Unions......Per Dave's request

[1SLO5.0]

We need something else to argue about so here it is. What do you think of unions? Does your union work for you? :dunno:

[markstang]

I'm not 4 unions in my trade. tool & die......


slo

[ExtremeDSM]

I was in a union awhile ago. It sucked. The people walk around like they have shit in thier pants. They told me to slow down and I was working at a medium pace. Work slow, get nothing done, and it makes for a very long day!!!

[jdsgallops]

I had to check the last choice.

But we did just discuss unions in depth last week in my business class. I really think there time is past. In the Industrial revolution where workers were taken advantage of, banding together and making a stand makes sense. Nowadays company's that don't practice good human resource management don't last long. Which means when the unions come in and negotiate higher wages, eventually the company looks elsewhere for a place to move with cheaper labor.

[markstang]

I really think there time is past. In the Industrial revolution where workers were taken advantage of, banding together and making a stand makes sense. Nowadays company's that don't practice good human resource management don't last long. Which means when the unions come in and negotiate higher wages, eventually the company looks elsewhere for a place to move with cheaper labor.

yes I agree 100% with you on this topic.


slo

[badass88gt]

I love my union..... sometimes.

[1SLO5.0]

I have worked with a few unions. 2 of them were in factory jobs. They haven't been worth a **** at the factories I worked at. 1 person per job, work slow (for job security :rolleyes:). Both factories have had substantial lay offs and shipped alot of work to foriegn grounds because it was cheaper. Some union workers go over board. Now, at my current job I would be ****ed without a union. The railroad industry is the only industry where the company tries to fire you from the day they hire you. I don't know what it is with railroads but they are all that way. Railroads are also known for harassing employees and trying to force workers to violate federal laws governing railroads. Because of the nature of the job, the federal government has a set of laws that are specific to the railroad industry mainly for the safety of workers and the citizens of the country that can be effected by the railroad industry. Small railroads don't need unions. Big railroads do.

[jdsgallops]

You know Darrell what it sounds like to me? The kind of business you are in can't be moved to a different country. So what they have to do is make working conditions so bad that the high dollar labor quits and they can higher new cheaper labor to save money. You are 100% correct to say that this type of situation needs a union. But these situations are few and far between in todays information and service based society.

[badass88gt]

My schedule is kinda goofy. 12 hour shifts, and once a months I get 7 days off in a row, starting thursday, ending the next wednesday. July 4th weekend,my 7 off started on July 1, June 30 was my last day. Our schedule is to be posted no later than wednesday each week, so the crew leaving for 7 can see what theyre scheduled. My last day was the 30th. The schedule was up, I was off my normal 7. Big deal, come back on the night of July 8. Well, thursday, July 1 the super decides to force me overtime for wed. July 7. I was already gone, he didnt get the schedule changed before I left, adn no one even bothered to call to tell me I was forced OT. I get back thursday night, they try firing me for not showing up wednesday. How was I to know? We've been told its not our responsibility to call in and check "just in case", if thats the case, the we'd be considered on call. Not only that, but there was another guy under me yet on my shift, and they force from the bottom up. Just happened that they needed to force both of us, yet no one called or anything. It went all the way to HR, had this big meeting, turned into a big fiasco, all because my super ☺☺☺☺ed up. It is written in the contract that the schedule needs to be posted by wednesdays, and he didnt, yet he dragged it all out knowing he was wrong. He couldve just admitted his mistake, and made it all go away. If not for the union, I'd be sitting in tje soup line over that.

[badass88gt]

I can understand the hatred for unions, when the oipinions are based off the guys that do nothing but jerk each other off all night for "job security". Sure, I like to jerk off as much as the next guy, but when it comes down to it, in all seriousness, it bullshit how some of them act that way all the time. Not ALL union workers are fat lazy jerkoffs, it's a stereotype.

[Positraction Action]

I like my union for the most part except the one thing i dont' like about it is it protects the people who don't want to work.

[1SLO5.0]

You know Darrell what it sounds like to me? The kind of business you are in can't be moved to a different country. So what they have to do is make working conditions so bad that the high dollar labor quits and they can higher new cheaper labor to save money. You are 100% correct to say that this type of situation needs a union. But these situations are few and far between in todays information and service based society.


