What has amazed me is that unions seem to be (or used to be) stronger in the northern states than in southern states. I can't help but think, for whatever reason and there are several, that in general, the northern workers are more comfortable in settings with centralised control of things, and southerners are more comfortable in settings with decentralised control. I'm personally for whatever makes people happy.

 

76supercab2, "Blueovalranger, If managment doesn't plan properly and you have to stay over, time and a half is labor laws, not union rules.

2 questions for which there will be no answer,
1. If there was no union in your shop, would the company have been able to afford to keep the shop open?
2. Are management employees being forced to pay the difference between what you pay for health care and what it actually costs the company? Usually when there is a large group all buying the same thing (health insurance) the cost is divided evenly across the whole group. If part of the group is paying less, then the rest of the group has to make up the difference."


Overtime pay is part of the contract, for 'baragining' employees. Management employees are given 'comp time' in lieu of money. (Over their 50 hrs. per week. This is company 'policy'.) For the record, my company is regulated by 'Public Service Commission(s)' for each jurisdiction in three states.

Answer to #1: The only reason that any of us still have jobs is because of the union. Mis-management is the reason the shop was closed down. This is documented fact. My immediate supervisor knows how to run a print shop as well as a donkey knows how. (This man learned the trade on the floor of the print shop and BS'd his way into the job, when my former boss retired.) Out of (originally) 14 employees, we fell to 9 through retirement(s) and a death, and the company didn't replace anyone. (No company can keep an entity viable if all of the experienced employees leave and 'new blood' with some experience doesn't come in, or trainable people don't come in.)
My shop was a productive print shop. Lots of work. Pricing out jobs (too low) and buying inferior supplies helped out to 'sink' us.
After the shop was 'flown into the ground' - the union negotiated to keep the senior people that knew how to do the job(s). Everyone was placed within the company. One man was allowed to retire with a severance package. (There were two 'packages' offered. I had too many years to go, to retire.)This, by the way, made me the new 'senior' man.

(To keep things in perspective, my former manager retired, and my new manager actually listened to the employees, re: pricing. Create a 'fair price' for labor and 'spread it' throughout the company's different departments that use our services. (Which is every department.) Charge-back only the special order material[s] and overtime charge[s] for jobs that require overtime.) This works!!!
Management still doesn't always plan properly, so, overtime is still a daily occurance. Our department is 'in the black', however.
Management has also realized (after the fact) that it was a mistake to close our shop, but, it was too late. All of the equipment was either sold off, or given away, or junked. Over a million dollars worth of equipment was 'flushed'.

Answer to #2:
Management is given the choice of two policies. An HMO or a company 'sponsored' healthcare plan. (Self-administered.)
The only explaination I can get from our benefits dept. is that management makes a LOT more than union employees, so, they are required to pay more.
Management makes a minimum of 10% more than the highest paid 'bargaining' employee, and a percentage (??%) for each employee that reports to them.


Lastly, for all employees of our company, IF an employee's spouse has healthcare benefits offered from their company, they are REQUIRED to make use of it, to save our company money.

I apologize for the length of this post. This subject is near and dear to my heart.

Keith

 

Why do we have unions in the first place? Because people like Henry Ford refused to pay fair wages or provide safe, decent working conditions. Have unions outlived their usefulness? There's only one way to tell: take 'em away. Then watch what GM and Ford and the rest of the large corporations do to their blue-collar workers.

I'll bet the UAW steps to the plate and takes care of their own in Louisiana, well before the corporations realize there's a lot of free good will and publicity in helping those poor people. Like it or not, unions are (for the most part) a necessary evil.

 

Hello everyone, haven't posted for awhile so here is My 2 cents worth.
My Dad was in the Union , so that is how I grew up, respecting the Union.
I remember there were times when the Union was picketing and we were Not allowed to shop at a NON-UNION store...that was my Dad's wishes.
He was a plumber and way back when....when the rainy season came and there was no work, he was able to use his vacation time/money to get us through.
So, in a nutshell, I think Unions are good, but, to each his own

 

Well, this is interesting subject I started and im glad everyone is
being civil about there responces. I currently am voting to turn
down a certain contract offer only becuase it really shows the company does'nt appreciate its workers who make the vice and ceo's the money they are getting. Personally i dont think the medical will change, but come on a company that has 50billion $$
in orders i think can give up the price of on item to share the wealth we as workers have givin them, working 12 hr days and weekends. really what better way to show appreciation. and i understand that not all can get in on things like that and i wish you could. Our ceo got 22million be for his first minute at work. Throw us alittle bone, so us working to the bone feel a little appriciated.

 

Depends-for example, Wal Mart needs one, big utility companies do not.

 

When I worked construction, I was as a union member, remember UNIONS built America, and I do support them, and they built that Ford you drive..

 

I was "represented" by a worthless union that we ended up voting out. This was the largest union decertification in US history.

Construction trade unions are the only ones that I have seen really benefit both workers and employers.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are public employee unions that represent govenment workers already covered by civil service protection, tenure, etc. The taxpayer should not be held hostage to those unions.

Jim