Are you a union member?

[LiquidMidnight]

The heroic "risk taker" is a mythical character of bad utopian novels.

I always said that Dagny Taggart was a rich girl who benefited from nepotism, Galt was a pretentious douche crybaby, Rearden was a man with the personality of an IBM 700 mainframe who hated his family, and d'Anconia was a self-important pseudo-intellectual.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

If so, what do you think of your union? Are they helpful? Uninvolved? Do they do nothing but butt heads with management and cause more problems than they solve?

I'm looking for responses based on real experiences here, so let's leave the unfounded union bashing out please.

I think they are awesome.

The company I work for has a union which represents all the associates in our facility. As a salaried employee, I cannot be a part of the union, so I'm looking at the union as an outsider.

What I can tell you is that our union stewards put our company first because they know that without us there would be no jobs for their members. The stewards help during our interviewing process, and they will be the first to tell us when someone is a bad fit for the company. They don't only do this when a interviewer is just plain bad, but they will do this even when someone is good but they have the potential (for whatever reason) to not be an employee who will be in it for the long haul.

The union has also been able to negotiate fantastic wages and benefits for our associates. This is great for the people on the floor, but it is also great for management, as we have real reason to demand quality work and effort from the people we hire. The stewards, again, support us in these regards, and they'll be the first to support us whenever issues arise. That in mind, we, as management members, have to be careful to play by the rules and to be consistent with each and every employee. But because we do this so well, the stewards have put a lot of faith and trust in our company to be just and fair in every action we take which affects them.

I have always been supportive of unions, and this situation has only increased that support. I think they are fantastic when they are run well and when there is a great relationship between the stewards and the executive team members of a company.

 

[ZenG]

I worked in a union for 42 years.

Management is not perfect and neither are unions.

I know what a previous poster meant about "pulling chain"
in a lumbermill....because that's how I started.

Nowadays they make you take a physical pre- test.

Female prospects for the same job have it easier.

To pass the physical they don't need to do half the stuff that a guy does.

Unions can tend to be protective......although I've seen many people flat out fired for good....with the union's blessing.

But I've also seen people that were almost un-fireable. Time and time again they'd be fired.....and time and time again the union would get them back (with retro-active pay).

Overall I think the union is a good thing.

The management we had would have had us working all hours/crazy shifts for absolute peanuts if they could have gotten away with it..

Some of the union members where I worked were plain and simply "dead wood"....with any excuse to not do something.

But on the other hand there were some real crackerjacks too.......not afraid of hard work, intelligent, and knew how to get the most out of any machine or product plan.
Those guys were a joy to work with.

The lard-asses were a pain to work with....but I suppose you find those everywhere......

 

[CrashClint]

I worked for Newport News Shipbuilding right out of college in the mid 80s, which was represented by the Steelworker's Union. For the first two years I was not a member, I had a really good boss that I didn't mind busting my butt for on the job. I was also liked by the General Foreman which was my bosses boss. I helped him wire his garage and a couple small electrical projects over about a years time. Seeing I was a hard worker and wanting to see me excel, the General Foreman transferred me to the nuclear instrument shop which was mostly reserved for Shipyard Apprentice School graduates at the time.

Well, my new supervisor was an absolute jerk. I was treated like an outsider and given the most sh!tty jobs. For example, it was approximately 3 miles from one end of the shipyard to the other. He would send me on jobs without providing transportation to the other end of the yard so I had to walk just about 3 miles. I would finish the job, call in on the radio, ask if there were any jobs slated, he would say no and I would walk back. As soon as I was back at the shop he would send me back out to the other end again instead of calling me on the radio and telling me there was another job before I walked back or at least along the walk back to the shop. The guys in the shop would tell me, he would laugh about pulling the BS on me. After doing this three times in one night, I told him I didn't appreciate how I was being singled out and at that point he tried to find every and any thing he could write me up about over the next couple of months to the point of taking me to HR to have me fired.