That is exactly it John. They can't move to foriegn land. They deliver to foriegn land! Without a union the company would eat you alive. 7 years ago we didn't have a union. In a normal switching operation I was burned by sulfiric acid. The pressure relief valve on the car was missing and when it coupled into the other cars in the track it shot acid out of the top like a whale spray. I was covered in it. The guys I was working with quickly dosed me with several bottles of drinking water and then rushed me down to the break room and threw me in the shower. The trainmaster on duty told me I couldn't go to the hospital despite my peeling skin and severe pain. He told me to go home and change my clothes and get my ass back to work. The following day the claims manager called me in for a meeting. He slid a check for $200 across his desk and said "this is to cover your clothing, take it or find a new job". That right there is worth gold. Harassment. But I didn't know any better at the time so fearing for my job I took it and signed off on it. To this day I have a horibble problem with dry skin because of that and my eyes are extremely sensitive to light. That is just a sample of the bullshit that railroads try to pull. I could go on and on but you would be in awe at the shitting work conditions. I stick it out though because the money is good and the benefits can't be beat.

[Wasted Income]

My only experience with unions was at Mercury. Luckily, I worked in the Engineering Lab, so I could turn my own wrenches, and jump on a mill or lathe whenever I needed to get something done, without having to find a union guy to do it for me. Once I stepped out into the manufacturing areas though, I couldn't drive a forklift, or even TOUCH a wrench without a union guy supervising or doing it for me. Major redtape, and a huge hinderance for getting work accomplished.

[ExtremeDSM]

I worked in the contractors union for around a year. I got flipped around from job to job, travel all over the place and have to get up really early in the morning. Me = NOT MORNING PERSON. They finally moved me to Consolidated building the mill in Rapids and that is where I told them to stick their job up their ass. I mean it is nice to take it easy at work once and awhile but come on, every day with a finger up your ass. Not me. Damn Darrell, sounds like it is hell there. But like you said, the money is good and where else would you make that kind of money. And, I guess just look at it this way. You are not at work to have fun, you are there to make money.

[1SLO5.0]

You are not at work to have fun, you are there to make money.


Very true statement!

[jdsgallops]

In all honesty Darrell making the money you are. I would only work there a couple of more years. In the mean time I would be doing some very wise investing. Then a couple of more years down the road you don't have the situation with your son saying you don't spend enough time with him again. You may not like the job with lesser pay, but with some good investment strategy now it won't be as bad and those others things that you find important can have more attention.

[TheNitrousEdge]

We need something else to argue about so here it is. What do you think of unions? Does your union work for you? :dunno:


My union ( I believe) does a good job of mediating between the employees and the management. We were the FIRST company in the paper industry to sign a "partnership" between the union and the company that basically states we will work together for the good of the people and the company.

[Jim]

i have almost 10 years experience with my union. i am a correctional officer therefore we do not have the power to strike.......it was made illegal by president regan i believe. our union is basically powerless. our contract has been up since july 04. the states proposal on the board is 0% for the first year, 0% the second year, and making us kick in $62.50 per month for health insurance. as far as barganing i think our union has no power. but they do get the dumasses, that probably should be fired, out of trouble...........if they like them.

[Wasted Income]

You are not at work to have fun, you are there to make money.

It's great though when you can do both!!

[1SLO5.0]

In all honesty Darrell making the money you are. I would only work there a couple of more years. In the mean time I would be doing some very wise investing. Then a couple of more years down the road you don't have the situation with your son saying you don't spend enough time with him again. You may not like the job with lesser pay, but with some good investment strategy now it won't be as bad and those others things that you find important can have more attention.

I plan on pulling the plug when I'm 40 John. Making the money I make now, I'll be a very wealthy man when I'm 40. Sticking it out that long will help the retirement too.

[kamu]

I have been In a union for ten years now. I am also on the barganing committee within our union. Our contract expired Dec 31st 2002 and we finally reached and agreement in Sept of this year. We also are not allowed to strike. It was a long hard fought battle, but without the union fighting for our rights. I would be paying more for my health insurance and not have gotten a raise. Now our insurance stayed the same and we get a 2.5% raise per year for 4 years

[Slow Ride]

funny thing is we are union free and proud of it at Pierce. The shop got a 3.5% raise and I actually ended up getting 6% total as a contractor in the engineering department.

