Should Union's even exist any more?

No sounds like you got it !Unions a outdated at best ! a crutch for lazy and stupid is more the case ! If you want to blame someone for the economy and manufacturing going overseas look no further!Greedy corporate interset is also to blame but I cant blame them to a point I would shut my biz down before I would tolerate that B.S.

I worked for UPS for a few months this summer and it was the worst experience I've had on a job. So much mgmt vs Union garbage it was unbelievable. Very easy for lazy people to get by while hardworkers get punished. It was so ridiculous that if a mgmt employee so much as touched a package one of the union guys would file a complaint, saying that mgmt was taking their work from them. It was ridiculous. I was in the union but only because I had to be. The only thing a union is good for is making life miserable for everyone. IMHO

I guess it did get me really cheap health insurance.

Having the same problem here with Bobcat Co., the ones who make skidsteers. Had strike a few years back, got all their policies.

Had first closing for 3 week period with some of the leave paid becuase of the slow down in factory jobs, first time!!! The union had a deal where they would have severance packages for a %, Bobcat followed through and now all the locals are saying Bobcat is shutting down becuase they are owned by a successful South Korean company Doosen(sp?). Sky's falling, all because of the local union...

Unions were intended to protect workers from bad employers. Give them a voice as a group.

In my opinion some unions much like Affirmative Action have gone so far in the wrong direction they have lost there usefulness.

The funny part about Union's (at least the craft Unions) is that they are cutting their own throat's by voting Dem. The Dem's are very anti-business
and by being so, force companies to ship good jobs overseas to make a profit.
Union guys typically work for big companies (Small ones can't aford them).
Now I understand why govt Union's back the Dem's, more Govt Jobs!
Teachers Unions, more Govt spending (BTW I am a little tired of hearing how teachers have it so bad) Boeing Unions like the Dem's because they know they are going to bail out airlines again which means more planes....
UAW Unions like the govt because they know a bailout for them is coming too...I understand it's hard to get by on $74.00 an hour these days (to cross thread a bolt)

I think everyone should make 10 bucks an hour (or less) and let the employer rape the worker No pension no bennys who cares?

There is a different look at it.
A friend of mine has worked for safeway for 18-19 years. Yes the mgt/worker issues are there, but consider that he is making @ $32k a year to stock shelves in the dairy section. It is back breaking work BTW. Ask the same dude working at walmart w/o union support how much he is bringing in. I bet it's half of that. Is my buddy lazy? NO. If the unions were disbanded, even more jobs would be taken over at min. wage. The fast food joints are filled with mexicans working for next to nothing, they would simply migrate to these other positions as well. Unions are far from perfect, but they do provide a higher standard of life and a retirement that few other employers provide today.

Edit: his medical for him and 2 kids is only $40 a month plus a pension.

I had to join a union for my new job.

No I'm not happy with it, but I will deal with it until I move on to the next one.

NWPow, you hit the nail on the head. I work in management for a contractor signatory to the union. The hardcore union know it alls, will argue the fact that all should be paid a decent wage for doing a particular job. This goes against everything I was born and raised to believe in. Most people with any degree of drive will agree that a persons wage and advancement will solely depend on what that person has proven himself worthy of. I began life as a college grad looking for a job with a starting wage I could simply survive on, nothing more, nothing less. Over time I knew if I worked hard, proved myself, proved I was worth more than what I was currently making and showed some leadership potential, advancements would come. Some of these young cocky union peckerheads grossing $100,000 a year aren't worth the toilet paper they wipe their azz with, most of them have proved the only thing they are capable of is logging overtime. The problem with the unions is that only about 25% of the members are worth their rate of pay.

I agree there are many BUMS in the Union's but they usually get weeded out. And agree totally thats the unions are far from perfect. But I beleive that the unions are still needed or after time wages and benefits would (in my opinion) not keep up with inflation.
I know many Non union people working in the trades. some make more, some make less. I Chose union for there apprenticeship and continuing training programs as well as the benefits and variety of Jobs that are available.

organized labor began in an attempt to gain some measure of fairness relative to the big companies ruthless exploitation of countless, faceless men and women who were forced to work for no more than subsistence wages....14 hour days, 7 days a week....frequently in filthy, despicable conditions...the carnegies, rockefellers, kennedys (to just name a few) that controlled the huge companies of a century ago, had nothing but contempt for the newly arrived people from europe, asia and other depressed areas of the world....company bulls (enforcers) were ruthless....jobs to support a family were nearly impossible to attain...companies colaborated to suppress wages and any meaningful opportunity for labor to rise above the most meager of circumstances...mobility was not as we know it today....the use of arms, even automatic weapons, to suppress the people are well documented for those who care to research the subject..........are there now abuses by unions?, sure there are....but some of these "abuses" have very real reasons for existing, and unless you know the history and tradition of the situation, you are probably not in a position to judge the superficiality of what you may see....i worked in transportation, and when i first went to work, the government rules were such that the company could work me six days a week....and they did, when i got my day off, it was where ever in the north american continent i happened to be....i normally could only manage two days a month at my home....i worked for 425 dollars a month, and it was pretty bleak.....the workers at my company organized....we soon were able to get our day off each week at our homes, wages slowly increased and after several years, i was up to 2000 a month....i was able to buy my first car that wasn't a 300 dollar beater....i could start to raise my kids with some semblence of hope for a better life....i watch the revolving door of the big managers, who suck way more than their share of the profits of our company, and exit with "golden parachutes" far in excess of what they contributed, while the rank and file employee gets nothing beyond the limits of their contract....it's the laborers who are more economically tied to the company, not the managers, who move every 3-5 years, and who care more for what they can exploit in the short term for their own benefit, than any average worker is capable of....the greed and avarice displayed by the bright boys on wall street and main street (bankers) have caused more economic chaos than any union could ever envision.....and one more thing, the largess that is enjoyed by a great many people in this country, is there in large part because of those who dared, against enormous odds, to organize in an attempt for a better life......the ignorance of history will cause the need for many problems to be solved....again

I have a good friend who is quite a success story. His story goes something like this. He took his sweet old time graduating from high school. He was in and out of the house because he knew it all. His father let him return hoping he would come around, he did. He moved west with no more than his high school diploma, worked as a driller, blaster, making just enough money to survive. He could have gone union, worked half speed, and made a decent living, he chose not to. He knew he had some great leadership skills and made an attempt at breaking the mold. He went to work for a thriving mining company and worked his way up through several layers of management. He now shares office space with Professional Engineers, PHD's, and Doctorates of the mining world armed only with a high school diploma. He was worth enough to retire at age 48 if he wanted to. He elected to prove himself and his selfworth without union representation.

My union bennies are f'n awesome, and I weedout as many of the lazy basturds as I can.My contract with the union allow's me to hire outside the hall and put them into the union.

Adrenaline, you sound like an uneducated fool. Being union does not meen you work half speed. Are there lazy asses? You bet. Any lazy asses in non union jobs? you bet. Unions have their place. Maybe not in every industry but some. As a Redi Mix driver I welcome the union. We can't sandbag or be lazy and milk it. They know where we are at all times. If you go to work every day and work hard you have nothing to worry about. BTW, I'll be hanging it up at 53.

priest lake rmk said:

I think everyone should make 10 bucks an hour (or less) and let the employer rape the worker No pension no bennys who cares?

Click to expand...

Obama will save you

Unions had there place but look at how the unions are screwing up industry. The airlines & auto companies are unionized but they are hurting and their service/product does not compete. Unions need to work with management.

LOL Graveler. I argree that unions need to deal with management better. Off to plan how I can avoid diong my job tomorrow.