Unions... I laugh at you, well done.

[Love-it]

In this day and age, Unions are responsible in a big part for killing corporate america's competitive edge. In this world of globalization (or exploitation) there seems to be no place for unions or their ilk. Unions has gone from being the supporters of the rights of the little guy to a thugocracy. If you look at how China are India are prospering it is because they don't have this kind of crap to deal with- you have to work hard to keep your job, if you don't the alternative is to starve to death- the way it should be.

Hurrah! Well said. I was in a union once and it was laughably inept and I still regret being involved. Years later I had a Montana Highway Department job that required you to pay union dues even if you chose not to join, and we were paid $1 an hour less than the units to the West and East that had the same representation!
My wife is in the union where she works and they have so many problems that are self induced and are sometimes funny but all in all they have screwed themselves over in so many ways. What is good for the union is not always good for the workers or their future let alone our economy. She is in the public sector and there is a colossal waste of time taken up by activities of the union.

 

[simcha]

I don't think that many of you are in a union or have family members in it, or even know anyone that is in a union for that matter, you are all just armchair pundits just sounding off on things that you have heard. Trade unions are responsible for most of the pleasures that we enjoy to this very day, ones like:

a 40 hour workweek
an 8 hour day
overtime
the end of child labor
on the job safety
a minimum wage

You know, stupid shit...

Go ahead... hate on the common worker, move to the South where there aren't any unions and you'll find that American citizens are being replaced with illegal Mexicans faster than you can say Rush Limbaugh... you know why? BECAUSE THE WORKERS AREN'T ORGANIZED AND DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHTS

Do you know what slave labor entails?

Do you know how to stop it?

WITH TRADE UNIONS THAT'S HOW... BUT IF PEOPLE LIKE Y'ALL HAVE YOUR WAY WITH YOUR BULLSHIT RHETORIC, THE TRADE UNIONS IN THIS COUNTRY WILL GO THE WAY OF THE DINOSAUR WITH ALL OF THE DISINFORMATION THAT PEOPLE LIKE SOME OF YOU SPREAD PERPETUATING MYTHS ABOUT WORKERS WHO ORGANIZE!

You know, I couldn't have said it better myself. So I'll quote it. Great job Tripod! I come from a long line of blue-collar union workers. The average worker in this country has no clue what rights they owe the unions. The robber-barons of our century continue to erode those rights, but we still have some of them.

 

[B_Nick4444]

If you look at how China are India are prospering it is because they don't have this kind of crap to deal with- you have to work hard to keep your job, if you don't the alternative is to starve to death- the way it should be.

damn straight!
put those kids to work! have them work long hours for pennies a day!
pollute the environment!
if those old, toothless people can't cut it, toss them!
forget about benefits, medical insurance, pensions, etc.

 

[swordfishME]

damn straight!
put those kids to work! have them work long hours for pennies a day!
pollute the environment!
if those old, toothless people can't cut it, toss them!
forget about benefits, medical insurance, pensions, etc.

I know you are being sarcastic, but this is how it should be somewhat. Society bears no responsibility if you choose to pop out a million and one children with no means to support them.

I agree that the aged and the infirm should be helped out with benefits, pensions, medical and social plans etc. but only if they are not able to adequately support themselves. The goal should be to save enough while you are able to work to carry you through your retirement- the govt. is there to meet any shortfalls, not just sit there and expect someone else to take care of you.

The days when labor unions were the support structure of the poor helpless worker are looooooooong gone. These days their primary responsibility seems to be hindering progress and economic competitiveness.

 

[TurkeyWithaSunburn]

I don't know where your unions are but
on the first incident
drunk on the job, fired,
found sleeping on the job (and it's not your break/lunch),fired
using a racial epiteth towards another ethnicity, fired
missing too much time from work w/o it being serious enough for FMLA, fired

a few times
violating safety rules fired (major safety rules)

Unions are a noble institution in theory. I have found a union is only as good as the people in it. If your fellow workers tell you to slow down and take your time then THEY are no good. I like to take a shred of pride in my miserable job by seeing how fast I can get something done sometimes. Yeah I can be sick or such and slowdown.. but for a normal healthy worker to tell you to slowdown doing something because they want overtime isn't right. I've been there longer than they have so I'm entitled to the overtime, however slow or fast I want to do it.

People barely have a highschool education, of any worth anymore, so thinking about the big picture of hey if the plant is profitable I can ask for more $$$ in the next contract doesn't phase them.. only concerned with doing what's right in front of them and nothing else. Most can't even think how to make their job easier!

And the qualifier again, I'm in a union, and these are the people that *I* work with.

Unions work in Europe. Union membership is high in Scandanavia. I say unions work because unions go on strike when they can't reach an agreement, bringing the company back to the bargaining table (eventually). Do you Europeans on here dread the word STRIKE? the transit strikes in france and italy are kinda legendary right? and the german metalworkers union has some power too.

By and large unions have worked for things in the past that we take for granted now. 40hr workweek, overtime pay, no child labor, safety laws... since these things are written into law they mostly outserve their purpose other than providing someone else getting rich.

I know my local union has a pension plan (paid into by the company) but isn't it odd that the international union has a matching 401k plan for the staff that works for them?

One more thing, unions really work when there is a manufacturing base. But companies have gone overseas for cheaper labor etc That's capitalism, and there's nothing wrong with that. Let's see pay some unskilled chinese factory worker 10cents/hr or american at minimum wage. Making little widgets it's an order of magnitude cheaper to make and then ship around the world using the "china price".