Any Union Brothers/Sisters here?

[theantiquetiger]

I got a great Christmas present this past weekend. We have been working since Sept 1st with out a contract. We signed a 6-year contract after turning down eight contracts (6 of which were a 100% NO vote).

We got 3% raise a year, a 401K, $1 raise per year for 6 years on our pension, kept our seniority, plus a few other things changed in the language.

It was touchy around here for the last few weeks with Christmas coming up, no contract, the company was threatening "Deadlock", etc. I would have dumped my entire collection if I had to.

BTW, I am with USW.

I was not sweating it as much as some of the guys. I had been an industrial maintenance electrician for the last 10 years before coming a Process Operator alittle over a year ago. I could find five jobs on the way home if I had too. Everyone is looking for industrial electricians around here.

[The Bat]

BCT & GM Union, Local 334(for 22 Years)!! I work for Hostess/Wonder(I.B.C.).

We've been in Bankruptcy for 3 Years...but the Company is going on the Auction Block next Month...sure hope We get a Buyer!

[theantiquetiger]

Good luck with that, I will be pulling for you brother!!!!

I have been through that before. The company I worked for before going where I am at now, was in Chapter 13 for two years. When I turned in my two week notice in October last year, they announced a week later that the plant was curtailing operations (for the 2nd time in 4 years). I ran into a guy from that plant yesterday and he said they do not plan to open back up in 2008. They have been out of work since last December. Luckly we had gotten S.U.B. (supplemental unemployment benefits) in our contract, so some of the older guys are sitting at home collecting a pay check (80&#37 and have free insurance for another year. The S.U.B. has run out for most of the guys, but the older guys still have a few more months.

That was Ormet, based out of Hannibal, OH, I that worked for. They have had alot of problems in the lst few years.

[fallensaviour]

Right on Brother,Good for you CUPE local 500 over here.Good luck Bat hope it all works out for you.

[Adam West]

Just out of curiousity, what are the benefits of a Union? What about the downside besides the Union dues?

I don't belong to one or work in an industry that has one. Do those of you that belong to a Union feel like your employer would rake you over the coals if there wasn't one? I would think that the employers need the skilled labor as much as the employees want some form of protection.

It is one of those things I was always curious about.

[The Bat]

Union Dues are $8.50 a Week. I pay nothing for My Medical Insurance...a $25.00 decuctable a Year(per Person) for Dental....I get up to $175.00 for Eye Glass'es. My Heath Benefits are unmatched! I also would NOT work for My Company without a Union...because the are real *******s!

[theantiquetiger]

Just out of curiousity, what are the benefits of a Union? What about the downside besides the Union dues?

The dues are nothing, like Bat said $8 a week or so (before taxes), I don't even see it.

I never much believed in unions before going to work for a company that had a union (Ormet). After working there for six years and seeing what a company, who does not give a crap about their employees, may do, I understand it. Unions protect the employees in more ways than just money. Things such as safety, job security, benefits, retirement, etc, are the main focus of unions in the industrial field.

Back in the day, unions were the ones that started the 40 hour work week, weekends, benefits, safey concerns, etc. Alot of the normal things everyone takes for granted at work nowadays was most likely started by unions.

The company I work for now is a major union buster and have been trying to get the union out of the plant since they bought it in the 70's. My plant actually has the longest lock out in US history, about 3 years, back in the 80's.

My company is the biggest chemical company in the world, and we let them know we are a major contributor to their success. They think anyone can do what we do, so we threaten walk out unless we got a decent contract. Back in the 80's during the lockout, they brought in replacements and our plant had more accidents, releases, and EPA fines than any other time.

Here in Baton Rouge, we have Exxon, one of the biggest refineries/chemical plants in the US. They are union as well, but they rarely have any problems because the company takes care of and values its employees. Some companies just like unions instead of dealing with labor boards. The contract is pretty much cut and dry.

As for downsides to unions, I cannot stand guys who use it as a crutch. We do have guys who take advantage of benefits that were set up to help employees, i.e. short term disability. When I was in my car wreck a couple months ago, I missed three days of work and our STD paid me about 80% of my lost wages. If you are in a car accident or hospitalized, the STD starts the first day. If you are just sick, it starts after missing two days. This is what the STD is intended for. We have some guys who go out, never go to the hospital, etc, but just get a doctor's excuse and stay out for months at a time. Neither the company nor union like this and are trying to make changes now that stop it.

The words "Not my job!" is often associated with unions. This is further from the truth. I would do (along with alot of other workers) any thing my employer ask of me with in my training and being safe. I deal with chemicals, and some are very deadly, one drop could kill a man. If my supervisor ask me to do something, I do have the right to refuse if I feel its unsafe or I have not been trained as to what I am doing while performing this task. Opening one wrong valve in my field can be dangerous. Some guys use this as a crutch as well. They may get assigned a pain in the butt job and cry "safety issue". All that does is it gets them out of the hard work. These are same guys that abuse the STD benefits.

The writers' strike right now is a great example. The networks are raking in millions on these major TV shows and the writers' are proving they are the backbone of the show.

[Adam West]

Union Dues are $8.50 a Week. I pay nothing for My Medical Insurance...a $25.00 decuctable a Year(per Person) for Dental....I get up to $175.00 for Eye Glass'es. My Heath Benefits are unmatched! I also would NOT work for My Company without a Union...because the are real *******s!

