Any union drivers here?

by the time you retire if you havent manged/invested your money properly then its your own fault you have to work into retirement second the goverment backs pensions the secret is you want the fund to run out not get cuts in payments i love the ill advised i take pride in knowing when im 56 i can call it quits and never have to worry about working again

 

As I understand it, unions are much like Communism. Perfect in theory, but ruined by the human condition.

 

We had a great paper mill, here in east Texas. And i watch the union destory it. Guys were making 30 and 40 dollars a hour to push a button. They said they had enough and shut it down. Now its gone forever.

 

You want the truth? I look in the mirror each day, a hollow version of my former self. I hate myself and barely recognize the man in the mirror. I am disillusioned with the union and their picture of Jimmy Hoffa. It's their fault I lost everything

 

Not it wasn't the union. Interstate brands problem was in upper management not listening to route drivers when there was problems with a customer...I worked for them for a couple of years...

 

Need cheese to go with all that wine

 

Unions create a perpetually hostile environment between management and employees and eventually leads to a very inefficient, unmotivated working environment. Management feels the contract is too generous to drivers and cuts corners. Drivers get mad about it and it becomes "I'm not picking up that peice of trash on the floor. That's not in my job description." Other workers lower on the seniority board are looking to find ways to get you wrote up so you will move down in seniority and they can move up. Eventually no one is motivated. Just look at yrc/Holland

Unions had their purpose but today they are an antiquated relic of a bye gone era

 

Join the ILWU and you can make even more doing the same thing.

 

It always comes down to the people and that's usually where the best laid plans go cow.

 

We're a "mom and pop" outfit. Twenty five power units, forty trailers of different types, three mechanics, and five people in the office. We're not a union company and I hope we never are.
We pay our drivers better than union scale for this area. Our benefits...health, dental, and eyecare... are better than the union's.
We have a 401k with a large company match. We pay a longevity bonus and a safety bonus. We have several paid holidays and paid vacation.
Does all of this cut into our bottom line? Of course it does. But we have almost zero driver turnover and the company itself is financially healthy.
We're not the only small company that does business like this. There are several that I know of and they all keep going year after year, quietly making money and staying small on purpose. You don't see them advertising for drivers on CL because openings are few and far between.
If we went union we'd lose the ability to run our company as we see fit. We don't feel that third party mediation is necessary. If a driver has a problem or a gripe they can talk to the boss first hand. It's been that way for almost thirty years.
Also, if a driver totally screws up something to the point that there's no hope of him doing any better we can fire him. We've never had to do that yet.
We have fired a couple of guys, one driver, one mechanic, for stealing.
If we went union we'd have to adhere to a contract. A lot of the extras...longevity pay, safety bonus etc. ..would be discontinued. We'd have to go by a strict seniority program instead of assigning drivers to the jobs they do best and are consequently happy with.
For us, the way we run things and the way the company works, a union isn't the answer to anything.