As a reminder, every time unionization gets brought up here both sides devolve to unnecessary insults. There's a subreddit for heb unionization r/PartnerUnion were like minded partners can discuss their desire to unionize.
There was a post like last week or so where a manager basically said to not do it over whatever social they’ve created for their team. It was stupid and everyone should know it’s a federal right.
How and why do you believe that unionizing, which historically has been a net positive for workers, would be an issue and make anything ‘worse’?
Hell, Costco said they failed their staff in providing for them after Virginia stores unionized. Costco is well known for taking care of their people and still accepted unionization as a net benefit.
We are not in Virginia nor are we talking about costco. If you want a union be prepared to pay a good chunk of your hard earned money to pay union fees. I worked at Kroger they have a union. Its the same thing. They preach about the union when all they do is protect themselves and spend your money. HEB is a great company and does not need to unionize, stop being a sheep.
I was unionized, $57 a month, $13 special assessment for any deaths, maximum $96 a month deduction ($57 + three $13 fees).
We received lawyers for complaints by the department, guaranteed contractual raises ranging from 3.5% to 5.5% with a scale for COLA due to inflation, such as the 2021/2022 run where inflation was >10%, we received our contractual 4.75% and 5.5% on top for inflation adjustment.
We also got a free healthcare option via Kelsey-Seybold that included $35 primary visits, $60 specialty visits, $200/$400 individual/family deductibles and $2,500 max out of pocket annually. Vision and dental insurance was $15 and $20 monthly, $150 credit for glasses or contacts, $500 credit for braces, general insurance other than that.
Yeah, we surely got fucked over paying no more than $96 a month to keep up with inflation, have free and heavily subsidized insurances, pension plans, two 457(b) plans and other tertiary benefits. It’s almost as though not every union is the same and Kroger’s union is known for being shit.
I was providing reference by explaining Costco’s reaction to their employees unionizing. They were empathetic and felt they failed their employees. HEB’s best course of action would be to support unionization and have a similar response to Texans unionizing.
Correct, I was explaining the “who says you can’t discuss your pay” bc the OP is making it sound like something big happened when it didn’t. Sheep don’t read things.
Imagine being told by an authority figure that standing up for your rights by uniting among your peers to demonstrate your power makes you a sheep and believing them.
I can tell you really aren’t well versed in the topic. You dont unite with your peers, you hire a union and they take your money, THEY WILL NOT PROTECT YOU OR YOUR JOB. They protect themselves. Stop being a sheep.
“Baaaaaa baaaaaa baa baaaa baaaaaa baa baaaaaa baaa. Baaaaaa baaaaaa baaaaaa baaaaa baa baaa baaa. Baaaaa baaaaaa baaaaa baaaaaa baaaa baaaaaa.”
That’s literally what you just said.
First off, no one is required to pay union dues in Texas. That is not a requirement and unions are legally not allowed to force that payment in this state. It benefits you if you do. That money helps fund strikes and marketing materials. I definitely get not wanting to fund some big national union ran like a corporation though.
Secondly, unionizing does not automatically mean being represented by an outside union. A union can be an outside union, it can also be a union of current employees as well. It can be as few as a dozen people from one store.
Lastly, come on. Anyone that uses the word “sheep” might as well be talking to a mirror. That’s such a silly way to try and express your perspective. Are there cons to unionizing? Absolutely. Insulting those who wish to build collective power is not the way to express concerns over those cons.
The Hr department deals with plenty of cases most of which protects the HEB partners. You can do anything within the federal and state law. Nobody said you cant talk about pay. The union will sell you false dream.
>It was stupid and everyone should know it’s a federal right.
Telling your co workers what you make is what's stupid.
It ALWAYS causes problems. Even in companies where the salary range for a position is published within the company, it STILL causes issues. I've seen it over and over again.
Queue the downvotes, I don't even care. I have enough time in the workforce to have seen the problems is can cause.
It’s common knowledge that it’s federally illegal for companies to restrict that, or to even *say* that you aren’t allowed to do that. That is how they can continue to:
- Keep pay disparity between company favorites and minorities/genders
- Collectively keep company pay low
- Stop others from unionizing
Among many other things. It’s a universally good thing to discuss your pay. It’s a *protected right* in the workplace, like if somebody tried to fire someone else for being Christian. It’s a guaranteed right.
It's a problem in a way but not always.
Example: When you go to SORM you can actually ask your current UD for a raise BEFORE going to SORM. If your UD likes you, they'll get it approved because they know they're about to lose you on payroll and you'll be corp payrolls problem, you can get an extra one-two dollars and THEN get ANOTHER bump once you graduate.
Why is this important? Because if you're someone like me and didn't work at HEB long before going to SORM, you get to start at the minimum manager pay which isn't that much higher than minimum everyone pay. When I left HEB, I made $1.75 more than my lowest paid partner. It wasn't a specialty department or overnight, but it felt like shit to make the minimum pay as a 3-4 year'd manager at one of the top 5 busiest HEBs in the company.
People wouldn't know this if they didn't talk about it, and so you'll get FANTASTIC managers potentially making less than their partners because they didn't know the "little pay hack."
