Tell Us Your Union Experiences

[Momanohedhunter]

And this must be public sector union job security.

 

[Iowa10000]

Because you don't want to join the rat race, you just want a decent job where you show up and do what has to be done makes you a loser in your minds.

That you ask for a fair wage and benefits for the work you do is wrong. Can you imagin what it would cost you to have to train a new man everytime you did a job.
Corps like unions for what they offer, good quality people who they know will be there tomorrow. There are things they don't like also, but if your worth your salt at running a business you can make the best out of having a union.
Our company was bought in 1969, they had two strikes, one lasting 6 weeks and one lasting two days. Our average years of service is close to 25 years.

I was like no 53 on the senority list out of 260 people when I retired with 33 years of service.

Not everyone is wired to go to work at the same place and do a job year after year and I understand that, but for you asswipes who think your better than they are, all I can say is BS to you.

 

[JohnA]

In the plant I worked in after I retired from the military union reps worked for a couple of hours then spent the rest of their shifts walking around talking to girls. The last President we had was a scoundrel and basically screwed us royally by taking a bribe from the company. The company started threatening to close down the plant, then when we went out on strike they knew they were holding all of the cards and offered us a pay increase to erase our seniority. Most of the newer employees took it. Companies will trounce all over you but bad union representation can do just as much damage.

I'm not going to tell you its Shangra La. Trust me, I've had more headaches and "pound head on wall" moments in the last 30 months than I want to even think about. I spent three hours on Friday explaining to the senior member of my department why he couldn't volunteer to do work that is not part of our job just so he could get more overtime. This is the fourth or fifth time I've had a similar discussion with him this year alone.

However, the benefits have greatly outweighed the costs in my mind. To know that I have a job for as long as I want it (and do my work), at a time when the company is laying off 20% of its non-union workforce is a huge benefit. Especially in today's economy. To know I have a 2.5% pay raise coming in May when I doubt the non-union employees will get anything again.

See thats the problem with unions if there has to be a lay off the management should be able to CHOSE WHO They LAY OF like the lazy i uncooperative useless worker not just those who happen to not be in a union

the unions restrict a owners right to *run *his company as he sees fit
protects the lazy and gets rich on the dues which came out of the excessive pay the union chiefs strong armed management into given the worker .
take away the union dues and most times the pay is compatable with somebody doing the same job non union


promotion by seniority is bullshit as well it should be promotion BY THE PERSON MOST CAPABLE ..

NOBODY should be forced to join a union to get a job
union make the cost of the product higher then it need be and resticts the progress ( promotion ) of some just because others have been there longer ..
apply that to sport and send all the older players to the probowl just because they have played the game for many seasons 'does that seem fair to you ????

 

[thereisnospoon]

My father was a teamster when I was a very young kid.

Although he wasn't well educated he worked his ass off and made a fine living.

As a child my father could provide a house in the better part of town, enough food to eat, a modest vacation every year, cars that worked, we could afford to eat out once in a while, visit museums in Phila and NYC on the week ends, we had full health and dental benefits, he had a pension and he could put some money aside for those rainy days that everybody has from time to time, too.

Most of my friends also had fathers that were in unions, too. They worked in Bethlehem Steel Ingersol Rand, or many of the various factories that were in PA when I was growing up.

They had more or less the same American DREAM lives as I had.

THAT is what unions did for MY Generation.

How is Bethlehem steel doing now?

They closed down because they had the audacity to pay their employees a decent wage while trying to compete with cheap foreign labor.

So that begs the question.

Are you advocating that we lower our standard of living to that of poorer nations?

Please answer!!

No...And the US Steel industry started circling the bowl long before foreign steel hit our shores.
The fact is the unions demanded non competitve wages with non union steel mills here in the US. That's why so many steel mills in the "rust belt" closed and production moved to right to work states.
same as the auto industry. 12 years ago BMW built a plant in South Carolina purposely to avoid unions. The pay and benefits are comparable to the union but the per unit cost is much lower than the $70 plus per hour required by the UAW at GM.....
Unions simply priced themselves out of the marketplace.
Look, globalization didn't take hold until the mid 90's. However, union membership begans to plummet in the mid 70's. After reaching a high of about 35% unionization of the American workforce in the mid 60's that number was under 20% by 1985. Today just under 8% of the total US workforce is unionized. and for good reason. Businesses and quite frankly consumers cannot afford union labor.
Union are a business. And as such the operate in their own self interest.
Unions will do what they must for the rank and file but only if it is profitable for the union. Don't ever forget that.

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

Right out of college I worked as a business consultant on Wall Street. We had a client that bought a company located in Livonia, MI that produced lightweight building panels. It was a union shop, Teamsters I believe. The place was bleeding red ink primarily due to bloated union contracts and work place rules. We tried to get reasonable concessions, like, its ridiculous to pay $30/hour + mega-generous benefits not to mention weeks of vacation for unskilled labor. They wouldn't budge an inch.

Moved the business to non-union Augusta, GA... still in business today as far as I know.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

Actually I'm not incorrect. Pepsi employees, who were at least at the time non-union, were paid $5.15 per hour, which was the minimum wage in the state of Ohio in 2005. The minimum wage in 1985 was $3.35 per hour. Next time you might want to look into some facts before you spout off smart ass comments.

