Louraines Story

Louraine is 23, lives in Auckland, and works as a Wardrobe attendant at the Sky City Casino. She is a member of the Service and Food Workers Union.

My Job

In my job we look after all the staff uniforms. We just hand them out and keep track of them and deal with new garments.

Theres over 2000 people, with five pieces each, plus loaners for temps and trainers. So thats a lot of uniforms.

The jobs cruisy but there can be favouritism and a lack of communication. Some people dont do what theyre told and so the workloads uneven.

My Union

When I first started there was only one person who was union. Shed just signed up and not done anything. Then I saw the union guy putting up the noticeboard and I asked whats it all about.

He told me that the union is so we can stick together and stand up for our rights. Then I started filling out the form, and my friend saw me and asked what I was doing. So I told her and she signed up too.

The problems we have at work are basically with disciplinary actions and pay too, just fairness.

Theres a lot of young ones in our department and now I can look out for them. They come to work and they dont know what a contract is, some of them dont even read it. Then they get cuts to their hours and they dont know what to do.

If they join the union theyll know the background of what their rights are. Its just having someone to talk to, to get answers. And theyll tell you the truth too, not like the boss!