Could You Have Prevented the Crisis?

It was almost seven o'clock. Judy Burkett drew a deep breath as she was anxious for her shift to end. It had been a long day since her regularly scheduled day shift had begun almost eleven hours ago. Judy had worked as a packer for Christoff Packing, an Iowa meat packing plant, for the past eleven years. Shortly after her divorce, she applied for work at the soon-to-be-opened plant. She was hired, trained, and started work the first day the plant opened. The job provided a steady source of income to support her and her two children.

It was not long after the plant opened that the oppressive, authoritarian management style led the employees to support the unionization effort of the Amalgamated Meat Packers Union, Local 181. Judy supported the union and the benefits it gained for her. She rarely attended a union meeting except to cast her vote for or against contract proposals. This past March, after working under a ten-month extension of the previous contract, the workers approved a new contract by the barest of margins. The contract called for a $400 signing bonus, no wage increase for the first year, mandatory overtime with four hours' notice, and a ceiling on what the company would pay for health insurance coverage. The employees now would have to pay substantially more for medical insurance premiums. Christoff Packing was only the latest in a long list of employers that had taken a hard-line approach in dealing with wage and health-care costs.

It had been a typical August day in Iowa. There were times when you couldn't see from one end of the plant to the other because of the heat and humidity. The workers had complained that the air handling systems were not functioning properly, and they had threatened to call OSHA to complain. The plant manager, Oscar Grimes, constantly reminded complaining workers that they were lucky to have such good jobs. Times were tough in the meat-packing industry, and workers knew that if they lost their jobs at Christoff Packing, they might never find a job that paid as well as the one they currently had. Yet Christoff's business had been good, and production was at an all-time high. Rather than hire new employees, management applied the mandatory overtime provision, i.e., four hours or more before a worker's scheduled shift was to end, management had the contractual right to require the employee to work up to four hours of overtime that day. As such, many employees had been working at least ten hours a day for the past two months.

Like most workers, Judy Burkett welcomed all the extra hours she could get. She needed the money, and with her two children, she knew that she needed to start saving for their college education and to put some money aside for a rainy day. However, the overtime had its drawbacks. Burkett missed being with the kids, ages 14 and 12. They were on summer vacation, and she had difficulty balancing the uncertainty of her work hours with her child care needs.

Fred Rossiter was supervisor of the "B" line-the packing line that Judy worked on. Rossiter was the proverbial "man in the middle"-squeezed between a rock and a hard place. Top management was demanding that he seek ways to increase quantity without sacrificing quality, but the increased production had put a strain on everyone and everything. The increased production also put a strain on the machinery, and delays often occurred while employees waited for maintenance. Rossiter was constantly fielding questions from his subordinates about when they could expect a let-up in overtime demands.

Rossiter also was being bombarded with questions from his wife. Until March of this year, all supervisors had been paid on an hourly basis, just like the people they supervised. If they worked overtime, they were paid at the rate of one-and-a-half times their base pay. In March, top management decided to elevate the status of the plant supervisors. They were put on salary, and their jobs were reclassified to "exempt status." At that time, the new arrangement seemed to be more than fair as their new salary base was equal to fifty hours of pay per week. However, during the past two months, most supervisors had been averaging sixty hours or more per week. Because of the mandatory overtime provision, Rossiter never knew when he left for work whether he would be home at the regular time or whether he would have to work overtime. Rossiter's wife was tired of not knowing when he would be home, and she constantly reminded him that if he were still on the hourly rate he would be bringing home more money.

On his way to another production meeting called by top management, Rossiter passed by Burkett's work area. Feeling very frustrated with the uncertainty, Rossiter knew that regardless of the production, quality, safety, and maintenance results he reported, the plant manager would not be satisfied. Nothing was ever good enough for Oscar Grimes.

"Judy, before you go home this evening, make sure you clean up around your machine," Rossiter remarked as he hurried to the meeting.

She thought, "What is the matter with you? I work hard for this company, and no one seems to care." The heat of the day and the long work day caused Judy to respond in an uncommon way. She moved away from her machine, placed both hands on her hips, and shouted after the rapidly moving Rossiter. "Hey, Freddie, wait a minute!" As Rossiter turned, Judy continued, "I choose not to do that at this time!"

Rossiter moved quickly toward her and gestured by pointing the finger of authority at her. "You're insubordinate. Punch out, and take three days off without pay!"

Judy was struck with pain. She thought, "He's lost it. I've given the company the best years of my life, and no one seems to appreciate what I've done." She gave him a sharp glance, then threw her apron on the floor, and responded over her shoulder, "I think I'll take five!" And out the door she went.

1. What are the issues in this case?

2.  Evaluate the major elements of Christoff Packing's policies and practices.  What controls shoudl have been in effect to minimize the issues in this case?

3.  How could problems if this nature be avoided in the future?

4.  What strageties do you recommend for resolving he conflict between Burkett and Rossiter?

5.  What can Rossiter do to resolve the conflict between himself and the plant manager Oscar Grimes?

6.  If you were Fred Rossiter, what would you do now?  Why?