[badass88gt]

I go to work to relax, I dunno about you guys, but I dont need the stress!!!:)

[jdsgallops]

Darrell I think you got Jim and I confused. ;)

Dan that explains why you work 3rd shift so much. :nana:

[badass88gt]

I hate days. Too much commotion to properly rest.

[1SLO5.0]

Darrell I think you got Jim and I confused. ;)

Dan that explains why you work 3rd shift so much. :nana:


Fixed. Sorry! :D:

[Dave Bandt]

Now our insurance stayed the same and we get a 2.5% raise per year for 4 years

I've got news for you....you're health insurance did not stay the same. The company wound up paying the premium increases instead of you. And at the same time you got a raise. If there was an increase in productivity then the company suffered no loss. If not the costs went straight to their bottom line.

Now, before people attack me i am not really anti union. I've worked in a union environment on both sides of the fence. MOST of the unions i have worked with have been so pro employee that they have driven up excessive costs for the companies. Most have done nothing but protect the worthless dead beat workers and hurt the hard working valuable employees. The place i work for now is the exception. I've never seen such a great group of guys. They are genuinely concerned with what is good for the company and it's profitability and i fully enjoy working with them. They are not like dealing with insurance companies.....you ask for something, they say no, and then you negotiate from there.

Anyway....since my name was in the title of this post i felt obligated to respond. Now all the union brothers on here can call me an..... :asshole:

[kamu]

[QUOTE=Dave Bandt]I've got news for you....you're health insurance did not stay the same. The company wound up paying the premium increases instead of you. And at the same time you got a raise. If there was an increase in productivity then the company suffered no loss. If not the costs went straight to their bottom line.

Our health insurance did stay the same. The place I work for changed insurance companys and ended up saving money for the same coverage. That is why we were able to get a raise. I work for the Marquette County Road Commission. They are on a tight budget without taxes going up there revenue does not increase. The union worked with management to get the contract we have now. The last contract we had there was no pay raise because of insurance increases. I also agree that the union does protect the worthless dead beat employes, there is nothing I can do about that.

]

[UPdragracer]

Yeah what Kamu said

[jdsgallops]

You know I find it humorous that this thread talks about unions protecting the deadbeat employees but most of the ones complaining about them are also the ones that bashed the liberal view of helping all Americans because they should earn what they get.

[DADSRacing1]

Well i've had very little good personal experience with unions, with my current job and my father's working at the local iron mines. I've seen more bad than good come from them and i typed up a full description of my opinion and such 3 times and the sucker wouldn't go through, so here's my quick reply...for the most part i don't see the need for them but in some cases they are good. After seeing what went on at my work and seeing how people dealt w/ it, i'm more anti-union than before http://www.geocities.com/mqtstrike/index.htm total length of strike was 598-599 days it caused lots of bitterness in my area and those who worked there now and before say things are better without the union.

[brad_s]

I was in a union for 2 years when I did factory work. Paid the huge dues to the union like clockwork, and 2 years later they shut down the plant. Union never said a word about it, just moved on, so I'm having to vote that unions are bad *Shrug* Sorry Baddass! I realize that not all union people are bad, but it seems that most people are exposed to the bad more than the good.

-Brad
'92 240SX SE w/ SR20DET

[1badtgp]

I've seen both good and bad. At the foundry where my fahter-in-law works, he'd be screwed without the union. I worked for Wal-Mart distribution and there is another company that needs a union BAD!! Centurytel's La Crosse call center needs it as well(all the others are union). Now, I work for Northern engraving now, and they do great without it. If the company does well, the employees reap the benefits. There are some aspects that are unionized, but it is fazing out fast. But what do you expect, our company is privately owned, and the owner is here every day and not afriad to get dirty if he has to. For the record, we employ about 3000 people in multiple locations. We have 1 plant overses in Whales, to keep some of the shipping costs to overseas customers down. But the rest are within 2 hours driving time of me(and I visit them a LOT!!! I'm part of the Corporate Quality Management team).

[evldoer]

In my opinion unions do nothing more than protect the old lazy guys, who have alot of time in. For a motivated guy who wants to go somewhere, they do nothing more than drag him down, because he can do twice as much work as the guy next to him who has 20 or so years in, and still can't pass him on the pay scale even if the boss knows how hard he works. These days unions are only good for pensions, and insurance benifits, for the most part. So if you want to be a lazy ass, join a union today, and watch your ass grow. Generally speaking, of course....

[lazyass]

i should join!