the overwhelming majority of employees who are union members are very grateful to be able to have a union. I've heard all the reasons why unions are no good from union haters. Here are my reasons unions are good:
1. Bidding on jobs by seniority within qualifications, not by the "boss" who likes someone better. Let me add that if the winning bidder cannot or is not qualified, he must return to his original job, something I rarely have seen.
2. Employee cannot be fired because of personality differences with management. I've seen a few people who were not afraid to "give their opinions" to management and be among the best workers.
3. Layoffs and recall rights done honestly.
4. Humanity reasons........some non-union companies will fire a person because of a health problem or injury.
5. Ideas from employees for better production and a safer workplace(which saves money) are taken more seriously. In fact, companies and employees have a better relationship and any manager worth his salt will tell you employees treated better will work better.
Fact: most union employees are proud of the jobs they do and want to protect their jobs with quality work.
Fiction: jobs lost to other countries are due to union labor. One of the biggest myths ever. When a company decides to export their jobs overseas, its done whether its employees are non-union or union. Many factors make companies export jobs, many of which are due to government regulations and taxes.
The best way to keep a union out of your company is to treat your employees fairly! This was said to my uncle who owned and iron works they were thinking about trying to organize. In the same conversation he told my uncle that they would not even start to try and organize his workers because they were very happy, my uncle treated them fairly and paid them well also.
All of you union haters make sure you thank the unions for things like:
40 hour work week
child labor laws
health benefits
time and a half for overtime
vacations
safe working conditions
Just to name a few.
PS I have not worked union for over 25 years, but I am still thankful for them.
Unions are like churches, there are good ones and there are bad ones.
__________________
The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog
Good post Taz and true. In fact the two largest employers(in terms of numbers), in my county are non-union because they are treated well.
Stealthycat, I have seen the occasional union employee who is not holding up their end. But I've also seen suckups to the boss who aren't worth a darn get promotions, better vacations and better treatment overall than honest hard workers in a non-union enviroment.
While I'm grateful for the good things they did in the past they are just about useless anymore since Reagan took their teeth out . The ones here do little more than collect dues for the Mafia and won't stand up for you .
1. Bidding on jobs by seniority within qualifications, not by the "boss" who likes someone better. Let me add that if the winning bidder cannot or is not qualified, he must return to his original job, something I rarely have seen. Bull cookies . The task should always go to the person best qualified , not who's been around the longest .
2. Employee cannot be fired because of personality differences with management. I've seen a few people who were not afraid to "give their opinions" to management and be among the best workers. Bull cookies again , management nearly always fires you over a personality difference , ask FNG , and most of them are bright enough to cover their butt to where your union can't get you rehired .
3. Layoffs and recall rights done honestly. Done by contractual agreement based on seniority , not actual qualification .
4. Humanity reasons........some non-union companies will fire a person because of a health problem or injury. So will a union shop , see answer to #2 . Firing someone because of poor health is also a violation of Federal law , ever heard of anyone beating an employer in court for that ? Not often .
5. Ideas from employees for better production and a safer workplace(which saves money) are taken more seriously. In fact, companies and employees have a better relationship and any manager worth his salt will tell you employees treated better will work better. If employer treated you right you wouldn't have dreamed of voting a union in to begin with , now would you ? Any employer will take suggestions to improve productivity , especially those that reduce cost . Safety generally isn't high on their list unless it also reduces cost .
Fiction: jobs lost to other countries are due to union labor. One of the biggest myths ever. When a company decides to export their jobs overseas, its done whether its employees are non-union or union. Many factors make companies export jobs, many of which are due to government regulations and taxes. Granted , but only because "employees went union" was the second most cited reason due to potentially higher wages and interference from union with day to day affairs .
Back 100 years ago unions served a useful purpose because employers were little better than slave owners . Nowadays they lack credibility and , more importantly , teeth . The laws favor the employers and always have .
__________________
Kevin Haendiges
NAHC Life Member
NRA Member
Wildlife Forever Member
GOA Member
Buckmasters Member
http://hunting-indiana.com
1. Bidding on jobs by seniority within qualifications, not by who the "boss" who likes someone better. Let me add that if the winning bidder cannot or is not qualified, he must return to his original job, something I rarely have seen.
But if a employee with lower seniority and higher qualifications gets a position, that's bad.
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2. Employee cannot be fired because of personality differences with management. I've seen a few people who were not afraid to "give their opinions" to management and be among the best workers.
Termination based on personal differences alone sounds like a discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen. You know the Department of Labor enforces federal labor laws without needing the unions to get all huffy about their importance in the workplace.
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3. Layoffs and recall rights done honestly.
So you don't like capitalism?
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4. Humanity reasons........some non-union companies will fire a person because of a health problem or injury.
That's also a discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen.
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5. Ideas from employees for better production and a safer workplace (which saves money) are taken more seriously. In fact, companies and employees have a better relationship and any manager worth his salt will tell you employees treated better will work better.
I wouldn't work for a company in which I couldn't speak honestly. Let's try having the workers themselves set higher standards for their jobs, rather than allowing unions to pretend that there's no hope without them. Besides the fact that we still have the Department of Labor and OSHA.
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Fact: most union employees are proud of the jobs they do and want to protect their jobs with quality work.
You can count my wife out--she wants nothing more to do with the CWA (in fact she quit, yet still has to pay the dues). Doing the job properly by itself gets her through the day. The union bureaucracy just throws a wrench into life around the office. They take the dues, promise the world, and then do nothing with a budget out of control.
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Fiction: jobs lost to other countries are due to union labor. One of the biggest myths ever. When a company decides to export their jobs overseas, its done whether its employees are non-union or union. Many factors make companies export jobs, many of which are due to government regulations and taxes.
Yep, the American workforce as a whole is pricing itself out of the world market, union or not. Employees in India are content living without all the garbage Americans just have to own to get through life.
You know unions were necessary in the late nineteenth century, but we've come a long way in the past 100 years (whether labor organizers want to admit it or not). I don't see elementary school children working 12 hours per day in a sweatshop, nor do I see employees being forced to use dangerous equipment without being giving the proper training. The way I see things, companies aren't trying to abuse labor--it's the other way around.
Bull cookies . The task should always go to the person best qualified , not who's been around the longest.
Most senior employees are "most" qualified.
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Bull cookies again , management nearly always fires you over a personality difference , ask FNG , and most of them are bright enough to cover their butt to where your union can't get you rehired.
The unions I have been members of would not allow a firing over a personality difference alone, and if someone was fired because the manager did not like the employee, he/she got their job back.
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. Done by contractual agreement based on seniority , not actual qualification.
Read no. 1, unqualified employees cannot successfully bid on a job requiring certain qualifications. But jobs bid that have a training program, the unqualified bidder has a reasonable amount of time to qualify and be as productive as anyone.
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. If employer treated you right you wouldn't have dreamed of voting a union in to begin with , now would you ? Any employer will take suggestions to improve productivity , especially those that reduce cost . Safety generally isn't high on their list unless it also reduces cost
Thats why some work places voted in a union.....you answered your own question.
But if a employee with lower seniority and higher qualifications gets a position, that's bad.
That all depends on the job for bid. Lets not fool ourselves......many jobs don't need special qualifications, in other words many peons can learn to do a job well quickly. In jobs that do, they are bid to qualified employees only, and if none are qualified they go out and find someone who is.
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So you don't like capitalism?
I do. Would you like to be laid off before a less senior member who performs the same job? Would you like being recalled after a less senior employee of the same job or perhaps never recalled at all?
While you hate Unions..........