I was sitting outside of HR and a union rep sat down beside me and asked me if I was a member of the union, I told him, you get me out of this and I will be. He handed me the card, I signed it and told him what had been going on. When my supervisor and the HR rep called me into the office, the union rep said for me to stay seated, he walked in the meeting, came out 15 minutes later and said go back to work, you will never have an issue with this again and I guarantee you will be treated fairly.

I think back then it cost me $16 a week plus a percentage of overtime. In that situation I definitely saw the value of a Union as I never had an issue with the supervisor.

Word also got back to the General Foreman who had transferred me to the shop about what was going on and I remember the GF coming into the shop, pulled my supervisor into the office, shut the door and everyone in the shop could hear the GF almost shouting. The GF came out of the office and looked over at me, nodded his head and went out the door. A few minutes later the supervisor came out with his head hung low like a beaten dog.

 

[Dug2]

L.U 130 U.A. PLUMBERS in CHICAGO IL.
no complaints here, pretty much the same things to say as already mentioned.
i do however wish work wasnt still slow.

"cheap labor isnt skilled, skilled labor isnt cheap"

 

[Drunk Heffalump]

Union, CAW local 112, now Unifor Local 112 since '96 with a small 3 year layoff coinciding with 9/11.
Having been in both situations, Union all the way. There are far too many managers that are there because of nepotism, or being a BBL, and as a result usually are nothing more than asshat, halfwit, bullies incapable of organizing a 2 car funeral. It's been my fate to have run across far too many of these illiterates, and God help you if they realize you're smarter than they.

 

[groooooove]

used to be a local 1500 member when i worked in a supermarket, for 6 years.

i'd rather have been non union the whole time. it really did just keep lazy people employed, and that was all.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
As a union stagehand and film technician I make a livable wage and have medical benefits.
Doing non-union gigs requiring the same equipment and skill sets I couldn't make that livable wage.

 

[Tbone76]

It seems like my union is only good for protecting the lazy and incompetent from facing the consequences of their laziness and incompetence. When it comes down to things like a recent 10% layoff, they're absolutely toothless. I work for the state of NY, and we're affected by something called the Taylor Law, which prohibits my union from going on strike. And so they're really pretty ineffective at anything that really matters.

I agree that CSEA and PEF are not as strong as they could be, but I do think that they made the right choice to force Gov Cuomo to follow thru with layoffs. If they just conceded and renegotiated the existing agreed upon contract, then any time the state wanted to change the terms they would just threaten layoffs again. Nobody wants to see anyone lose their job, but sometimes the bigger picture is more important. If you look at CSEA and PEF salaries in comparison to MC salaries, the Unionized pay is significantly higher than management for the same pay grade. So management is payed less than the people they're supervising. MC pay always had parity with the unionized workers, but for the past 6 years this suddenly hasn't been the case. The state has no money for its workers, unless you happen to be an appointee of the legislature or governor. Then they have deep pockets.

Regarding the Taylor law, King Cuomo has been looking to eviscerate that, too. Basically we still won't be able to strike, but the state or municipality will be able to renegotiate the expired contract on their own until a new one is agreed upon. So you could go from paying 10% for health insurance to 50% or higher until the contract is ratified. It's a way to basically force you into accepting concessions by waiting the unions out. Gotta love it!!

 

[LiquidMidnight]

As a salaried employee, I cannot be a part of the union

Do you mean that you have 2(11) supervisory status or do you mean that the bargaining unit cannot contain salaried employees? I'm unaware of any NLRB case law that forbids salaried employees from joining unions (of course, they would have to be organized into a separate bargaining unit, as their CBA is going to have to be much different than the CBA of hourly employees).

 

[fmoore200]

Do you mean that you have 2(11) supervisory status or do you mean that the bargaining unit cannot contain salaried employees? I'm unaware of any NLRB case law that forbids salaried employees from joining unions (of course, they would have to be organized into a separate bargaining unit, as their CBA is going to have to be much different than the CBA of hourly employees).

The management in my division have their own contract. Too bad it's three behind the driver's.

Basically I make more per hour than my supervisor :thumbup:

 

[LiquidMidnight]

The management in my division have their own contract. Too bad it's three behind the driver's.