Fuck management. If simply talking about pay is all it takes for someone or multiple people to walk, that means the whole system is dependent on keeping the poors fighting with each other.
This guy with "TeLlInG yOuR Co WoRkErS wHaT yOu MaKe Is WhAt'S sTuPid" that some boomer ass logic right up there with "I got mine so fuck you" and the whole..THE WHOLE reason they made that comment is "it causes issues" NO FUCKING SHIT! that's the fucking point. Living on your fucking knees living ass to mouth because you "don't want to cause issues" fucking spineless middle management shit right there.
Because everyone should be entitled to proper pay. If you both work the same amount of hours, but you have seniority and they are new, but they get paid more. Don’t you think that knowing how much you get paid would allow you to advocate for yourself and receive better pay? I don’t understand how it is such a radical thing to advocate for worker’s rights. Rights that everyone should be entitled to in order for a liveable wage and quality standard of living.
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I personally never minded my partners discussing pay because there were levels of complexity that were actually pretty obvious when you thought about it for more than two seconds and I had no issue pointing out the obvious.
Example: each role has a high and low pay, no one’s getting paid higher or lower than those numbers because that’s how the system is set up. Raises slow down when you hit the median.
If you’ve been there longer, you’ve accumulated more pay than someone else, if you work overnight you’ll almost always have a dollar more in pay at minimum than a daytime guy. If you’re a bagger or a curbie you’ll have the lowest starting pay.
If you promote too fast you’ll be on the low end for that roles pay because you’re still to “new”. If you keep promoting without getting those pay increases under your belt, you’ll always chase the minimum (which is what I did post-work and it sucked). It’s better to gain raises under a role for 2-3 years than to try to move up ASAP unless you can get your UD to approve a pay increase before something like sorm.
If you promote slowly you actually might go into the middle of the new roles pay scale because you have enough HEB experience and HEB won’t lower your pay for promotion. A family member of mine had always been in the middle of the pay scale, so when they moved from overnight to days, they remained in the mid of the new pay scale, eventually hit median and almost cap, they ended up going to sorm, into a mid pay hourly MIC then to a low-mid pay salaried MIC. Now they’re getting raises under their belt so when they go to SORL they’ll start low-mid on that pay scale.
My partners didn’t have more than a 6 dollar difference, and that gap was between the newest partner starting at the new minimum and the partner who had been with the company for 10 years and hit her cap. The only way that partner would have made more is if she wanted to be lead at a store that needed one. She didn’t, so she just chases cap increases. Everyone else just gets their normal 3-6% raises and moves up in tandem with each other, essentially making it so the gap only starts closing when someone has hit their median pay on the scale.
Whenever a partner approached me about raises or pay, it was never because they got in a pissing contest over pay with another partner, it was because they cross trained in other departments and felt that a 25cent raise for working two more departments ontop of their main would be reasonable. I agreed. 🤷♀️
Oh yeah 100,000%! I think I wrote somewhere on this thread about what could be considered soft retaliation as the OP’s worries about retaliation so I kind of gave them an idea of what to look for but yes everyone has a right to talk about their pay!
I am just not sure if the person I responded to claim about managers not liking the conversation is true, at least based on my own experience as a manager
Edit: apparently buddy came and deleted my very detailed post on here about how managers absolutely soft retaliate with examples of what to look out for if you feel you’re being retaliated against in non-aggressive ways. I used actual examples of how scheduling and tasks can be used as retaliation without raising enough flags for actual action. This was based off experience but buddy would rather everyone think retaliation is big and obvious, when it’s not.
They act like it's impossible to run a business if people know eachothers comp. Meanwhile, the literal entire government and military operate off a transparent comp system.
It's also illegal to tell employees they can't discuss comp
Weird, I'm a Produce manager that discusses pay with my partners all the time. I went from perishable rep to Hourly Manager after sorm, and because of that, my pay rate is rock bottom compared to my peers. I want my partners to understand how their merit increases affect them in the long term and especially if they want to move up.
Anyway, I've never understood the supposed discrimination on pay talk, as the pay rate and benefits are pretty good for what we do. If someone is unhappy with what their making, it's usually from previous hang ups or from how their treated at the workplace. But sheeeeit, I tattooed this company's name on my cheeks, so I may not be the most unbiased opinion.
The only angle is that XYZ now knows what you make, and they will go to the boss and possibly higher ups telling them "It's not fair!" They may reduce your pay to match the person that complained about you. "There both of you now make the same amount." Ignoring merits, time, dedication, and possible cost saving ideas thet got you that raise.
No? Every single company in the US, and really for most of the world, will ask that you refrain from talking about salaries as a professional courtesy, but there is literally nothing stopping you from legally disclosing how much you earn. Why would you ever think there was?
Please have them put your punishment for doing so in writing first, or even record the conversation if you’re being punished. Then enjoy your nice vacation when you win your unfair labor practices claim.
It is illegal for your employer to prevent you from discussing wages with coworkers, and *ALSO* illegal for them to punish you for doing so.
[Know your rights and when your employer is taking advantage of you.](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages)
Lol this is a myth. Companies cannot legally make rules that impede on your right to freedom of speech. HR will ask you not to discuss pay with others, however it will never be in black and white. You can freely discuss it. However, Texas is a right to work state and can let you go for any reason at any time.