Are the health benefits through the Union or through your company?

If you are in an industry with unionized labor, is there any incentive to excel within in your company (meaning if you are a top performer, will that performance be recognized with bigger raises/promotions or are your hands tied to some extent)?

I have always been an employee at will, meaning I have no employment contract with my employer and that's the way most company's operate. I can leave if I choose or the company can let me go with or without cause.

I have worked for jerk companies and when that's the case, I find another job and leave. Fortunately, I work in the Accounting Field which almost every company needs and although there are a variety of ways to apply Accounting in any particular industry, it doesn't take long to catch on. Also, because of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, it has created a lot of job opportunities and there really aren't enough Accountants with the skill requirements to meet demand.

Does working in a Union, make it difficult to move from one job to another?

Do worker strikes just come with the territory?

[theantiquetiger]

Are the health benefits through the Union or through your company?

If you are in an industry with unionized labor, is there any incentive to excel within in your company


Does working in a Union, make it difficult to move from one job to another?

Do worker strikes just come with the territory?

All the benefits are negotiated in the contract.

My job is what it is, the thing I am trained to do. There really is no excelling because if my job at hand is not done, there can be some major problems. Think of a chemical plant as a huge production/assembly line. I got my spot in the line and I stay busy. There really is no time to excel at anything else because of my task at hand. I may have a task to do, and it is in an area that has fifty pipes all together. There could be forty-nine pipes that I have not a clue what is in them or what they do. Now if I do not do my job, there is repercussions, job loss etc.

As for moving jobs, that where seniority comes in. The older guys have first dibs at the more cushy jobs. We have one area we call he retirement home, because the average age is probably close to 60. These guys earned these positions because of the hard work for many years. There is no "cruising" on the job at a chemical plant. These guys started in the trenches (just like I am in now) and have earned their way up.

The only promotion for us is to a management/supervisor position and most people do not want them because of what we have seen the company do with their benefits. They are basically down to a nice pay check, crappy insurance, and crappy retirement.

Nobody likes strikes/lockouts, unions or companies. They are last resort, everyone loses. There are two types of strikes, one is an economic strike (pay, benefits, etc) and the other is an unfair labor practice strike (unsafe conditions, etc). If we were to go on strike under an economic strike, the company has the right to fire us and replace everyone. In an unfair labor strike, the company cannot replace the striking employees.

[gman]

Just out of curiousity, what are the benefits of a Union?

40 hour work weeks.
Time and a half for anything over 40 hrs.
The weekend off.
Good working conditions.
An honest days pay for a days work.
Apprenticeship programs for people to learn a trade or craft.

I'm not in a union -- but my dad and grandfather were in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and I profitted from the work of the unions.

[The Bat]

No...there is no incentive to excel at Your Job, because once You reach the top Rate...there's no where to go but Company Supervisor(and I don't want that!). I do My job well for my own Personal reasons...My Dad always said..."an honest Days work...for an honest Days Pay".

The other Beneifit's of Union's are: time & a half after 8 hrs(even if You don't get 40 hrs that Week), 10 max of forced overtime(plus they have to notify You before Your six working Hour of overtime). It's virtually IMPOSSIBLE to get fired(unless Your a complete Loser!). And if You're unjustly fired...We can arbirtrate and get You Your Job back(We haven't lost an Arbirtration Case yet!).

Down side: Yes...the Union protects the LAZY Slop as well. But I feel the system works as a whole..."the needs of the many...outweigh the needs of the few".

[theantiquetiger]

To give you a good example of contracts, we just went through eight contracts before settling on the one we signed over the weekend. The raises on the settled contract was 3%. The raise on the first of the eight (plus the other seven) was 3%. The money amount on the front end never changed. They wanted us to start paying more for our insurance (a major issue everywhere right now) and pay for the administration of our new 401K ($500,000 to start it and run it), plus for us to pay for more of our benefits.

If I get a $100 month raise on my paycheck before taxes/deductions, that looks fine and dandy; but if they are taking out to pay for stuff they use to pay for, I may end up bringing home less than I did before the contract. This is what they were trying to do to us. The upfront pay raise was not too big of an issue. If we did not get a dime raise, it would have not really mattered, its the money on the backside that is really important.

[Adam West]

Thanks for explaining them to me.

I really didn't understand how they worked or the necessity for them in a market driven economy (I would just thing the law of supply and demand would work) but definitely see your points.

It's also nice to know that the dues aren't outrageous. The days of the pension are long gone for most companies.

My company doesn't have the best insurance plan and they don't even offer a 401(k) match but like I said, I don't like it, I can leave and look for something better. But I work 10 miles from home, the pay is decent, and I'm happy here so to me it's worth not getting some of the perks that are customary at most companies.

[theantiquetiger]

My company doesn't have the best insurance plan and they don't even offer a 401(k) match but like I said, I don't like it, I can leave and look for something better.

That the biggest idea of unions, strength in numbers. "We want better benefits, retirement, etc!!" Leaving if you don't like it is the wrong answer; organizing and showing the company that you are as much of a part of the company as the stockholders, customers, etc.

[Hector]

You know, I was a member of a union for many years, and I could never quite feel at ease calling a non-related co-worker brother, to me, that has always felt a little bit on the cultish side.