Any UAW members here?

[mrsleeve]

YOU guys need to pull you heads out of you ass, thanks for being so narrow minded and stereotypical, with out unions even to day, we all will be working for nothing 7 days a week 362 days a year for minimum wage.

To all of you who wish to bash the union’s and say well I have a good paying job, I have medical , I have this I have that, well really, how do you think you got all of that? Do you really think it was your good looks? What you think all union members are lazy and don’t work. How do you think companies stay afloat if they are all lazy and not working? Ya maybe you do run your own company but think about it do you really think you would have a company if there was no unions out there? I think not because the rich company who would be paying their employees crap would then take everything over and you would have no chance to compete against the rich. The rich would get richer and the poor poorer. All you have to do is look over seas to the 3rd world country’s that have no unions at all and how are their workers being treated. You think just because you live in Canada or the USA that that wouldn’t of happen to you. Think again. As for the lazy workers that are working union jobs well then the company should get rid of them. Don’t say they can not because all they have to do is the paper work and make sure they document everything and they are gone but most companies out there are just too lazy to do that. Yes the union will back the employee because they have to. By law that employee paid into the union and that union must represent him and does not matter if he was wrong or not just like a murderer is entitled to a lawyer. If the company has done all their paper work he is gone. If someone threatens someone and got away with it then the only one to blame is the company because there are laws against that and the company didn’t do their job.

If it wasn’t for unions where do you think minimum wage would be today? Do you think there would be workers rights? Do you think it would be ok to fire someone because of the color of their skin or the way they dress or maybe they just don’t like your hair cut. You can thank unions for that protection. So you got a good paying job good for you. So you are a hard worker good for you. So you run your own company good for you. Just don’t go bashing something that has helped put Canada and the USA on the map and has helped get workers rights.

Also let use not forget most big companies go under because of miss manage of money and not because a union drove them under

[Pinepig]

You guys ought to try working for the Government with their unions.

We had one supervisory maintenance waffleswaffleswaffleswaffles at the last place I worked who would arrive late and leave early and put overtime on her card. The big boss man knew and couldn't do shit because of the union, needless to say she was completely fucking useless and the park always ran better without her there.

[JGood]

YOU guys need to pull you heads out of you ass, thanks for being so narrow minded and stereotypical, with out unions even to day, we all will be working for nothing 7 days a week 362 days a year for minimum wage.

................

What some unions HELPED to do, and what they are CURRENTLY doing to the economy are two very different things.

Just because someone did something right a long time ago, does not mean they are free to do many wrong things for the rest of their life. Same principle applies here.


Your oh-so-generous union SPOOFED MY MANAGERS EMAIL ADDRESS AND SENT ME AN EMAIL ATTEMPTING TO TRICK ME INTO SIGNING ON.

When I was forced to, EVERYTHING changed for the worse.

Explain, again, how this is helping me, as an employee?

[speedhop]

Well I'm not a huge fan of Unions, but every movie you watch is completed because of unions.

They seem to be doing quite fine. Working 12-15 hour days with union lunches and benefits is very helpful...maybe the unions you are all referring to hating are the ones that need revising, not destroying.

[808BMW]

But with all the competition today, not many companies will under-provide for their employees. At least not in my experiences.


And if they do, find a new fucking job, you idiot. :idea:

Competition? As in employers competing for workers? Almost every company out there will screw their workers (the people making their money) so some fat cats on the board get a raise, if given the chance.
Not to mention unemployment is up and workers are the ones competing for jobs, which is especially harder if you are in a field where illegal aliens can do your job for half price.

If my dad wasn't in a union, my little brothers wouldn't have health insurance. He wouldn't have the job security you DESERVE after busting your hump for the same people for 22 fuckin years.
I'm sure there are a lot of horribly run unions out there, but there's a reason they exist.

[leightone30]

unions r good & bad?

Ok well my take on this is, the UAW is not making the concessions it needs to make,to compete with non union auto workers (non American companies) I would no, Im a Marine Superintendent for Ports America, we are the largest stevedoring company in the U.S. & also run ports in Other countries, we only employ union dock workers..( I.L.A) and most of them R very professional, of course there r always a bad few in the bunch! but its the same on the company side as well, they make very good wages! good health & dental, and a good retirement, and they r never afarid too take a pay cut to run non union workers off the dock, the problem is not unions its the U.A.W... if they cant take a pay cut too save there industry & there jobs ...then fuckem! in a nut shell Unions r good< thats y america is in the state its in, we need unions to protect manafactering jobs in america, it was the american dream< if we loose those jobs....we loose most the middle class!!!!

[rwh11385]

Not to mention unemployment is up and workers are the ones competing for jobs, which is especially harder if you are in a field where illegal aliens can do your job for half price.

Hahhahhahahhahaha.