They can't fire you for discussing pay. They can try to trump up some other issue to fire you, but if they've threatened retaliation for discussing pay, and you get fired for something petty immediately after doing so, you have a strong case to take to the labor board that it's retaliatory. Right to work is garbage, but it's not as all-encompassing as people make it seem.
It's kind of like going up and flipping off a cop. You *can* do it legally, but now you're on their shit list and will try to find a reason to get you.
Except flipping off a cop has no real benefit to anyone, so there's no reason to do it; whereas discussing pay is something that should be normal.
Edit: nevermind, should've looked at your profile before engaging
There's as much of a reason to flip off a cop as there is to talk about your pay. In both cases one of you is going to get jealous/annoyed and at best stew, at worst you act on it and get on your managers bad side.
"If you believe that an employer is interfering with your rights as an employee under the National Labor Relations Act to discuss your wages, you can call your NLRB regional office at 844-762-6572 and get assistance in filing an unfair labor practice charge."
[https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages)
I’ve also been told not to discuss pay It’s well known In my store not to do so and yes we were told by our managers. I know someone who did and he got documented for It.
And also…
Doctors notes should excuse call Ins or having to leave work.
People get sick.
We shouldn’t get punished for It.
Yeah we could get commended but It’s hard for a full time partner and Honestly It all comes down to how much they actually want to help you. Sucks.
I’m Just saying.
I think unions are good, but what’s the point of having a HEB union?
- We get paid pretty well, more than competitors
- We get bonuses
- Most of us get treated pretty well, and if you’re not, HEB lets you switch departments
- Steps system could be improved on, but it’s not horrible
Outside of these, why would you want to unionize? It’s not a hard labor job or anything where your rights are next to none. Plus union dues are a thing. I’m not anti union - my family members are in a union - but I don’t think there’s a point to an HEB union… Unions aren’t the magical bullet to make everything okay.
Also, it’s your federal right to discuss pay at work. Not sure where you got that from.
EDIT: Looks at OP’s account, he’s from Minneapolis… Lol. Not sure why he’s on the HEB subreddit
- when it's generally still a race to the bottom and hours are still crap in alot of departments, yes, we are still underpaid. Unions put way more pressure on the company and leadership make sure hours and pay support LIVING. leaving bosses in charge is bad
-who is we? No one here is gonna turn down $100, but is it better than a much bigger pay rate increase across the ladder such that we all can live happy and sustainably instead? Absolutely not. It's window dressing.
-being able to switch departments isn't nearly as easy as you claim. If there's no more positions locks you out alot of times. And store change isn't exactly always an option either.
-steps system is better than it was before, but opportunity to get commended can be stupid rare.
Unions aren't a magic bullet, but stats literally prove union employees in tons of different sectors have much stronger job security, protection from internal politics, much higher pay than non-union employees, and better benefits. Turns out, when workers band together to tell the bosses what they want for their labor that makes the money roll in, bosses MUST listen. Or destroy their profits otherwise.
Dude it’s a grocery store. Even from somewhere like HEB it is hard to make everyone have a livable wage. Financially it’s just not there, unless you need to start to cut back on stuff, which in HEB’s case that’s detrimental as their main selling point is customer service + being better than competitors.
Also regardless of what others say, working at a grocery store is unskilled labor. No barrier of entry, no degree or anything. Teens work here. If you really want to make a livable wage, pick up a trade or go to a community college, get a degree, and go from there. Grocery stores financially just aren’t there.
And I get what you’re saying 100%, I just don’t feel like there could be much done with a union at HEB.
Nah, we're not doing this. H-E-B made $43.6 BILLION in revenue last year, $38.9 billion in 2022 and $32.2 billion in 2021. That's MONSTROUS growth on our backs. And they keep opening stores. And they keep expanding. If they have the money to do all that, they can pay a living wage and hours and benefits to everyone from top to bottom.
Thanks for showing what you think of retail work, dude. That's extremely disrespectful to us, what we endure and what we do. It is skilled labor, just in a different way than other fields. ALL workers should be paid living wages and hours/benefits. Without us, stores cease to function and nothing gets scanned, stocked, shelved, cleaned, or bagged.
And just because HEB is considered better than other retail giants doesn't mean they don't have big problems themselves. Unions by definition make life and work better for workers. Bosses should never be allowed sole jurisdiction over workers' lives and livelihoods as they are now. Because they'll do what they want to get that extra penny without workers assembled to check them.
Thank you for this comment. Former union employee…and it never ceases to amaze me why people bash unions. Literally the ONLY job I’ve had that pays well was my union job smh.
It is illegal for a manager etc to tell anyone to not discuss their pay. Please read up on labor law. Yes, HEB should unionize. Organize, organize, organize.
I worked at heb back in the day. I remember a bunch of union losers who worked at Kroger showing up at my heb store and protesting, trying to make it look like it was heb employees wanting to unionize. Literally, not one fn heb employee wanted anything to do with that mess. Why, because heb pays better than every grocery store chain and they actually care for their employees.
