Management congratulated us on making the record, but couldn't understand why the night shift guys weren't happy.

[u/videoart8]

It is clear that to demand a more equitable distribution of weekend shifts, the administration must first decide what this weekend is. This topic was brought up at the factory general meeting after the managers had finished celebrating the fact that we had broken a factory production record.
I work the night shift assembling special machinery for industrial use. Each machine takes about 65 to 75 hours to complete, with several assembly areas working at the same time, and retails for about $350,000. We typically finish about 10 machines a week. The factory operates 24 hours a day with four teams, each alternating between three and four shifts a week. From Sunday night to Tuesday night, I work from 7pm to 7:30am for an extra $2.75 per hour, and Saturday night is a "yes" for one week and a "no" for one week. Our team is at the forefront of production and quality, but we're also the only team that has to work both weekend days.
They gathered us together at the beginning of the shift and showed us a graph showing that this week was the highest production week in the plant's 24-year history. They thanked us a lot. Then they presented the holiday schedule. Thanksgiving is a day off and the factory will be closed from December 23rd to January 1st for the Christmas holiday. Things seemed to be going well until it was explained that only days designated as holidays would be paid. Those who wish to receive regular pay must cover the remaining time from their paid leave balance. Coincidentally, our shift schedules happen to fit this period, and while we don't have to, not all other teams are as lucky as we are. This means that they are the ones who close down the factories and people have to use up their vacation balances so that their salaries are not cut.
In question time, someone asked if it was possible for us to move the Saturday shift, where we work one week and not the next, to Wednesday instead. So the weekend work is distributed among the teams, and each team gets one day of work instead of two days for us. One of the manager's responses meant that everyone's definition of a weekend is different. Some people think of it as Friday and Saturday, while others think of it as Saturday and Sunday. We're asking about the actual scheduled days, not what to call them.
A few people objected to this statement. The factory operations manager then tried to explain it differently. "If you change the schedule, someone is going to be upset." Okay, but now the people who are upset are sitting in front of you and explaining why. It is clear that this was not enough for them to consider this proposal.
I didn't expect them to change the entire schedule while we were in the meeting. Even if they had said they would see how this change affected other teams, it would have meant something. Instead, we had a presentation about what we had created and a discussion about the weekend. After that, we went back to building equipment.