I was fortunate enough to get a job at a company that already has a union, which sounded great, but after working there, the union doesn't seem to help with much.
I was initially told that our store had a union steward, but there's no information available about who they might be or how to contact them.
The union office seems really understaffed, it's only open two days a week for limited hours, and many of my coworkers are working during those times, and thus can't visit the office to access any resources.
I had expected to recieve some kind of paperwork with more information about the union, like a welcome packet or something? But I never got one.
Supposedly, the union rep visits the store occasionally, but I've never met him, and he doesn't announce visits in advance, because I would be willing to stop by on my day off to talk to him if I knew he'd be there. One time he came during my department's lunch break, and several of us would have been willing to stay and eat lunch on site but we didn't find out he'd been there until he was already gone.
Overall, I'm not really sure what the union is actually doing for me, or how to utilize its power to continue to improve working conditions.
This is my first union job, so I guess I don't really know where to start. Can anyone with more experience point me in the right direction? Thanks!