In my industry, the earlier you can start in the day the better. As in if I am able to start at 2am or 3am, it shaves off a couple hours off my day, or gives me time to do things I normally wouldn't be able to accomplish.
Every day of the week is different from the other, as in Mondays projects are different than Tuesdays, and those are different than Wednesdays, but all Mondays projects are the same every Monday, and all Tuesdays are the same. I mention this, because for that reason, almost all Mondays I could expect to get off at a somewhat similar time, and Tuesdays, etc. Some days could be very short, and others long, but it was consistent.
Recently we had some higher ups make a decision on the spot that completely altered everyone's life in my position and the way things have been done for decades. They said “from now on, everyone has to start at 6 and work til at least 3.”
Starting later makes things much more difficult. On short days it wouldn't be a big deal, as the projects are still manageable. Longer days I'm still figuring out. However, then there's the “must work til 3pm.”
We are union, and guaranteed 40 hours a week. While some days are shorter, almost everyone has perfected their week to be at between 39 and 40 hours. There is a strict rule in place by the company of no overtime.
So, with the new alteration, that means Mondays for instance, still need to be close to a 5 hour day (whereas Tuesday is usually 12 hours). So in order to make that happen, I work from 6-10:30, am encouraged to clock out for four hours, then clock back in for 30 minutes, when normally I'd be done at 11.
The time management has been a struggle, but as I'm in a location an hour away from home, it makes little sense to travel home, do something for a couple hours, drive back, clock in, then drive back home. Not to mention losing a significant amount in gas.
I'm mostly just venting, but also curious the legality of this. I work for a large corporation, so I imagine it is, but the ethical stance of “work 5 hours, then hang out in this podunk town for a few hours, then clock back in and do a little more work to satisfy corporate” rubs me the wrong way. The days that are longer, instead of longer breaks being the issue, it's trying to work in a much more difficult environment to accomplish all my tasks in a time frame similar to before the “6am earliest start time” rule.
I'm grateful to be in a union, but feel causing a stir puts a target on your back the union can't protect for a multitude of reasons.