Basically I make more per hour than my supervisor :thumbup:

In the private sector, "supervisors" can be in unions as long as they don't meet the tests of a 2(11) supervisor (i.e., the right to hire, fire, promote, change working conditions, etc.). At least that's the case with the NLRA. I don't know the finer details of how the RLA defines supervisors. That's why foremen can sometimes be in unions - they don't always meet the standards test with 2(11) status. In the past, employers have tried to get nursing unions decertified, alleging that nurses have 2(11) status because they oversee nurse aides and other similar employees. The NLRB has generally ruled that nurses don't meet the qualification for 2(11) status.

Now the public sector, which doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the NLRA (with the notable exception of the USPS) is a different animal, and managers who would hypothetically fall under 2(11) status in the private sector can oftentimes be union employees.

 

[philvanv]

If so, what do you think of your union? Are they helpful? Uninvolved? Do they do nothing but butt heads with management and cause more problems than they solve?

I'm looking for responses based on real experiences here, so let's leave the unfounded union bashing out please.

I am in the metal trades through the sheet metal union local 66. The SMWIA Union is great and fair with labor and management. Now the metal trades is a complete joke, however I work for the state and it may possibly be that they have no ability to have a say in what happens with our contracts or anything they have done or will do in the future. So far the state has taken12% of our wage, then 3% of our wage, then increased or medical, took our double time away because we are on call 24/7/365. But refused to give us on call pay once the double time was taken away. we still do our work but moral has taken a hit. Our Metal Trades reps did nothing while this took place from 2008-13. FYI before people say any neg comments we are marine vessel workers and make 19% less then the national marine trades....

 

[fmoore200]

In the private sector, "supervisors" can be in unions as long as they don't meet the tests of a 2(11) supervisor (i.e., the right to hire, fire, promote, change working conditions, etc.). At least that's the case with the NLRA. I don't know the finer details of how the RLA defines supervisors. That's why foremen can sometimes be in unions - they don't always meet the standards test with 2(11) status. In the past, employers have tried to get nursing unions decertified, alleging that nurses have 2(11) status because they oversee nurse aides and other similar employees. The NLRB has generally ruled that nurses don't meet the qualification for 2(11) status.

Now the public sector, which doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the NLRA (with the notable exception of the USPS) is a different animal, and managers who would hypothetically fall under 2(11) status in the private sector can oftentimes be union employees.

I work in the public sector, I think

 

[MarkMgibson]

I am in the metal trades through the sheet metal union local 66. The SMWIA Union is great and fair with labor and management. Now the metal trades is a complete joke, however I work for the state and it may possibly be that they have no ability to have a say in what happens with our contracts or anything they have done or will do in the future. So far the state has taken12% of our wage, then 3% of our wage, then increased or medical, took our double time away because we are on call 24/7/365. But refused to give us on call pay once the double time was taken away. we still do our work but moral has taken a hit. Our Metal Trades reps did nothing while this took place from 2008-13. FYI before people say any neg comments we are marine vessel workers and make 19% less then the national marine trades....

It's always been the case - some unions are great, some have too much power and actually hurt businesses, and some have no teeth and are utterly useless. Unfortunately, it sounds like your union falls into the latter catagory. I doubt you'll get any negative comments, as most people know this to be true.

 

[blue4]

I am in the metal trades through the sheet metal union local 66. The SMWIA Union is great and fair with labor and management. Now the metal trades is a complete joke, however I work for the state and it may possibly be that they have no ability to have a say in what happens with our contracts or anything they have done or will do in the future. So far the state has taken12% of our wage, then 3% of our wage, then increased or medical, took our double time away because we are on call 24/7/365. But refused to give us on call pay once the double time was taken away. we still do our work but moral has taken a hit. Our Metal Trades reps did nothing while this took place from 2008-13. FYI before people say any neg comments we are marine vessel workers and make 19% less then the national marine trades....

Attend your local meeting and ask about whether or not the state sets your price. Ask to file a grievance about the overtime. Ive been in 2 unions, 1 weak 1 strong. Only thing they had in common was a firm grasp of what constitutes overtime. Working for the state is quite different from private sector.