What is the Point of Unions?

And you do know that union dues are tax deductible don't you?

 

My initiation fee was $500. Need to call and ask why they keep taking $125 every month

 

I just left the union. I can honestly say they do a pretty good job at keeping people employed who don't show up to work. I decided it wasn't for me. Now I'm a scab just ask my "brothers " who disowned me. The union causes stress between employee and employer or at least that is what I found. The employee is put in the middle. Medical was good. Central States pension was robbed and is in the tank.

 

I have to deal with uaw drivers who to me are the worst laziest people around. There are a few, not many who are willing to work but others don't give a crap about how they drive, who they cut off and where they park.

Had two fca drivers to deal with the other day, one parked right next to me while I was being unloaded, the forklift left with a die and the idiot pulled right next to my truck with just enough room to squeeze in between if someone weights 60 lbs. he ran right over my chains and straps I had pulled off the truck and left on side of the loading area. The forklift driver told him to move and he flipped us both off. I had to wait an hour when he was finally put into a dock. The MH manager said they have nothing but issues with these drivers and there is nothing that can be done about them.

The other uaw driver decided to make a lane change while I was next to his truck. It isn't like he could not see me, I had two beacons on and all the other lights. I caught up with him at my stop and asked him if he saw me, he said yep but didn't give a crap mentioning he was in a hurry for his break.

 

It's a real shame what unions have become from where they started.

Originally Americans worked when the boss said to, typically sunup to sundown. In the spring/summer that could be well longer than 12 hours a day 6 days a week for $1 dollar a day.

Unionism came along around the1890's and said, we'll work 8 hours a day 5 days a week for $1 dollar a day-- an instant raise. People were beaten, shot and killed trying to fight for this.

Unions had a big stronghold going into the 1950's when rampant corruption and mafia ties began. We're feeling the pain of that association now. Many union trust funds are in the red for their retirees. Meaning for every retiree, there is .75 or fewer workers contributing to the fund. Eventually the money Will run out.

So the pendulum has swung back tothe big boss' favor. The Man has successfully implemented the mind control over the masses that unions and collective bargaining are bad. Union workers are nonproductive and lazy. You have this 'Right to Work' well, let's say it for what it is, Right to Work For Less. It's all an agenda to keep the little guy running on the hamster wheel as fast as possible, working for paycheck to paycheck, keep him happy enough to keep doing it for 40-50 years paying half his own retirement along the way, in the case of a lease operator, they will pay their own full retirement-- well if only they had enough money left over from their paycheck to paycheck weeks which barely feeds the family....

Like I said it's a real shame what has happened to the original plan in just 100 years.

 

Where do people get this notion that you cant be fired from a union job? In two years I have already seen it done.....twice. The good union representatives knows that their job is to watch out for the workers interest, but at the same time they have to have the ability to keep their own people in line. Even if that means letting one get fired with proper justification.

 

I've seen it happen in my terminal. This dude kept destroying the truck, hitting non moving objects, roll up doors (how do you destroy a roll up door?), low hanging branches, side mirrors. He finished his route at 12 am once (who TF is delivering freight at midnight?). Nobody knows how that happened. One guy thinks he prob fell asleep and woke up late at night lol. I don't buy it.

Anyway, enough was enough. He had a million chances and one day he was finally let go

 

You are quite right. Management is not doing its job if they do not fire a worker that is involved in misconduct, whether a union shop or not. A lazy manager can cause a lot of employee morale problems by not dealing with a problem employee.

 

Look, I am not going to sit here and try to tell anybody that a every union job at every company is the best job that you can get. Some nonunion jobs probably pay more. Some jobs probably have less politics. You are going to have some farmers (clock milkers) and some people who probably shouldn't be employed there. At the same time you can have those same problems at a non union company. My experience has been I am happy enough to stay where I am at because I like the job, I make really good money, I like my coworkers, the insurance is fantastic, and it is 10 minutes from my house.

 

Atta boy