She wasn't looking at her paycheck stub; didn't do it for years. When she finally got around to checking it out in 2009, she discovered that she'd been paying out not just one but two deductions in union dues in a lot of paychecks in 2008 and 2009. One deduction was at a teacher's (higher) rate and the other at her own lower clerical/teacher's assistant level.Hat tip to reader MikeAT.
On other checks, she'd only had one deduction, but it was coded for a teacher. In bits and pieces, dollars and cents, she'd been overpaying for union representation for quite a while.
So she went to the Houston Federation of Teachers for help, and what followed, as HFT itself confirms now, wasn't optimum. She kept getting assurances that things would be fixed — that she would be reimbursed for the overpayments — and nothing happened.
Education, politics, and anything else that catches my attention.
Friday, November 04, 2011
Way To Treat Your Union Member
Yes, the "victim" in this story is partially at fault for not looking at her own pay stubs. That doesn't excuse the union involved from keeping the share of her money that it's not entitled to:
My issue is with the lady in question. The article starts with a trite sentence about not being able to nail down all the details in a busy life. I'm sorry, your paycheck is not a 'detail.' It is a major event in your life. It is your responsibility to ensure your pay is correct. The statute of limitations should run out on something like this. The union should be liable for whatever amount its rules and the school's pay system rules states can be reviewed. If a one- or two-year period, so be it.
ReplyDeleteSheez, take some responsibility for your life & your own mistakes.