How shift trades work under a union contract
Updated
If you work under a union contract, trading a shift with a coworker is rarely just between the two of you. The contract, and the way your workplace applies it, decides who can take your shift, whether anyone has to approve it, and what happens if somebody does not show.
This guide covers the questions to answer before you trade. It is general information, not legal advice. Your steward is the person to ask about your contract.
Find the language first
Search your contract for “trade”, “exchange”, “swap” and “shift change”. The rules may have an article of their own, sit inside the hours-of-work or scheduling article, or live in a letter of agreement added later. A later letter can change what the article says, so read both.
If you cannot find it, ask your steward. How your workplace has always handled trades can matter as much as the text.
The questions your contract answers
Contracts handle each of these differently. Know your answer to every one before you agree to a trade.
Who can take your shift?
Often only someone qualified for the work: the same classification, a license or certification, sometimes the same department or shift.
Does someone have to approve it?
Some workplaces need a supervisor or scheduler to sign off, or a form filed, before a trade counts.
How much notice?
Some contracts set a deadline before the shift starts, after which a trade is not allowed.
Does it change pay or overtime?
A trade can push someone past a daily or weekly limit, or into overtime. Check how yours treats the hours.
Is there a limit?
Some contracts cap how many trades a person can make in a month or a year.
Who is responsible once it is agreed?
Know whose shift it is if the person who picked it up does not come in, before it happens.
A trade is not done until your employer records it
Agreeing with a coworker is step one. Until the trade goes through your workplace’s own process, your schedule has not changed. Keep a record of what you agreed: a written message beats a conversation in the break room.
Where Shift Exchange fits
Shift Exchange is a free shift-trading app for union members, coworkers only. It handles the finding: you post a shift you cannot work, and only coworkers at your station whose classification covers it can see it. The first person to take it gets it, you are told straight away, and the two of you get a message thread for the trade.
It checks before it posts, so you cannot give away a shift that has already started or a day you are not scheduled. It does not replace your contract or your workplace’s approval step.
A trade is not a change to your schedule until your employer records it, by whatever process your workplace uses: a form, a scheduler, a supervisor’s sign-off. Until then the shift is still yours. Shift Exchange is where you find the coworker. It does not approve trades or change schedules, and it is not your union or your employer.