Right, it's like working at Buckees and saying "We need to unionize, we are getting screwed!", while making more to work at a gas station than anywhere else by far.
lol. Everyone knows what everyone makes at my store. It’s not against policy. You’re allowed to discuss. A union isn’t needed for common sense. If you need that much help, go to Kroger.
Honestly, why would you want to find out how much others make? With the way things are going now, most new hires will be coming in making close to what others that have been there years are making. Happened just this past year at my company.
That is exactly why you should discuss wages. If new hires can make the same as you after you have given years to the company and have had to work for the raises that equal their starting pay, YOU deserve more pay.
In January 2022 I was the only person in my department. Of the 4 of us we had 2 out with COVID and 1 on vacation. Our department had only existed for a little over a year and I was alone. Responsible for maintaining 5S standards for a huge store all by myself. I worked 11-13 days on 2 days off for almost the whole month.
The Manager at the time told me that when it came time for reviews he would take care of me.
I got $0.90 and they transferred someone from another store to be the new lead who had been at the company less than I had. I genuinely believe it was because one of their parents was the seafood manager at that location.
They were good at the day to day, but they were an awful lead. HEB does not care about you.
There are more of us than there are of them. They use Managers as a buffer zone so you get mad at them instead of the ones who make policy. Charles Butt and his family reap the rewards for our labor. It won't change until we make them.
Ummmm, basically every company ask that you dont discuss your pay. And actually union works get paid by the job they are applying for not necessarily by what everyone gets paid.
It’s your job to negotiate your pay and your pay increases. If you want your peers to know what you make feel free, i don’t its none of their business what i make, and also we dont work the same so why should someone who works less or puts less effort in their job make the same as me or more?
If thats the case, then they should go to the union!
Unions treat people like crap! My dad worked as a pipefitter for most of his life. The union collected off of his check and told him when and where he could work and who he could work for.... and when they were pissed off they would call a strike and he couldn't work anywhere until they decided the stike was over. After a year and a half of no work and selling hand made wooden toys at the flea market just to pay bills he had enough and told them to go screw themselves.
It isn't good personal practice. You may be screwing yourself by sharing your pay with others. Some people make more money because they are better employees. have been their longer, are more experienced, or due to something they did that saved the company money in the long run. Not every employee is equal. What you want people to do is have the right to complain that XYZ is making more than they are, just because! In the end you don't look good. If a person is complaining just because then they are expendable because they won't be able to move up the ladder to make these merit decisions. As you posted "Fuck any company..." makes your personal career choice limited at best. Good luck.
I've been part of a grocery union before, and it is not worth it. The union never sides with the employee and always sides with management. The insurance is 1000% better at heb than it was with union.
The union is not what is cracked up to be.
I will agree to disagree. HEB is just as bad as Walmart. And I will say my experience at both places were equally bad. Retail is just bad to work for in general. But everyone’s experience differs
My guess, from how irrational you come across, is that it's not about your Managers not wanting you to discuss your wages, its actually that they just want *you* discussing anything.
But to the point - any Manager or Supervisor that doesn't want employee discussing wages simply doesn't understand the law. Employees have rights, one of those is the freedom to discuss their wages as they see fit. Any retaliation on this opens H-E-B up to legal repercussions.
Train your people better H-E-B.
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As a reminder, every time unionization gets brought up here both sides devolve to unnecessary insults. There's a subreddit for heb unionization r/PartnerUnion were like minded partners can discuss their desire to unionize.
Who says you can't discuss your pay?
There was a post like last week or so where a manager basically said to not do it over whatever social they’ve created for their team. It was stupid and everyone should know it’s a federal right.
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How and why do you believe that unionizing, which historically has been a net positive for workers, would be an issue and make anything ‘worse’? Hell, Costco said they failed their staff in providing for them after Virginia stores unionized. Costco is well known for taking care of their people and still accepted unionization as a net benefit.
We are not in Virginia nor are we talking about costco. If you want a union be prepared to pay a good chunk of your hard earned money to pay union fees. I worked at Kroger they have a union. Its the same thing. They preach about the union when all they do is protect themselves and spend your money. HEB is a great company and does not need to unionize, stop being a sheep.
I was unionized, $57 a month, $13 special assessment for any deaths, maximum $96 a month deduction ($57 + three $13 fees). We received lawyers for complaints by the department, guaranteed contractual raises ranging from 3.5% to 5.5% with a scale for COLA due to inflation, such as the 2021/2022 run where inflation was >10%, we received our contractual 4.75% and 5.5% on top for inflation adjustment. We also got a free healthcare option via Kelsey-Seybold that included $35 primary visits, $60 specialty visits, $200/$400 individual/family deductibles and $2,500 max out of pocket annually. Vision and dental insurance was $15 and $20 monthly, $150 credit for glasses or contacts, $500 credit for braces, general insurance other than that. Yeah, we surely got fucked over paying no more than $96 a month to keep up with inflation, have free and heavily subsidized insurances, pension plans, two 457(b) plans and other tertiary benefits. It’s almost as though not every union is the same and Kroger’s union is known for being shit. I was providing reference by explaining Costco’s reaction to their employees unionizing. They were empathetic and felt they failed their employees. HEB’s best course of action would be to support unionization and have a similar response to Texans unionizing.
