So a little background. I am a mechanic/operator for a CNC company on Michigan. I have been very loyal to the company for about 5 years now and I give them everything I can offer.
Back in March of 2020 we shit down our facility due to lock downs and such. We were out for about 8 weeks. Then we started getting call backs to return to work. Half of us were called to continue, the other half of 30 was not. We were not anticipating the exponential amount of work we had dispute the circumstances. Quickly we fell behind and back couldn't keep up with demand. They refunded to bring back the old employees that continued to be laid off because they were “toxic.”
Quickly the people that worked became burnt out because we were working 60 hour days. Our floor supervisors fought and fought upper management to let us have weekends off and cool down but they refused. Shortly after our team leads were fired because they probably pushed back against management, and replaced with “yes men.” Meaning that upper management has total control of production without having the slightest clue what it really takes for a quality machine to leave the floor.
As of recently we have an massive supply chain issues and they still continue to work is threw weekends without ever finishing a single machine and moving it aside to keep production afloat.
We have recently implemented a point system that if you are tardy or call in you gain points. This losing bonuses or suspension without pay.
All of this isn't such a big deal because this is how most factory's work. But as of the past two weeks every single employee that's on the shop floor turning wrenches has been denied PTO BECAUSE. “We gotta do what we gotta do to get machines out the door.” That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Why even give people PTO at that point. One person requested 5 days off to see family and he was denied because he's our master electrician and he is “too valuable to let go for a week.”
Is there something I could possibly say or do with the sonority guys on the floor like I that could mitigate or help this situation? Because the way I see it, this is the number one way for employees to quit and look elsewhere.