Dilemma at Work

Oh boy, here goes nothing!

I sort of work for the guberment of Alberta (yay) doing neat things as a research technologist in developing analyzers for oil field companies.

Anywho, about once a month I go up to Fort Mac. The schedule is supposed to be as follows:

First Day

1. 6:45am - Board Plane
2. ~8:30am - Land in Fort Mac
3. 9:30am - Arrive at Syncrude
4. 12:00pm - Lunch
5. ~5:00pm - Be packed up, in car, on way to hotel
6. ~6:00pm - Arrive at hotel, eat, drink, be merry

Second Day

1. 7:20 - Leave hotel
2. ~8:00 - Arrive at Syncrude
3. 12:00pm - Lunch
4. ~5:00pm - Be packed up, in car, on way to hotel
5. ~6:00pm - Arrive at hotel, eat, drink, be merry

Repeat this schedule until the day we leave (usually the 3rd day) with our flight leaving at 7:00pm from the airport that evening.

Ok, now that is fine and dandy, right? Well that is not really the way my schedule ends up happening, and its due to a "more senior" employee. Schedule ends up going like this:

First Day

1. 6:45am - Board Plane
2. ~8:30am - Land in Fort Mac
3. 9:30am - Arrive at Syncrude
4. 12:00pm - Lunch
5. ~7:30pm - Leave plant site as late as possible while busting ass all day (work permits are not allowed past 7:30pm)
6. 9:00pm - Arrive back at hotel bagged and starving

Second Day

1. 7:20am - Leave hotel
2. ~8:00am - Arrive at Syncrude
3. 12:00pm - Lunch
4. ~7:30pm - Leave plant as late as possible while busting ass all day (work permits are not allowed past 7:30pm)
5. 9:00pm - Arrive back at hotel bagged and starving

Since we worked so much OT and have everything done, usually we get to rebook our flights to the morning of the 3rd day and get back to Edmonton.

Now, this is all hunkey dorey with me. I get lots of OT, and while I may be a puss-bag I can't complain about working hard all day.

The issue that comes up is that technically I don't really get to write my own hours. "Senior" position (who isn't my boss, and he is not really my supervisor either, I am essentially helping him with said project along with a fellow co-worker) writes us up for 11 to 12 hour days. That is what I have a problem with. I am under the impression that we can get overtime, but being paid ALL of our overtime might push the boundaries. So instead of getting my 13+ hours of OT, I get a bit taken off.

So what do I do? "Senior" co-worker wants the overtime. The project is his baby, and I am never against somebody busting ass and earning overtime. But when I do not get paid for OT that I've worked so somebody else can pad their pockets, that kind of bugs me. Also, while the environment I work in is fairly flexible, that additional day I'm back at work usually leaves me with little to do, which doesn't obviously look good. The reason we schedule 3 days up north is so we can get all the work done.

On top of all of this, my co-worker (great guy, relatively hard worker, very patient with me as I'm the new guy) has been disgruntled about this for some time. "Senior" employee is very controlling/micromanaging, and its hard to just tell him when certain things won't fly. I'd hate to see my co-worker quit. And I don't like working at a job where I don't get paid for the hours I'm supposed to (because once that starts, it snowballs, been there, done that).

So I'm in a bit of a pickle. I've come to the conclusion that I need to see the contract we have with Syncrude and what we get paid for. I am a unionized employee, so there are certain obligations that have to be met. I just want to know if I am getting my fair share. If the OT is a bit of a grey area and "senior" worker (and myself and my co-worker) get more money out of it, its a pretty good deal. But if I'm working hours I don't get paid for, then why wouldn't I work the three days we have scheduled? The OT actually costs the company MORE money, as the amount of time we spend working is the same, just its compacted into fewer days.

This would be even less of an issue/non-issue if I was paid more. But they basically are paying me the minimum for someone with my education. And this OT adds up, as I am in Fort Mac at least once a month. It basically means I lose a couple grand net per year, that is a lot of money for somebody with student loans.

Edit- I should also state that this is the lowest amount of money I've been paid in ~5 years (even directly out of high school, hell, while I was in high school). For plenty of that time, I have had things like benefits and the like. This isn't an issue that I'd quit the job over, and I can see myself being here a long time (it tends to happen). But I personally feel that if I can get a solid answer besides "just because", I'll feel a lot better about it. I mentioned to the senior employee today that the hours seemed odd that we were getting, and that I had no idea how it works because I've never worked specifically in this industry before. I got the "just because" answer then. 'Tis making me a little worried, as I just want to be able to work at a meaningful job. But I've found that if you aren't a little bit of a squeaky wheel, instead of grease you're just going to get E36 M3 on.

Gah, hopefully this doesn't come off as bitching/whining.

Unionized? And wondering about the EARNED by the way OT? Where's the Shop Steward? Or is he in on it? Sounds to me as though you have a grievance.

I say, Go to your supervisor and ask about the timecards you've turned in...you want to check them for 'inaccuracies'...and then change the time showed to reflect reality. Do this in the presence of the Super, and payroll too if you can.

If you don't nip this now, there'll be no stopping the 'Senior Employee' from foisting his will on the whole show. 'Just because' cannot be allowed to fly.

And you could just do what the schedule says you will. In that order, and for that duration. Convince Senior that 'it's worth trying, just to see if it'll work'. Who knows? Maybe the supervisor of this little show is waiting for somebody to stand up to the Senior.

Just my tuppence; YMMV, as 'they' say.

In reply to HiTempguy:

I'd discuss this with your "senior employee' and find out what is going on.. Make sure you let him/her know that you won't take "just because" as an answer. What might be happening is that Syncrude is being billed at a flat rate for 3 days at 8 hours and you can't put in more than that number of hours on your time sheet- hence only getting the 2x12 hour days, even though you're working more. However, if you're getting 8 of those hours at overtime pay, you're coming out ahead.

If your overtime kicks in if you work more than 8 hours a day, you might have your answer. If it kicks in if you work more than 40 hours per week, maybe not.

Does this make sense?