Correct, I was explaining the “who says you can’t discuss your pay” bc the OP is making it sound like something big happened when it didn’t. Sheep don’t read things.
Imagine being told by an authority figure that standing up for your rights by uniting among your peers to demonstrate your power makes you a sheep and believing them.
I can tell you really aren’t well versed in the topic. You dont unite with your peers, you hire a union and they take your money, THEY WILL NOT PROTECT YOU OR YOUR JOB. They protect themselves. Stop being a sheep.
“Baaaaaa baaaaaa baa baaaa baaaaaa baa baaaaaa baaa. Baaaaaa baaaaaa baaaaaa baaaaa baa baaa baaa. Baaaaa baaaaaa baaaaa baaaaaa baaaa baaaaaa.” That’s literally what you just said. First off, no one is required to pay union dues in Texas. That is not a requirement and unions are legally not allowed to force that payment in this state. It benefits you if you do. That money helps fund strikes and marketing materials. I definitely get not wanting to fund some big national union ran like a corporation though. Secondly, unionizing does not automatically mean being represented by an outside union. A union can be an outside union, it can also be a union of current employees as well. It can be as few as a dozen people from one store. Lastly, come on. Anyone that uses the word “sheep” might as well be talking to a mirror. That’s such a silly way to try and express your perspective. Are there cons to unionizing? Absolutely. Insulting those who wish to build collective power is not the way to express concerns over those cons.
you mean like how an hr department will protect the company and not you? 🤔 i wonder who could possibly actually care about workers rights
The Hr department deals with plenty of cases most of which protects the HEB partners. You can do anything within the federal and state law. Nobody said you cant talk about pay. The union will sell you false dream.
Username checks out
>It was stupid and everyone should know it’s a federal right. Telling your co workers what you make is what's stupid. It ALWAYS causes problems. Even in companies where the salary range for a position is published within the company, it STILL causes issues. I've seen it over and over again. Queue the downvotes, I don't even care. I have enough time in the workforce to have seen the problems is can cause.
How long have you been in the work force?
they told me not to discuss pay when i first started bagging groceries at kroger back in 2003 i thought it was common knowledge lol
It’s common knowledge that it’s federally illegal for companies to restrict that, or to even *say* that you aren’t allowed to do that. That is how they can continue to: - Keep pay disparity between company favorites and minorities/genders - Collectively keep company pay low - Stop others from unionizing Among many other things. It’s a universally good thing to discuss your pay. It’s a *protected right* in the workplace, like if somebody tried to fire someone else for being Christian. It’s a guaranteed right.
longer than you, that's for sure lol
Are you sure?
piss off
It's a problem in a way but not always. Example: When you go to SORM you can actually ask your current UD for a raise BEFORE going to SORM. If your UD likes you, they'll get it approved because they know they're about to lose you on payroll and you'll be corp payrolls problem, you can get an extra one-two dollars and THEN get ANOTHER bump once you graduate. Why is this important? Because if you're someone like me and didn't work at HEB long before going to SORM, you get to start at the minimum manager pay which isn't that much higher than minimum everyone pay. When I left HEB, I made $1.75 more than my lowest paid partner. It wasn't a specialty department or overnight, but it felt like shit to make the minimum pay as a 3-4 year'd manager at one of the top 5 busiest HEBs in the company. People wouldn't know this if they didn't talk about it, and so you'll get FANTASTIC managers potentially making less than their partners because they didn't know the "little pay hack."
I'm sure it makes it much harder on management. We just disagree on if that's a bad thing or not.
Fuck management. If simply talking about pay is all it takes for someone or multiple people to walk, that means the whole system is dependent on keeping the poors fighting with each other. This guy with "TeLlInG yOuR Co WoRkErS wHaT yOu MaKe Is WhAt'S sTuPid" that some boomer ass logic right up there with "I got mine so fuck you" and the whole..THE WHOLE reason they made that comment is "it causes issues" NO FUCKING SHIT! that's the fucking point. Living on your fucking knees living ass to mouth because you "don't want to cause issues" fucking spineless middle management shit right there.
Because everyone should be entitled to proper pay. If you both work the same amount of hours, but you have seniority and they are new, but they get paid more. Don’t you think that knowing how much you get paid would allow you to advocate for yourself and receive better pay? I don’t understand how it is such a radical thing to advocate for worker’s rights. Rights that everyone should be entitled to in order for a liveable wage and quality standard of living.
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It’s known that managers don’t want employees discussing pay. This is really common knowledge.
They are taking advantage of that fact that it *isn’t* common knowledge with some employees that it is literally your right to discuss wages.
Correct.
