Unionize or not to Unionize...that is the question

anyone been in a union or have any experteese in them..........we are petitioning for one and have the voting in October........



:hat:ScottyJ:hat:

I was in a union..but unfortunately..that is all I did since I was young. I didnt take part in anything but a strike. Wasnt active for the life of me, I did it for more job security.

I say do it. If you don\'t have much seniority or really any plans to stay there, then it\'s not going to do you much good.. but over time they become an invaluable asset. Jus remember.. don\'t rely on the International to bail you out.. and don\'t go thinking they\'re gonna have their hands in your cookie jar. Yes, you are sending dues to them.. and they are backing you up with Strike funds and such when you request it.

The single most important thing to have in your Union is good leadership and hard-nosed Stewards who are looking out for everyone\'s best interest.. including the companies. Yes.. while the company may buck an scream.. not a whole lot of stewards will push a company to go under or move. Why should they? They job is to make things better for the workers at your plant.. not to put the plant out of buisness and make everyone loose their jobs. Remember, YOU are part of your union.. if you\'re going to fight for one.. then take part in it. Attend meetings, vote for your reps, and let them know what concerns you have.

The benefits of a Union are great.. (provided you have good leadership) but they do come at a cost. Dues, Strikes, Seniority.. but you have to take the good with the bad if you want to make any progress. I still can\'t believe there\'s people at Weatherhead here in Col. City that have been bailed out from terminations so many times that it ain\'t funny.. yet will still bytch and complain about how the union "Dosen\'t do anything for them". Wow.. all cause they had to pay 3 cents on the hour out of a 13 dollar per hour paycheck.. which the Union got them anyhow.

Yeah, I\'ve got a lot of experience around union shops and union organizations. My father served 2 terms as president of UAW Amalgamated Local 1404 out of Col. City. I\'ve been to the Walter Ruther Black Lake educational facility twice (definately go if you can!) and I\'ve been to the UAW International Elections as well as a 3 - Day delegation seminar down in Wash DC. I\'ve even met quite a few of the big-wigs like Doug Frazier (Helluva guy, ex-International Pres), Stephen Yokich (Ex Int. Pres - RIP), and Ron Gettlefinger (Prez UAW Region 3)

If you need any advice or contacts, lemmie know and I\'ll try my best to see what I can do.

Solidarity Forever!

BTW: Which union are you joining? UAW? URW? UPW?

the ICWUC/UFCW (international Chemical Workers Union Council)
we had our first "this is why you dont want to vote Union" spiel by our employer.....they even have a 3 part Tape!  I\'ll weigh both sides before deciding in October......

:hat:ScottyJ:hat:

[videoholic]

Well I am in the TV Biz and Unions absolutely suck.  They promote laziness.  If you are a shooter you can\'t edit.  You can\'t even put a tape into a machine to view it.  It is utterly the stupidest thing ever to exist.  

I have a thousand examples of how horrible unions are to work around, but it\'s not worth going into since I know you aren\'t into the TV thing.

BUT, in some other professions they work well.  Like all the maids in Vegas.  They are rather well paid considering what they do.

BUt I live in Florida.  We are a right to work state so unions aren\'t like what they are in other states.

I\'d say definitely go with the union.  Unions give the workers some leverage to help them get higher wages and better working conditions.  Of course the employers will be against it...it takes power from them and gives it to you.

I\'m very pro union.  I say vote for the union!

Oh dude.. jus a 3 part tape? You\'ve gotten off light so far. Trust me.. these companies will pull some dirty - DIRTY - tricks on you guys to get you stop from organizing. They can\'t outright threaten you anymore, but they will make it known loud and clear that you\'re jobs will be at stake if you loose the election. Jus be glad the days of gas-bombing workers on strike and hiring the mafia to beat down your Union reps are well over with. (Walter Ruther, prez of the international, was nearly beat to death outside of the GM plant in Flint Michigan back in the 30\'s)

Jus a word of advice.. don\'t take their shyt. At first.. they\'ll try to make the union look like the boogy man. Then they\'ll try to play themselves up by giving you perks and talking about how you\'re all like a family. Then it\'ll get dirty. I remember when my father was going around talking to people outside of the Dana Alcoil plant who were trying to unionize.. giving them advice and encouragement.. and the company came out with flyiers the next day calling him a liar.. saying that he\'ll collect a commision on all their dues, which is how he afforded the Cadillac he was driving. I can attest here and now that my father never recieved a DIME from the Union aside from compensation on money he spent while doing buisness for the Union. Even then, most of the time he\'d jus tear up the reciets and pay for it himself. They even repeatedly threatend to have him arrested for trespassing (Even tho he was always careful not to step foot on company property).

Good luck to whomever in your plant you elect as your leadership. It\'s all voluntary.. and it\'s a VERY thankless job.

[Kurt Angle]

Here in the UK the firefighters are talking about going on strike because they want a 40% pay rise!

They currently earn £20,000 and want an increase to £30,000.

Just think what your union could do for you!

Did anyone else think he was talking about atoms from the title?

Originally posted by Kurt Angle
Here in the UK the firefighters are talking about going on strike because they want a 40% pay rise!

They currently earn £20,000 and want an increase to £30,000.

Just think what your union could do for you!

I may be missing something, but isn\'t that a 50% pay raise?

unions are communistic in concept which could be a good thing or a bad but i dont belive in equal pay you should be paid what your worth  and union members have a mob mentality when working on a job site with nonunion workers