An amazing quote.

[Homesteadmom]

How's everybody feel about the bill coming up to allow workers to promote formation of unions without retribution from their employer?
Unions have been going downhill ever since Reagen tried to get rid of them. Of course they probably are one of the reasons the big 3 are having such a hard time. Without them there would've never been a middle class.

they need to keep the secret ballot.

 

[me&thegals]

I don't know much about unions at all, but I know construction unions give my family (dad and brother) a VERY hard time in their nonunion construction business. They follow them around in vehicles, picket all their jobs, actively recruit their guys ON the job, etc. My dad pays incredibly good wages, benefits, bonuses and vacation. His secretary alone makes $18/hour with bennies. I know this is only one side, but it's hard for me to feel too great about construction unions in our area based on their behavior towards my family. Like most construction companies, my dad's business is really beginning to struggle. He just lost a prospective job because all the picketing was annoying the owner so much that he just didn't want to deal with the hassle.

So, that's great if people want to be union. Send the employees letters or pamphlets. But, for Pete's sake, don't stalk and harrass people choosing to be nonunion!

Like I say, I know next to nothing about unions. My leanings are definitely liberal, but this time I wonder if unions are something whose time has come and gone. Especially when I hear about auto unions unwilling to make ANY concessions on wages in the face of gov't bailouts and bankrupcy. Come on.

 

[Homesteadmom]

I don't know much about unions at all, but I know construction unions give my family (dad and brother) a VERY hard time in their nonunion construction business. They follow them around in vehicles, picket all their jobs, actively recruit their guys ON the job, etc. My dad pays incredibly good wages, benefits, bonuses and vacation. His secretary alone makes $18/hour with bennies. I know this is only one side, but it's hard for me to feel too great about construction unions in our area based on their behavior towards my family. Like most construction companies, my dad's business is really beginning to struggle. He just lost a prospective job because all the picketing was annoying the owner so much that he just didn't want to deal with the hassle.

So, that's great if people want to be union. Send the employees letters or pamphlets. But, for Pete's sake, don't stalk and harrass people choosing to be nonunion!

Like I say, I know next to nothing about unions. My leanings are definitely liberal, but this time I wonder if unions are something whose time has come and gone. Especially when I hear about auto unions unwilling to make ANY concessions on wages in the face of gov't bailouts and bankrupcy. Come on.

They survive on the dues the members pay, so if they loose groups they loose their jobs too. And they get more groups of employees to try to get unions in their place of employment by bullying a lot of the times. Not always but sometimes. And in this economy they need to go back to negotiate wages with some of these companies so that employees can keep their jobs & companies stay open.

 

[me&thegals]

That makes sense. My family had noticed a definite upswing in this behavior lately, including their car hanging out by my niece and nephew's bus stop. They thought maybe union people were becoming unemployed and this was their new job for the union. But if their membership levels are being threatened, it would make sense that there would be an escalation in this type of behavior.

 

[Homesteadmom]

I would keep an eye on those kids!!

 

[On Our own]

 

[Homesteadmom]

Again my opinion, notice I said "I"

 

[me&thegals]

On Our Own--I would sincerely be interested in your opinions on unions. I don't know much about them. I have one bad situation to base my opinion on.

As for my brother's kids, I don't worry about them. I don't think this is a mafia-style situation. I think the union is just trying to be my brother's shadow, but it really has gone too far when that includes hanging out in his neighborhood.

So, please, somebody help me see it from the other side!

 

[On Our own]

Once upon a time in a land not too far from here people were worked twelve hours a day and they had one day a week off. They got no holidays with pay. If they got injured on the job, they lost the job. In many cases if a person died on the job their family lost their housing because the local houses were often owned by the largest employer.

It was not uncommon for women to get a knock on the door and her husband's body would be brought in. Then they would tell her she had three days to have the funeral and get out of the house. (This is all well documented.)

Slowly people, miners at first, started trying to organize to get better treatment. Many were shot. The government sent out troops on more than one occasion to prevent the workers from unionizing. One time in the mountains of West Virginia workers were actually bombed!

Very, very slowly they succeeded in organizing. Eventually, they won rights like an 8 hour work day and overtime pay. Worker's compensation and death benefits. Following WWII most businesses had a very paternal (socialistic almost ) attitude toward their employees and the need for unions sort of waned. For the most part any way. But, unions really kept the businesses from regressing when they really tried to. This really depended on the industry.

By the 70s things had gotten pretty bad with the unions. Some had gotten very corrupt and the leaders were making huge amounts of money. During the 70s it did get pretty bad and unions caused some real problems. But, they continued to do some good with issues of employee exposures to toxic things and injuries. Then came the Reagan years.

Many corporations hired advertising firms to discredit the unions. There was ample fodder. They did such a good job that unions who really had a legit beef lost public support. Then Reagan broke the air traffic controllers union. This was a real shame, the controllers had serious concerns that got ignored for another ten years.

Then corporations were allowed to buy businesses and "utilize" the pension funds. Supposedly they were going to honor the obligations at some later point with the vast amounts of money they would make if they had complete control over that money. 90% of the businesses lost it all.

The beat goes on though. There are huge contracts held by advertising companies to bad mouth unions. There are lobbyist firms that have massive budgets solely to defeat anything union in congress.

This will start a huge fight, but the in GM union issue most people ignore the fact that a.) the huge chunk that people get mad about that is pension debt wouldn't be an issue if the firm had not been allowed to raid the existing pension funds in the 80s their fund had been completely self funding! b.) GMs money troubles are because they formed GMAC and bought DITECH at the height of the bad mortgage market.

Their bankruptcy doesn't have squat to do with cars! Or unions. Now, more than in the last 30 years we need unions. Look at how well the CEOS did with no one protecting the employees. We should trust them ?

Sorry this is so long. I did a thesis on this topic ten years ago, and routinely deliver three hour lectures! Consider yourself lucky to have gotten off easy!! But, you asked.

 

[Big Daddy]

I love it when someone has actually researched a subject and post from what they have learned vs what they have heard. I think the EFCA is going to pass. I think severe wage disparity as it exist right now is going to change. By the way I am guilty of posting what I have heard without proper research too.