Unions: Yes or No?

[RJP]

I'm union and have been working without a contract for one year now.

I love the whole "woe is me, I'm working without a contract" bit.

I've been working without a contract for 20 years.

 

[trucker girl]

As a trucker- I see both sides. But I still scream NO! loudly when it comes to unions. Trucker unions, IMO, are worth something. We are notoriously underpaid. But, having delivered into union receivers over the years, I can tell you with no emotion that unions kill work ethics. I mean, why go the extra mile when you won't get any recognition and you may even get in trouble for it (the extra mile was someone else's job- never mind that he never did it). Anyway- whenever there's a union involved at a shipper or receiver, truckers know it's going to take forever and they can forget any hopes to get treated well.

And about the "woe is me" bit... I'm in total agreement. I'm a self-employed owner operator. I pay for my own health insurance and have for the past 7 years. I pay my own benefits and if I don't put money into an IRA there's no one else putting money in for me- no pension- no guarantees. It really irks me that people believe they are entitled to these things. Benefits are just that- benefits. I don't get 'em. I gotta buy my own. :shakehead

I can't believe I just involved myself in a quasi-political thread. What am I thinking?

 

[Thalassamania]

Union excess and management excess exist in inverse relationship with one another. Frankly I find it a healthier country when the balance point is always in flux between the two than if it were to settle on one or the other for an extended period of time, because that's when things really go south.

 

[DiverBeth]

As someone who has managed a business with union employees I definitely feel unions still have a place. Yes I suffered through a strike and contract negotiations but the union for the most part was easy to get along with and was accomodating. I was lucky we had a good local. The only argument I ever got into with the business agent was over the check at lunch meeting (I invited him but he insisted on paying).

This is not to say there are not corrupt unions and locals. But don't we see as much corruption in corporate boardrooms? For some industries unions can be good others not so good.

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Well growing up I worked at a grocery store which was a closed shop, so we had to be members of the union in order to remain employees. It worked out real well for the full time people, but it was really a rip off for us part timers as the benefits a part time person saw were far out weighed by the percent going to the union.

 

[njd3rph]

and what does any of this have to do with diving...

 

[Cheekymonkey]

Its in the non-diving forum

 

[njd3rph]

...but forgetting about diving for the moment, I was formerly a union steward for 15 years, I took the position thinking I would be defending people from injustice...what I wound up doing was defending persons who were chronically late for work, did't show up for work, had poor job preformance, were theives, etc. (and I allways managed to save their jobs). While doing this, I also insured that promotions went to those with the most seniorty, not to those who actually had the most talent or were the most deserving. Over this period of time I watched as union dues increased while union members benifits decreased (with the exception of the union officials, there saleries continued to increase as union dues increased). That being said, I believe unions are responsible for a higher standard of living for us all, in that non union wages and benifits have been elavated as a result of non-union companies having to compete for employees with unionized companies (after all, if you can choose between sweeping floors for $16/hour as compared to min wage where would you work).

 

[El Orans]

:dancinglock:

Thank you for keeping this discussion civil, but this topic is not suitable for ScubaBoard.