You said it! When I was bottom man on the seniority list and there was no work for me at the daily shape, there were times when one of the senior men would pass on work and go home so I could work and get a day in. Times have definitely changed and not for the better.
Yup That's what I remember too. Like anything else. You need to prove yourself to your co workers and make the cut, so to speak. But after that, barring seniority, you get the same representation as anyone else. My first union job, wasn't the norm. One of the stewards introduced himself and said as soon as I had more seniority than him, I could think about filing a grievance. The job was light years ahead of what I'd been doing, so I was just happy to be there. When that job went away in 2006, I knocked on the door at Holland. I saw some of the same thing, but not nearly what I was used to. A few of the stewards stuck their hand out, and I was in.
My memory is a little hazy but I think it was a year later or so and I had a couple of people under me and being a 10%er, we didn't work every day. I was in the break room and a senior guy walked in and absolutely torched a guy sitting there. " WHO THE FU$$ DO YOU THINK YOU ARE !!!!!! THERE ARE BROTHERS SITTING
HOME AND YOU'RE ON OT?. We weren't even technically laid off, and he lectured the break room on no OT
Unless everyone was working. But this guy was old school. Contrast that to today, and you see what I mean. I'm in the middle of the board (almost literally) so I can see both sides. Some OT is unavoidable, and face it you control OT with your right foot. But actively campaigning to get people laid off is bullship.