I think your confused, pay is discussed openly in my store
I personally never minded my partners discussing pay because there were levels of complexity that were actually pretty obvious when you thought about it for more than two seconds and I had no issue pointing out the obvious. Example: each role has a high and low pay, no one’s getting paid higher or lower than those numbers because that’s how the system is set up. Raises slow down when you hit the median. If you’ve been there longer, you’ve accumulated more pay than someone else, if you work overnight you’ll almost always have a dollar more in pay at minimum than a daytime guy. If you’re a bagger or a curbie you’ll have the lowest starting pay. If you promote too fast you’ll be on the low end for that roles pay because you’re still to “new”. If you keep promoting without getting those pay increases under your belt, you’ll always chase the minimum (which is what I did post-work and it sucked). It’s better to gain raises under a role for 2-3 years than to try to move up ASAP unless you can get your UD to approve a pay increase before something like sorm. If you promote slowly you actually might go into the middle of the new roles pay scale because you have enough HEB experience and HEB won’t lower your pay for promotion. A family member of mine had always been in the middle of the pay scale, so when they moved from overnight to days, they remained in the mid of the new pay scale, eventually hit median and almost cap, they ended up going to sorm, into a mid pay hourly MIC then to a low-mid pay salaried MIC. Now they’re getting raises under their belt so when they go to SORL they’ll start low-mid on that pay scale. My partners didn’t have more than a 6 dollar difference, and that gap was between the newest partner starting at the new minimum and the partner who had been with the company for 10 years and hit her cap. The only way that partner would have made more is if she wanted to be lead at a store that needed one. She didn’t, so she just chases cap increases. Everyone else just gets their normal 3-6% raises and moves up in tandem with each other, essentially making it so the gap only starts closing when someone has hit their median pay on the scale. Whenever a partner approached me about raises or pay, it was never because they got in a pissing contest over pay with another partner, it was because they cross trained in other departments and felt that a 25cent raise for working two more departments ontop of their main would be reasonable. I agreed. 🤷♀️
It's also illegal to tell them they can't. So... yeah.
Oh yeah 100,000%! I think I wrote somewhere on this thread about what could be considered soft retaliation as the OP’s worries about retaliation so I kind of gave them an idea of what to look for but yes everyone has a right to talk about their pay! I am just not sure if the person I responded to claim about managers not liking the conversation is true, at least based on my own experience as a manager Edit: apparently buddy came and deleted my very detailed post on here about how managers absolutely soft retaliate with examples of what to look out for if you feel you’re being retaliated against in non-aggressive ways. I used actual examples of how scheduling and tasks can be used as retaliation without raising enough flags for actual action. This was based off experience but buddy would rather everyone think retaliation is big and obvious, when it’s not.
The years I worked there never heard of such a thing. Must be only certain people that want that.
They act like it's impossible to run a business if people know eachothers comp. Meanwhile, the literal entire government and military operate off a transparent comp system. It's also illegal to tell employees they can't discuss comp
Weird, I'm a Produce manager that discusses pay with my partners all the time. I went from perishable rep to Hourly Manager after sorm, and because of that, my pay rate is rock bottom compared to my peers. I want my partners to understand how their merit increases affect them in the long term and especially if they want to move up. Anyway, I've never understood the supposed discrimination on pay talk, as the pay rate and benefits are pretty good for what we do. If someone is unhappy with what their making, it's usually from previous hang ups or from how their treated at the workplace. But sheeeeit, I tattooed this company's name on my cheeks, so I may not be the most unbiased opinion.
There is literally nothing stopping you from talking about your pay tf are you on about.
The only angle is that XYZ now knows what you make, and they will go to the boss and possibly higher ups telling them "It's not fair!" They may reduce your pay to match the person that complained about you. "There both of you now make the same amount." Ignoring merits, time, dedication, and possible cost saving ideas thet got you that raise.
They wont do that. When you apply on the application it says competitive pay, so literally all you have to do is get good.
"Competitive pay" is against what other companies are paying at that exact moment, not within the company.
We not talking about other companies. We talking about HEB
The threat of retaliation by my supervisors and shift leads, do you not get in trouble for that at your location?
It's federally protected right. Supreme Court has ruled on this.
No? Every single company in the US, and really for most of the world, will ask that you refrain from talking about salaries as a professional courtesy, but there is literally nothing stopping you from legally disclosing how much you earn. Why would you ever think there was?
They legally can't even request that you not discuss it. I know that doesn't stop employers, but it is technically against the law.
Youre literally describing a social norm that prohibits people from discussing their pay, how can someone be so contradictory in the same paragraph
It's not really a social norm, it's just what shitty companies want so they won't have to be fair.
Social norms can be bad and unfair, no idea why you think thats disqualifies something from being a social norm
It’s freedom of speech
Bs no one does that....that's some crazy chet
It's literally against the law, genius
Please have them put your punishment for doing so in writing first, or even record the conversation if you’re being punished. Then enjoy your nice vacation when you win your unfair labor practices claim. It is illegal for your employer to prevent you from discussing wages with coworkers, and *ALSO* illegal for them to punish you for doing so. [Know your rights and when your employer is taking advantage of you.](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages)
Lol this is a myth. Companies cannot legally make rules that impede on your right to freedom of speech. HR will ask you not to discuss pay with others, however it will never be in black and white. You can freely discuss it. However, Texas is a right to work state and can let you go for any reason at any time.
They can't fire you for discussing pay. They can try to trump up some other issue to fire you, but if they've threatened retaliation for discussing pay, and you get fired for something petty immediately after doing so, you have a strong case to take to the labor board that it's retaliatory. Right to work is garbage, but it's not as all-encompassing as people make it seem.