[Hallen]

Competition? As in employers competing for workers? Almost every company out there will screw their workers (the people making their money) so some fat cats on the board get a raise, if given the chance.
Not to mention unemployment is up and workers are the ones competing for jobs, which is especially harder if you are in a field where illegal aliens can do your job for half price.

If my dad wasn't in a union, my little brothers wouldn't have health insurance. He wouldn't have the job security you DESERVE after busting your hump for the same people for 22 fuckin years.
I'm sure there are a lot of horribly run unions out there, but there's a reason they exist.

Yes, competition. It works. Unions destroy competition, they destroy self worth, they destroy creativity. If a job sucks and you are not paid enough, quit. Find something better. If you can't find something better stick with it while you go to night school. Then find something better.

What people forget is that you have already gotten all you deserve to get after 22 years even if they fire your ass. They have already paid you. You agreed to work for them for certain pay. You got that. They don't owe you a damn thing after that. You may feel you deserve more because of all the blood and sweat you put into it, but the fact is you don't. Would it suck to have that happen? YES, of course it does. I know. I was there.

Do top executives do stupid and self destructive things? Yes they do. They can be just as greedy and stupid as the unions. Are some companies bad to work for? For sure. But, if that company wants to survive, they have to either pay more, or treat their people better. But that is only assuming there is some value in experienced and trained people. If all you do is install front seats in Ford F150's all day long, something that anybody could figure out in 10 minutes, then you can be replaced by any schmuck off the street. Get over it. Either improve yourself and get a job where skill is required, or get a Government job.

All the US big car companies should have gone to 90% automated factories years ago. There would be tons of jobs for people in designing, building, maintaining, servicing, installing, evaluating, those robots in the factories. Untrained people won't get good replacement jobs, but people willing to learn, will. It is painful... very painful, but you come out better for it. Unions have stopped all that from happening. Bang, now the economy drops and the bubble bursts. The leadership at the big car companies are 50% of the problem. But the unions are the other 50%.

[rwh11385]

Hmmm, why can't Detroit keep up with Marysville, OH? Lafayette, IN? Spartanburg, SC?

He explained that in 2006, widely available industry and Labor Department statistics placed the average labor cost for UAW-represented workers at the former DaimlerChrysler at $75.86 per hour. For Ford it was $70.51, he said, and for General Motors it was $73.26.

“That includes the hourly pay, plus the benefits they’re receiving and all the other costs to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, including legacy costs – retirement costs, pensions, and so on – so it’s looking at the total labor costs per hour worked for workers,” Perry said.

For U.S. workers at Toyota, however, the per hour labor cost is around $47.60, around $43 for Honda and around $42 for Nissan, Perry added, for an average of around $44.

“So we’re looking at somewhere around a $29 per hour pay gap between the Big Three and the foreign transplants that are producing cars in the United States,” Perry, chairman of the economics department,

[leightone30]

it depends

it works hand in hand like i said if the U.A.W wont make the consessions it needs to help the hand that feeds it then they derserve too go under, bailouts wont help, if people cant get loans they cant buy cars! but in all unions are not bad! the longshoremen i work with r very skilled workers operating very dangerous and very large machines in very dangerious situations , the union machanics that fix them r very good too, in all it depends in the industry... as for me i would only want union dock workers working for me!!!!

[mrsleeve]

What some unions HELPED to do, and what they are CURRENTLY doing to the economy are two very different things.

Just because someone did something right a long time ago, does not mean they are free to do many wrong things for the rest of their life. Same principle applies here.


Your oh-so-generous union SPOOFED MY MANAGERS EMAIL ADDRESS AND SENT ME AN EMAIL ATTEMPTING TO TRICK ME INTO SIGNING ON.

When I was forced to, EVERYTHING changed for the worse.

Explain, again, how this is helping me, as an employee?

hey fuck head now you are attacking me, I belong to 2 unions I must be twice as lazy right??? fuck you. I get up between 3am and 6am 7 days a week, (I get a sunday off once in a while) I work between 12 and 24 hour days, and have not been home in nearly 6 months. My union protects me from both the contractor I work for by making sure they play by the rules, and since my union also represents a huge chunk of our customers work force it make sure they also play by the rules an we get paid for our time. Yes I pay dues ohhhh shit 24 a month, so much out of my pocket damm dont know what I will do. Our working due are about 200 a month depending on your hours. You want know what that 200ish pays for, training, so I or any of my union brothers an sisters can go when we have time off an learn more about our jobs, new technology, new equipment, class room on how things are done, hands on, you name it. That way we are worth more to our contractors and better equipped with the knowledge than 99% of that rat out fits in our industry. That money pay for the demo equipment (some cost 800k apiece) our perdiem while we are in IN for classes and the instructors. I play with very strong radioactive sources all day, not the sorta thing that you want some dip shit making 6 bucks an hour out there in the general useing. also I can run most heavy equipment and my 10 years as a pipelayer, mean I can do nearly anything that involves build water, sewer, cross country gas pipelines, roads large building foundations, my list can go on and on. Yes a union helped me all through my child hood I had good health care because my dad was a union man, when he got lou gehrig's the union and his contractor that he put 30 years into took care of him till he passed and they now hold both of my retirement accounts (that the general funds are still making money) provide good heath care for both me and the wife, as well make sure she is taken care of if something bad happens to me.


