It depends on the department. Generally speaking, we try to have a positive relationship with senior leaders. Overall, if something were to arise as an issue with our members, we know that if we escalate it, generally speaking it will get resolved, the key word there being “generally”.
Sometimes, our members are not willing to risk it. I can speak to an example I've seen.
I've been president since 2016. Our members are sometimes even afraid to call us to let us know what's going on, because they're afraid that we might call the employer and rat them out, which is not our role. When you contact your union, it's confidential. We want to help our members.
If a member raises an issue, we will try to escalate it at the lowest level. Sometimes it's middle management or a lower level, but if we can skip a level and get back to the basics to avoid a grievance or a complaint, that's what we like to do. Ultimately, if it doesn't work, that's when we have to apply some formal recourse.