solidarity of the membership, management offered Genesis the production cook position. They also agreed to provide back pay for the time she would have held the position, and acceded to several other requested remedies.
While on the surface this fight seemed to revolve around a single person, members saw that this injury to Genesis was a threat to us all, and acted accordingly. We protected the integrity of our contract, strengthened our relationships and resolve, and built confidence in our own power so that we’re ready for the next struggle.
Bevin Barber-Campbell and Tim Rousseau are shop members in Local 255,