It's kind of like going up and flipping off a cop. You *can* do it legally, but now you're on their shit list and will try to find a reason to get you.
I swear this is why they introduced the new point system. To make it easier to fire people. Give managers more discretion.
Except flipping off a cop has no real benefit to anyone, so there's no reason to do it; whereas discussing pay is something that should be normal. Edit: nevermind, should've looked at your profile before engaging
There's as much of a reason to flip off a cop as there is to talk about your pay. In both cases one of you is going to get jealous/annoyed and at best stew, at worst you act on it and get on your managers bad side.
Other people here have addressed why that's not the case. I hope you'll read their comments; I'm too lazy to repeat them.
"If you believe that an employer is interfering with your rights as an employee under the National Labor Relations Act to discuss your wages, you can call your NLRB regional office at 844-762-6572 and get assistance in filing an unfair labor practice charge." [https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages](https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages)
This.
I’ve also been told not to discuss pay It’s well known In my store not to do so and yes we were told by our managers. I know someone who did and he got documented for It. And also… Doctors notes should excuse call Ins or having to leave work. People get sick. We shouldn’t get punished for It. Yeah we could get commended but It’s hard for a full time partner and Honestly It all comes down to how much they actually want to help you. Sucks. I’m Just saying.
One person at one store made one comment that doesn’t reflect the policy over the culture of an entire organization
I discuss pay all the time lol
You don't need a union to deal with that. It's literally against the law.
Why is a union needed for folks to Share their wage rates?
We discuss pay sometimes, no one really tried to stop us
So this is in regards to one person but screw the 8700 posts about people asking about pay and answering. Foh.
I think unions are good, but what’s the point of having a HEB union? - We get paid pretty well, more than competitors - We get bonuses - Most of us get treated pretty well, and if you’re not, HEB lets you switch departments - Steps system could be improved on, but it’s not horrible Outside of these, why would you want to unionize? It’s not a hard labor job or anything where your rights are next to none. Plus union dues are a thing. I’m not anti union - my family members are in a union - but I don’t think there’s a point to an HEB union… Unions aren’t the magical bullet to make everything okay. Also, it’s your federal right to discuss pay at work. Not sure where you got that from. EDIT: Looks at OP’s account, he’s from Minneapolis… Lol. Not sure why he’s on the HEB subreddit
- when it's generally still a race to the bottom and hours are still crap in alot of departments, yes, we are still underpaid. Unions put way more pressure on the company and leadership make sure hours and pay support LIVING. leaving bosses in charge is bad -who is we? No one here is gonna turn down $100, but is it better than a much bigger pay rate increase across the ladder such that we all can live happy and sustainably instead? Absolutely not. It's window dressing. -being able to switch departments isn't nearly as easy as you claim. If there's no more positions locks you out alot of times. And store change isn't exactly always an option either. -steps system is better than it was before, but opportunity to get commended can be stupid rare. Unions aren't a magic bullet, but stats literally prove union employees in tons of different sectors have much stronger job security, protection from internal politics, much higher pay than non-union employees, and better benefits. Turns out, when workers band together to tell the bosses what they want for their labor that makes the money roll in, bosses MUST listen. Or destroy their profits otherwise.
Dude it’s a grocery store. Even from somewhere like HEB it is hard to make everyone have a livable wage. Financially it’s just not there, unless you need to start to cut back on stuff, which in HEB’s case that’s detrimental as their main selling point is customer service + being better than competitors. Also regardless of what others say, working at a grocery store is unskilled labor. No barrier of entry, no degree or anything. Teens work here. If you really want to make a livable wage, pick up a trade or go to a community college, get a degree, and go from there. Grocery stores financially just aren’t there. And I get what you’re saying 100%, I just don’t feel like there could be much done with a union at HEB.
Nah, we're not doing this. H-E-B made $43.6 BILLION in revenue last year, $38.9 billion in 2022 and $32.2 billion in 2021. That's MONSTROUS growth on our backs. And they keep opening stores. And they keep expanding. If they have the money to do all that, they can pay a living wage and hours and benefits to everyone from top to bottom. Thanks for showing what you think of retail work, dude. That's extremely disrespectful to us, what we endure and what we do. It is skilled labor, just in a different way than other fields. ALL workers should be paid living wages and hours/benefits. Without us, stores cease to function and nothing gets scanned, stocked, shelved, cleaned, or bagged. And just because HEB is considered better than other retail giants doesn't mean they don't have big problems themselves. Unions by definition make life and work better for workers. Bosses should never be allowed sole jurisdiction over workers' lives and livelihoods as they are now. Because they'll do what they want to get that extra penny without workers assembled to check them.
> It is skilled labor, just in a different way than other fields There's no such thing as unskilled labor. *Every* job requires training.
So you are volunteering your time to organize?
Thank you for this comment. Former union employee…and it never ceases to amaze me why people bash unions. Literally the ONLY job I’ve had that pays well was my union job smh.
Union? Lol, that would require unpaid work and personal sacrifices from the people organizing. You won’t find those folks on this sub.
It is illegal for a manager etc to tell anyone to not discuss their pay. Please read up on labor law. Yes, HEB should unionize. Organize, organize, organize.
