this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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I work in a manufacturing environment. A few years ago they decided they needed a company social media app. They hired, or more likely were sold the idea by Salesforce and built this stupid ass website, then went on a fucking War campaign to get people to install the app on their phone.
They demanded. They begged. They removed functions of HR to the app exclusively. When we protested they simply said no, no room to negotiate, no give. You will use the app or you will not have access to certain information required to do your job. When they closed the plant one day and posted it on the app, they threatened to write up an entire shift that showed up to work anyway without knowing any better.
Because apparently, when you get up at 4 am the first thing you're supposed to do every day is check an app on your phone to see if you have work that day.
They used to just push out a robo call.
When we have committee meetings with HR they go something like this.
HR: how can we get you guys on the app Committee: how can we retrieve these functions from the app HR: you can't Committee: that's your answer.
There have been at least 6 versions of this meeting that I have been a part of.
Most of my coworkers are older than me. Few of them have fancy phones, generally the most basic phone you can get. A number of my coworkers are on parole or work release and have limited access to smart phones for one reason or another and literally have no access to the app.
I was chatting with one of the IT gals recently and apparently resistance to the app is pretty widespread. When I said "venture capital IT firm" she gave me a high five.
They want everyone using this thing and maybe 15% of the company has it. Then they switched to Workday.
It hasn't gone well.
I'm surprised you guys havent started the push of "If you are going to force us to have this app for essential day to day work, then you need to provide us with phones to put it on, because we can not be expected to devalue our personal devices with excess work related use"
I did mention at one of these meetings that we wouldn't give them space on our personal devices for free, it did not change their tune. The union has been hammering them on it during negotiations but I doubt they'll budge on that and we have bigger issues to deal with so they won't let it be a sticking point.
Clarify the app is required by the company (hr) for your job duties as mentioned when it was stated every employee's responsibility to ensure the work site is open via a phone app. They'll be happy to confirm that.
Go see your master agreement about tools supplied by company. That will be in even passable contracts because it's usually an audit issue.
Ask company for tool as per contract. "This device here is not a work device and is neither secured nor managed by I.T." was what we said.
Ask your shop steward to ask the union to explain to the company that their HR is demanding the use of tools the company will not then provide, which is a concern under section 17p5b.1 "proper tools and training as provided during workday for onsite work required by employees"
If they're dicks you can try to hit them up for training on how to use the phone.
Teams is why we all have fancy pixel7 company-issued phones. TEAMS. And, since only one guy is on standby after-hours, the rest of them are shut off at 4:49 pm. So lame.
So we've been down that road. There are company computers available for that purpose, and training has been provided. It's a joke we tell each other around here that the only training we get is on the app.
For the handful of folks who are legally prohibited from having a smart phone, the state has requirements in place that they be notified of any schedule changes in advance, they're often the first to know.
The CEO frequently holds little meetings and fields questions, that's the next route.
I don't know what they were sold or why they're so insistent that we download the app, but their feverish insistence that we download it sure makes me suspicious.
Someone should analyze the app and see what permissions it needs, cause it could be a much bigger sticking point than anyone realizes if its spying on your phone activities.
I did mention that when I connected to it via a VPN I could see my outgoing traffic spike suspiciously, that particular member of HR is no longer with the company and few of those remaining have the technical background to understand why I find that problematic.
Sadly around here, you're either on board with the direction the ship is sailing, or you're not on board. Those is us in bargained positions have been fine, and voice our frustrations freely. But management does not have the same freedom to do so.