macy's is forcing employees to work extra hours for season

Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 299

what's up with that ? with all the associates whose hours got cut and would LOVE to pick up extra hours, why are they practically forcing others to work more hours than they want to? this is happening in our store and it's not cool with me.

i casually saw a flyer near a register one day stating because YOU COUNT, and it was just like that, in capital letters, YOU COUNT, they'd love/need for us experienced/knowledgeable associates to pick up extra hours for the season and upcoming holiday. (what, LABOR DAY ? christmas is upcoming? there are like at least 6 major holidays before THAT ONE !!)

it said to think about it, as your manager would be coming around in the coming weeks with a signup sheet. during 2 weeks before xmas ( i think those are the weeks), people can work 50 hr or MORE if they want.

then i hear that the sched. mgr says she is asking ALL ON CALL associates to work at least 18 hrs a week !! i know for a fact 2 on call ladies who only work MAYBE one day a week. no way, NO WAY they are gonna want to work 3 days a week steadily till xmas !! NO WAY !!! they want a firm commitment to pick up extra hours for the holidays.

i am NOT on call but do not wish to work any more than i am now. and i don't feel it's right to ask me to commit to more hours. she said she has to know by next wednesday. WTF ???

anyone else hear about this? can they do that?

is this on the up and up, MLB or Frankone ??? or Burger??
is this mandatory or does it go by store needs?

i understand, i truly do about filling hours. hey, PINHEADS, why not try hiring more newbies at say, i dunno, more than minimum wage to fill hours instead of ragging on the great associates you have already?

i have never seen a company (other than MAYCO) make a job more unsettling. as soon as you get in a rhythm, BANG !! they HAVE to change the schedule on you, move you around, add hours, cut hours, whatever. just for the sake of change. i'm getting really fed up with macy's. i really am.

sorry for the rant, kids. Embarassed

Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 49

Norma,
Yes, it's called Associate Extended Canvassing and it runs 12/14-12/27......and it is not mandatory....unless you are an oncall....just like you said, the oncalls have to work 18 hrs. in each of these 2 weeks. Also, everyone, including oncalls, has to work 10 hours on 12/20 (Sat ODS before Christmas). It is a horrible program for oncalls....last year was the first year they did it for them and it was only 12 hrs/week and it was a disaster, as most of them can't do it as they have other FT jobs. It has been directed that any oncall not agreeing to it should be off-rolled (terminated)...this has been approved by Central HR.
Macy's had had this program for 4 or 5 years now, it's nothing new...one big change this year (besides the oncall thing) is that there is less incentive to do it...last year they paid double time over a certain am't of hrs....this year that's gone, you will only get time + 1/2 over 40 hrs/week.
I don't think it's a bad thing for associates, since it's optional...we have many, many work work up to 70 hrs/week....we had PT'ers last year work 40-50 hrs!!...but I think it's terrible if you are an oncall.

Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 296

I was in my old store over Labor Day, because a former co-worker had a stroke, and is in the hospital. When I was visiting the store, the manager was worried about how to fill her hours, since my friend will probably not return to the store. I told the manager, in front of some associates, that I could fill them, since I wasn't doing anything. The manager said, "Oh no". So, they can up others' hours but not bring back a qualified party.

Joined: 14 Jan 2008 Posts: 299

MANDATORY 10 HOUR DAY ON 12/20 ?? I DON'T THINK SO.
oh, i will be on the phone so fast to the Labor Dept. it isn't funny. that is a promise, not idle chatter. i don't think think they can force us to do that...especially if we are Part Time. At least in New York State. I will check that out for sure.

it's funny how this info seeps out into the store....rather than getting it given to us on paper. now that they have stopped giving us Direct Depositers a paper receipt of our paystubs, they have no way of attatching that info to it to get the info to us. morning rally sheet? super, cept that 75% of your employees are not scheduled then....part time...nite part time...flyers....on calls.....must i go on ???

but as for making part time day associates work more than their schedule? they keep saying 20 hrs is the MINIMUM....but the handbook said 12 hours is the minimum. what's the story?

thanks for the info as always, FRANKONE !!! norma rae Thumbs Up

Joined: 12 Dec 2007 Posts: 394

Mandatory 10 hours on the ODS Saturday the 20th?? I DON'T THINK SO EITHER! How about they don't have the ridiculous extended hours they will probably have from 6am till 1am?? Maybe if we had regular hours when customers actually shop, we would have enough employees to wait on them. Instead of people working at midnight when no one is in the store!!!! Or how about everyone is scheduled 10 hours on that ODS and we all call in SICK!!
Our on call employees are mostly people who have other jobs. Mature, hard working employees. Let's piss them off so they quit!
I'm with you Normarae. I am really getting sick of this company.
In some states you have to pay time and a half for over 8 hours in a day. So what is happening in those stores. I'd also like to know what is happening in the unionized stores.

Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 856 Location: ole wrap stand

I choose not to work their over time..with me taking the bus..its not good.. Doh!

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:55 pm Post subject:

Sounds like Black Friday -

Lowe's told me when I asked off the night of black Friday to attend The Lion King on Broadway that I would work it or I would be fired on the spot. I told them I would call in sick and they couldn't do anything to me.

They finally fixed the schedule for me to come in at 5:45 AM on that morning. It is the ONLY day of the year that MANDATORY attendance is required I was told and that even associates who are "off" because of school or maternity leave were required to work it.

That morning we were busy - but I stood around just as much as I worked. Sad to say that we did less on that day than most Fridays. Serves them right.

Joined: 15 Apr 2008 Posts: 49

Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 296

I don't think there is a Macy's store at Wilmington. There would have been, when Macy's took over Hecht's, but then they sold that store to Belk as a trade off to get another store in Memphis as exchange. You can transfer to another Macy's store, but it depends on if there is a job to transfer to. In my case, I was told I could transfer from my store to one in another city, but when I got here, the new store said that there was nothing here, and HR in my old store did nothing to process the paperwork, so I was screwed.

Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 296

Sorry, I just had a senior moment. I thought I was replying to the girl who wanted to know about transfering to another store.

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:32 am Post subject:

Someone told me that you couldn't transfer unless the store was fifty miles away from your home location. Is this true?

Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:41 am Post subject:

At Lowe's you could transfer if you knocked up a manager. True Story.

Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 172

DISCLAIMER: My perspective is from a union store. From what I know, associates are not to be forced to work those crazy hours for the CHRISTmas season (try to get me to say that stupid h-word. Let the h-word die for my sins, and then I'll say it.) Executives on the other hand are paid by salary rate, meaning they are paid the same rate whether they work five hours in a week or ninety hours in a week. I have particularly seen this during inventory time, when some of the managers have spent more than twenty-four hours forcibly (I left after the first twenty, and received my lovely overtime by then.) The upside for them working extra hours is that they eventually receive it back in the form of comp days. Going back to the union perspective, if your store is a union store, remember that there is no such thing as mandatory overtime. One of the managers tried forcing this on CHRISTmas eve as an attempt to have the floor recovered.

Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 2:22 am Post subject:

When I worked at the hotel they told me I would have to work on Christmas day. I told them it wasn't happening and they couldn't do a thing about it. If they thought I was working Christmas, then I could already tell them I would have a touch of Hungarian SARS Avian Bird Flu with Pneumonia and Anthrax lesions. You know the 24 hour kind. They could schedule me all they wanted, it wasn't going to happen. Not in a million years.

Posted: Sun Sep 07, 2008 9:15 pm Post subject:

Wait Macy's has a union store? I thought corporate did away with that and could run the company they see fit?

Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 172

Well, sorta like that. We've had a union for some time. Sadly, some of them are being paid or something to be flacid, which explains why our union is so weak. From what I was told, the union was much stronger years ago. Interestingly, this was during the RH Macy period, where the company was family oriented. There are several stores in the New York City area that are union-based. Among the ones to my knowledge are Herald Square, Bloomingdales, Parkchester, and at least two or three other stores in the Brooklyn and Queens.

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:30 pm Post subject:

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:32 pm Post subject:

I have also heard that you must transfer at least 50 miles.

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:34 pm Post subject:

Back to the topic...I am already being forced to work too many hours! I worked my butt off last week, and now I am getting 35 hours again this week. I am PT! When I told my manager that I don't want so many hours, he said that they NEED me!

Joined: 20 Jan 2008 Posts: 296

You must feel so special.

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject:

For She's a Jolly Good Fellow, For She's a Jolly Good Fellow, For She's a jolly fellow, that no body can deny. That no body no can deny, for she's a jolly good fellow for she's a jolly good fellow, for she's a jolly good fellow that Macy's loves her so!

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject:

I don't feel very special...or like Macy's "loves" me....
but I AM happy to finally have a day off!!!
FOM, what did you do for your BD?

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:25 pm Post subject:

On my birthday I went to work and ten went to a super boring meeting about testing. My aunt took me later to The Outback Steakhouse, though.

My mum took me to Nashville to eat at The Cheesecake Factory the weekend before and to do some shopping at Macy's.

Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 11:51 pm Post subject:

Glad you had a good bd. I know how much you love the Cheesecake Factory!
I hate boring meetings. That's one good thing about working at Macy's...no meetings! Unless you count the morning meeting, but I don't listen to that, and then it's over b/c there are so few associates and we need to rush out and open those registers before the pesky customers start rushing in.
When I was in cosmetics, we used to go to meetings, but they were good b/c we got good food and lots of free stuff.

Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:09 am Post subject:

What's more fun than a test? A meeting about how to give it.

It was a good birthday all in all.

	Forum Index -> Macy's	All times are GMT Goto page 1, 2 Next
Page 1 of 2