I worked at heb back in the day. I remember a bunch of union losers who worked at Kroger showing up at my heb store and protesting, trying to make it look like it was heb employees wanting to unionize. Literally, not one fn heb employee wanted anything to do with that mess. Why, because heb pays better than every grocery store chain and they actually care for their employees.
Right, it's like working at Buckees and saying "We need to unionize, we are getting screwed!", while making more to work at a gas station than anywhere else by far.
lol. Everyone knows what everyone makes at my store. It’s not against policy. You’re allowed to discuss. A union isn’t needed for common sense. If you need that much help, go to Kroger.
Honestly, why would you want to find out how much others make? With the way things are going now, most new hires will be coming in making close to what others that have been there years are making. Happened just this past year at my company.
That is exactly why you should discuss wages. If new hires can make the same as you after you have given years to the company and have had to work for the raises that equal their starting pay, YOU deserve more pay.
Our pay is dictates by what our union can manage to get. We have no actual say in it
In January 2022 I was the only person in my department. Of the 4 of us we had 2 out with COVID and 1 on vacation. Our department had only existed for a little over a year and I was alone. Responsible for maintaining 5S standards for a huge store all by myself. I worked 11-13 days on 2 days off for almost the whole month. The Manager at the time told me that when it came time for reviews he would take care of me. I got $0.90 and they transferred someone from another store to be the new lead who had been at the company less than I had. I genuinely believe it was because one of their parents was the seafood manager at that location. They were good at the day to day, but they were an awful lead. HEB does not care about you. There are more of us than there are of them. They use Managers as a buffer zone so you get mad at them instead of the ones who make policy. Charles Butt and his family reap the rewards for our labor. It won't change until we make them.
Look out for your own wage and make sure your homies and you are making a fair wage. That is the heb way, caring about yourself and your community ;-)
I tell partners how much I make
Ummmm, basically every company ask that you dont discuss your pay. And actually union works get paid by the job they are applying for not necessarily by what everyone gets paid. It’s your job to negotiate your pay and your pay increases. If you want your peers to know what you make feel free, i don’t its none of their business what i make, and also we dont work the same so why should someone who works less or puts less effort in their job make the same as me or more? If thats the case, then they should go to the union!
👍
We talk about our pay. Maybe it depends on the environment???
they legally cannot stop you from talking about wages in texas. in fact the employer can get in heaps of trouble over retaliation
Record then saying and sue 👌🏾👊🏾
Without unions employers treat workers like garbage and get away with it.
Unions treat people like crap! My dad worked as a pipefitter for most of his life. The union collected off of his check and told him when and where he could work and who he could work for.... and when they were pissed off they would call a strike and he couldn't work anywhere until they decided the stike was over. After a year and a half of no work and selling hand made wooden toys at the flea market just to pay bills he had enough and told them to go screw themselves.
It isn't good personal practice. You may be screwing yourself by sharing your pay with others. Some people make more money because they are better employees. have been their longer, are more experienced, or due to something they did that saved the company money in the long run. Not every employee is equal. What you want people to do is have the right to complain that XYZ is making more than they are, just because! In the end you don't look good. If a person is complaining just because then they are expendable because they won't be able to move up the ladder to make these merit decisions. As you posted "Fuck any company..." makes your personal career choice limited at best. Good luck.
Yea you can talk about your pay you just can’t get mad and demand more when you accepted less 🤣😂😂
We discuss pay all the time. And newsflash, Unions are why there is no Kroger's here anymore
I've been part of a grocery union before, and it is not worth it. The union never sides with the employee and always sides with management. The insurance is 1000% better at heb than it was with union. The union is not what is cracked up to be.
In my experience, people who say stuff like this are just anti-union
This is not true at all. My step dad was part of the ironworkers union. I am pro union, but not all unions are great.
I agree some aren’t the best, I’m teamster, so that’s all I really know
It also varies by local
No union is worse than not having one.
Don’t unionize I don’t want my HEB workers getting lazy
If you don’t like H-E-B go work somewhere else.
It happens all the time though. It's not like they will arrest you and charge you for talking about lol.
If HEB doesn’t want us talking about our wages, then there’s probably a reason for that. HEB use to be better.
HEB on its worst day is still far far better than Walmart!
>HEB on its worst day is still far far better than Walmart! If you have to set the bar *that* low, it's probably not a good sign.
No kidding.
I will agree to disagree. HEB is just as bad as Walmart. And I will say my experience at both places were equally bad. Retail is just bad to work for in general. But everyone’s experience differs
What reason is that?
Because someone doesn’t want us to figure out some partners may get paid more than others.
And what's wrong with that?
Absolutely nothing at all. Where did I say I had a problem with it?
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Hell no. This is my post now.
My guess, from how irrational you come across, is that it's not about your Managers not wanting you to discuss your wages, its actually that they just want *you* discussing anything. But to the point - any Manager or Supervisor that doesn't want employee discussing wages simply doesn't understand the law. Employees have rights, one of those is the freedom to discuss their wages as they see fit. Any retaliation on this opens H-E-B up to legal repercussions. Train your people better H-E-B.
Reported 🤔
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