Do Labor Unions Really Work?

[ccokeman]

That is why I love South Dakota it is a right to work state, there are no such things as unions here, you work you get paid, you don't work you don't get paid. Your raises are based upon your performance or how well your store or whatever is performing. You don't get an automatic set amount raise every year you have to earn your raises. I don't have some union boss getting me my raises or my health benefits I earned them through hard work.

 

 

So is Virginia! But there still are unions active here

[d3bruts1d]

I was a union member when I worked at Kroger years ago... it had it's perks, but I could have done without it. I was only there for about a year, so who knows if I would have fallen into the "union mentality" had I been there longer.

 

Now days we spend hours and countless $$ waiting for union guys to do their jobs. I could install a video card in my work PC in a couple of minutes and be back to work... now someone has to write a work package (planner), deliver the card to the building (expediter or mover), and then someone has to install it (electrician). The very simple process involves a minimum of 6 people at about $50 per hour per person, and it takes the electrician at least 1 hour to do the job. No to mention I cannot use my computer during that time, which cost additional $$. And lord help us if the job approaches 10a, 12p, 2p, or 4p. They have to have their breaks and lunch, and go home exactly on time. And don't you dare try doing it yourself... even unplugging your computer will get a grievance filed against you.

 

And that's just the simple stuff... moving furniture (which has to be disassembled by a carpenter), boxes, or anything really can take days.

 

The sad part about all of this, is where I work, it's our tax $$ being spent on this kind of "labor". Pisses me off every time I see it.

 

My father-in-law was a union member at Boeing and was paid well. They didn't like one of the vendors doing something, so they went on strike and during the process asked for more $$ and increased benefits. Now there is no Boeing in Oak Ridge and my FIL, guess the union really helped them out, huh?

 

 

Sure, they may have had a purpose years ago... I think that time is long past, and the ideas behind them are gone.

 

 

 

@ slick2500 TN is a right-to-work state, but unions are sadly still highly active here.

[Coors]

Unions should be abolished imo

[ccokeman]

I was a union member when I worked at Kroger years ago... it had it's perks, but I could have done without it. I was only there for about a year, so who knows if I would have fallen into the "union mentality" had I been there longer.

 

Now days we spend hours and countless $$ waiting for union guys to do their jobs. I could install a video card in my work PC in a couple of minutes and be back to work... now someone has to write a work package (planner), deliver the card to the building (expediter or mover), and then someone has to install it (electrician). The very simple process involves a minimum of 6 people at about $50 per hour per person, and it takes the electrician at least 1 hour to do the job. No to mention I cannot use my computer during that time, which cost additional $$. And lord help us if the job approaches 10a, 12p, 2p, or 4p. They have to have their breaks and lunch, and go home exactly on time. And don't you dare try doing it yourself... even unplugging your computer will get a grievance filed against you.

 

And that's just the simple stuff... moving furniture (which has to be disassembled by a carpenter), boxes, or anything really can take days.

 

The sad part about all of this, is where I work, it's our tax $$ being spent on this kind of "labor". Pisses me off every time I see it.

 

My father-in-law was a union member at Boeing and was paid well. They didn't like one of the vendors doing something, so they went on strike and during the process asked for more $$ and increased benefits. Now there is no Boeing in Oak Ridge and my FIL, guess the union really helped them out, huh?

 

 

Sure, they may have had a purpose years ago... I think that time is long past, and the ideas behind them are gone.

 

 

 

@ slick2500 TN is a right-to-work state, but unions are sadly still highly active here.

Yup its a shame! It take 4 monkeys and a baboon to get the job done at 10 times the price and late!

[robAP]

i'm a member of an airline union.

The union is only as strong as the elected people in charge of the local office. The problem is that there are VERY good reasons to have a union, and there are also VERY good reasons to not have a union.

 

Good reason to have a union:

-Wal-Mart business practices. They pay crcap and demand you pay a huge chunk of what you make for health insurance. A wal-mart store in canada became unionized overnight (canadien rules allow such a thing) and wal-mart immediately closed it up and stated that it was loosing money. yeah sure...it's the only one in history that has lost money. they dont put up a store unless they know they're gonna make a profit.

-Airline business. getting the job to fly is a huge financial investment. without any kind of protection they can fire you for refusing to fly an unsafe airplane....and call it job performance. heck, my friend was fired over a RUMOR from a hotel front desk chick....who in the past was burned by a bad airline pilot romance. so she took it out on a guy. claimed he was drunk. company reacts and fired the guy without any proof of any kind. (he obeys the rules and never drinks at wrong hours) its up to the union to get him back his job now.

 

you see, without unions heres how it would be

-your sick? well your fired for allowing yourself to become sick. your obviously unsanitary.

-your pregnant? your fired. your costing us money because you allowed yourself to become pregnant.

-your child is sick and you have to go pick them up from school? your leaving work on your shift? well your fired cause you obviously dont want to work.

 

without union protection, the demands of a business in a POOR ECONOMY LIKE THIS ONE would over rule common sense and decent morality, and royally abuse the worker just to get higher productivity.

now, the pros for unions?

Well...for what I do i need an actual living wage that allows me to do the work and actually retire with a little bit more than a remote in my hand and a chair to sit in....but as it goes now were still fighting for that because i can wither have that, or send my daughter to college...not both. That's the good. Work rules so people dont hurt themselves out of fatigue and dangerous equipment. rules to prevent the company from screwing with who does your job. guaranteeing that when you go to work you have work to do.

 

the problems wiht a union? well when it gets to opowerful and out of control with its power. you get horrible overspending and crippling corporate performance and lazy people. I live in buffalo. They tried to cut costs in the local police departments by cutting their use of giant wasteful SUV's used by warrant officers who really didnt need them and rarely used them for company business yet got to use them as personal vehicles. result? oh you cant do that the poluice union fought tooth and nail to keep the nice perks regardless of the actual wasteful results. a simple car would work just fine.

 

Post 9/11 airlines. it was discovered that baggage handlers were making 80k a year just loading bags for USairways. Holy cow!! real quick they declared bankruptcy and reorganized all pay scales to reflect the actual reality of the world. I'm sory, but when a union lets a labor wage get high as or higher than white collar management, theres absolutely something wrong. And that's what happened. Unions will always ask for more. and will NEVER give a concession. no matter how hard the company really needs it.

 

I sat next to the former head of the pipe fitters union on a flight once. great conversation. had a huge ring on his hand with the #1 in diamonds. told me he gets a new cadillac every year and bought each of his kids a house when they got married.

 

you tell me. whose the union good for? its good for that guy. its good for the pipe fitters. its good for alot of people. but crazy overpowered....or overclocked unions are very bad for the business. and thats why the business moves off shore and hires kids in china to build you shoes..

 

sorry. rant over. our contract is expired and we've been negotiating for 2 years no fo rthe new contract meanwhile my company keeps violating it and telling us to grieve it if we don't like it. meanwhile keep working or get fired until the grievance results come back and the union might be right and you might get your job back. for us we need it. our company is a cutthroat one and uses forced low pay to get new business. but all 3000 of us are about to put an end to that. unified voices work. just dont get greedy. get what you need to be happy, not fat and dumb. A redneck has no use for a ferrari, but a decent bass boat? oh yeah. get my point?

Edited December 20, 2009 by robAP