While I will tend to agree that the UAW has slit its own throat. The UAW is not the only union out there Look in cites that are have lots union shops compared to having few. The largely unionized cities have a higher average wage across the board for both union and no union shops, the same goes for entire states. Not all unions are bad bro, a union is only as good as its management, just like an contractor or business dont let the UAW form you opinion of all unions.

[leightone30]

you tell brother!!!!

hey fuck head now you are attacking me, I belong to 2 unions I must be twice as lazy right??? fuck you. I get up between 3am and 6am 7 days a week, (I get a sunday off once in a while) I work between 12 and 24 hour days, and have not been home in nearly 6 months. My union protects me from both the contractor I work for by making sure they play by the rules, and since my union also represents a huge chunk of our customers work force it make sure they also play by the rules an we get paid for our time. Yes I pay dues ohhhh shit 24 a month, so much out of my pocket damm dont know what I will do. Our working due are about 200 a month depending on your hours. You want know what that 200ish pays for, training, so I or any of my union brothers an sisters can go when we have time off an learn more about our jobs, new technology, new equipment, class room on how things are done, hands on, you name it. That way we are worth more to our contractors and better equipped with the knowledge than 99% of that rat out fits in our industry. That money pay for the demo equipment (some cost 800k apiece) our perdiem while we are in IN for classes and the instructors. I play with very strong radioactive sources all day, not the sorta thing that you want some dip shit making 6 bucks an hour out there in the general useing. also I can run most heavy equipment and my 10 years as a pipelayer, mean I can do nearly anything that involves build water, sewer, cross country gas pipelines, roads large building foundations, my list can go on and on. Yes a union helped me all through my child hood I had good health care because my dad was a union man, when he got lou Gheigs the union and his contractor that he put 30 years into took care of him till he passed and they now hold both of my retirement accounts (that the general funds are still making money) provide good heath care for both me and the wife, as well make sure she is taken care of if something bad happens to me.


While I will tend to agree that the UAW has slit its own throat. The UAW is not the only union out there Look in cites that are have lots union shops compared to having few. The largely unionized cities have a higher average wage across the board for both union and no union shops, the same goes for entire states. Not all unions are bad bro, a union is only as good as its management, just like an contractor or business dont let the UAW form you opinion of all unions.

My industry also trains all of r workers!!!! they r professionals and trust r lives in there hands alot ...... no ! would want a 40000 pound container landing on them.....

[Jean]

/grabs popcorn.

[rwh11385]

Unions help to "protect" people but what good is that when they guarantee the company have a disadvantage against its competitors? What good is it providing the employees if the benefits and pay package it negotiates (and does not cut back on) makes it so that the company will go bankrupt and no one will have a job. The UAW & Big 3 would not likely keep things up if they didn't believe they would just get a bailout no matter what.

Does anyone remember how Chrysler came back? (It's not people demanding high pay and expecting everything to just be better)

Unions and government fight to maintain the status quo and that goes for employees who have usually very little incentive to work harder or improve their efficiency, sometimes even frowned upon. And there is very little anyone can do about people not pulling their weight. It's just a hope that for Detroit that things will just work out and their benefits will keep coming, regardless of their output.

Maybe in the day there was more need to protect workers, but now there is more concern that there is a need to protect the workers / company from the UAW instead.

edit: If Unions were needed for employees to get by, they would represent more than 13% of the workforce.

[Scotaku]

Heh. Chrysler... Remember how their one-time CEO panicked and sold the comeback-company to Daimler?

Everyone is looking for a scapegoat in this mess. Executives were too greedy, union workers were too lazy, the government was too lackadaisical, Bush, Clinton, speculators, OPEC... blah blah blah.

Imho, what's been missing in all of this is any sense of common good. No exec is volunteering to go without his/her profit (despite not really needing it) to reward the efforts of the hundreds upon thousands of workers. Workers aren't taking ownership of their own productivity to do anything more than meet their minimum requirements. No one sees that we're all in this together and really compromising in a meaningful way.

So go ahead and blame the unions today and the failed industry tomorrow and the government the day after that. Blame the system for not giving you some opportunity or right you think you deserve. In my view, opportunities are taken and respect is earned. Counting on someone else to improve your situation is what is truly lazy.