If you compare any blue collar job in any trade there is, Union to non union, union wins hands down. There is not even a comparison between the two. Unions are not perfect and have had problems in their history but they are the only way employees can impower themselves to take on management and win better working conditions. It always makes me laugh to hear anti union workers. If they were union they would make twice as much money have way better benefits and be in a position where the company can not abuse you and get away with it. Duh, like I wouldn't want that now would I. "I'm so big and smart and tough I will take them on all by myself and get those good things on my own."

We use union every once in while and they do less work and charge us more
I am thankful for their purpose in the good old days
And I am sure all union workers are happy and well paid
Its just in our current economic environment how can we afford to artificially keep their level of compensation up

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Joining a union DOES NOT mean you will automatically double your wages, and benefits. You must not know too much about unions. All those things are bargained for, between the company, and the union, if the workers decide to join.

The local drivers for Goodwill joined the Teamsters a while back. They ended up with about a .50 an hour raise after they joined. A driver told me Monday that they are up to $12.00 an HOUR. And he still has to work his arse off, just like before the union. Sound like Teamster wages?

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Go, and beat your crazy head against the sky.....

Thank you, Lonesome. You pointed out my own point.

People expect unions to give them something, as if they are "owed" some benefit in some way. This guy expected to join a union and then sit around sipping martinis, I guess?

Perceptions, boy. The real reason unions have declined is because unions have gotten rid of the flotsam moochers. If they hadn't, they would have died out completely.

"I will join a union because I want to enjoy breaks. I expect the following from my employer, and I am entitled to it as I'm in a union, dammit!":

1. I want an hour break in the morning. I want an hour break in the afternoon.
2. I want a 15-minute break every two hours.
3. I want a 10-minute break every hour.
4. I want a 5-minute break every half hour.
5. I want to be able to spend 30 minutes of each 15 minutes ON BREAK.
6. I want a two week vacation for every week I work, and I want break time to accumulate during my vacation.

I don't know what he expected, but when you hear Teamsters, people think $23.00+ an hour, + bennies. I know these Goodwill drivers have whatever benefits offered by Goodwill, not Teamsters. I don't work there, so I can't say whether working conditions improved with the union, or not.

I've belonged to three different unions, so I'm far from "anti union". Unions have their place. I just don't agree with those who say "unions are the answer to every problem". Or that they are better in every instance, than a non union worker, or shop.

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Go, and beat your crazy head against the sky.....

Companies don't like unions for one simple thing. Their books would have to be opened. If they're employees organized with a union, they would see the profits made by the company and demand the employees get their share. The union can't get anymore than what is there for the members. The unions want the company to profit, don't be disallusioned, so the members can earn a decent living. Example Fed X Freight charges the same rates as Roadway, Yellow, and ABF for shipping, yet their employees don't get the same benefits as the union companies. Where is all that profit going? In Fed X's pocket that's where, and they charge their employees expensive insurance premiums that cost more than union dues and their policy still isn't as good as the union carriers. Drivers and dock workers need to wake up and smell the coffee before it's too late. If any company needs to be organized it's Fed X Freight then UPS Freight formally Overnight Transportation.

Also where does the union get it's money from? Your paycheck. I have only worked for one union and it was not a driver job, but all I saw was deadbeats that did not want to work and the union was there to fight to keep them employed. Why should I pay so some deadbeat gets a pay check? Work or don't eat....

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A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

And what exactly do you think Fedex pocket is? They are a publicly traded company. Union pension funds depend on investments that include the dividends of profits from companies like Fedex. Medical benfits will be the death of unions, but don't worry, we can all look forward to the crappy care that social medicine has. There is nothing stopping the Teamsters from organizing UPS Freight, then why hasn't it happened? Maybe they don't want it....

$12;00 an hour Just how many years ago was this.? I know lots of non union co,s paying more than this.

I have been hearing the same thing.Union Heavy Equip.Operators getting hired one day fired the next because they cant do the job.O but they got a card that says they are an operator.