Ok you are not incorrect, You just are not telling the truth. Well you are about what the minimum wage was in 2005 but that it about it. If the pussy's you run with get yelled at work they most likely were doing something wrong. Second, merchandising is not rocket science. The fact that you were a merchandiser says allot about you. If you have a drivers license and can count to 100 then you can do it. It is considered unskilled labor and only deserves minimum wage. As for PBG, the pay scale was uniform in all non union warehouses . That is why they stay non-union. So go to your moms fridge, grad a pp&j, smoke a bowl and surf your porn freeloader.

Freeloader? Please explain to me exactly what makes me a freeloader. This ought to be good.

By "Pussies I run with" (by the way pussy's is possessive.) I assume you are referring to the Pepsi merchandisers that I often came across at work. So here is the thing, maybe they did do something wrong however, here in the United States, professionalism, and respect are expected in the work place. Now I understand that people like you typically believe that an employer should be able to talk down to, and mistreat his or her employees, however, it is not tolerated here. If that is the type of environment you prefer,there are still many third world countries that operate like that.


The one thing I certainly agree with you on is that merchandising is unskilled labor, and really does not take any type of genius to do. The disagreement I have with you is the idea that that type of work only deserves minimum wage. Merchandising, while being unskilled labor, is physically demanding. On top of that a lot of times requires long hours, and traveling hundreds of miles a day. Quite frankly, you would have to be an idiot to do the job for minimum wage. You see, here in America we also believe that EVERYONE deserves an opportunity to earn a liveable wage above poverty. That is one of the values our forefathers believed in. Again, if that is something you take issue with, the option of relocating to one of those third world countries I mentioned above.

So, what exactly does me being a merchandiser say about me? That I was an eighteen year old kid looking for a job while he was off from college classes? That the job was available, and I was willing to do the work?

In closing, I would like to state again that the very foundation of America is opportunity for all. If you are willing to work, than the opportunity for you to prosper is there. Now, over the last thirty years or so, a breed of folks decided that opportunity for all is a bad idea. Most of these people are billionaire corporation owners and CEOs who believe that the American worker should be "more competitive" with the third world countries, and work 16 hour days for three dollars a day. The others who drink the billionaire kool aid are those foolish enough to believe that they too will someday be a billionaire. They believe that it will just trickle on down... eventually. I think I speak for most of the middle class that if you are one of these people, you are not wanted here, and you don't deserve to be here.If you want a third world society, then move to a third world country,don't try and make ours one.

I want to make sure You get that I am saying that you are just not telling the truth.

A merchandiser will drive for most of his day. He will hit one or two stores, work 20mins. and back to driving a company Van. As for this being a third world country , Ok what ever. But those of us in business for our selves do just fine with no union. So save your bull shit story for your stoner friends . Last I herd even the unions dont hire summer workers, so as I said before, go raid Mamas fridge and dont spill your bong water on mommy's carpet. Oh, and if you could, tell us what union you worked for ?

 

[thereisnospoon]

Ok you are not incorrect, You just are not telling the truth. Well you are about what the minimum wage was in 2005 but that it about it. If the pussy's you run with get yelled at work they most likely were doing something wrong. Second, merchandising is not rocket science. The fact that you were a merchandiser says allot about you. If you have a drivers license and can count to 100 then you can do it. It is considered unskilled labor and only deserves minimum wage. As for PBG, the pay scale was uniform in all non union warehouses . That is why they stay non-union. So go to your moms fridge, grad a pp&j, smoke a bowl and surf your porn freeloader.

Freeloader? Please explain to me exactly what makes me a freeloader. This ought to be good.

By "Pussies I run with" (by the way pussy's is possessive.) I assume you are referring to the Pepsi merchandisers that I often came across at work. So here is the thing, maybe they did do something wrong however, here in the United States, professionalism, and respect are expected in the work place. Now I understand that people like you typically believe that an employer should be able to talk down to, and mistreat his or her employees, however, it is not tolerated here. If that is the type of environment you prefer,there are still many third world countries that operate like that.


The one thing I certainly agree with you on is that merchandising is unskilled labor, and really does not take any type of genius to do. The disagreement I have with you is the idea that that type of work only deserves minimum wage. Merchandising, while being unskilled labor, is physically demanding. On top of that a lot of times requires long hours, and traveling hundreds of miles a day. Quite frankly, you would have to be an idiot to do the job for minimum wage. You see, here in America we also believe that EVERYONE deserves an opportunity to earn a liveable wage above poverty. That is one of the values our forefathers believed in. Again, if that is something you take issue with, the option of relocating to one of those third world countries I mentioned above.

So, what exactly does me being a merchandiser say about me? That I was an eighteen year old kid looking for a job while he was off from college classes? That the job was available, and I was willing to do the work?

In closing, I would like to state again that the very foundation of America is opportunity for all. If you are willing to work, than the opportunity for you to prosper is there. Now, over the last thirty years or so, a breed of folks decided that opportunity for all is a bad idea. Most of these people are billionaire corporation owners and CEOs who believe that the American worker should be "more competitive" with the third world countries, and work 16 hour days for three dollars a day. The others who drink the billionaire kool aid are those foolish enough to believe that they too will someday be a billionaire. They believe that it will just trickle on down... eventually. I think I speak for most of the middle class that if you are one of these people, you are not wanted here, and you don't deserve to be here.If you want a third world society, then move to a third world country,don't try and make ours one.

I want to make sure You get that I am saying that you are just not telling the truth.

A merchandiser will drive for most of his day. He will hit one or two stores, work 20mins. and back to driving a company Van. As for this being a third world country , Ok what ever. But those of us in business for our selves do just fine with no union. So save your bull shit story for your stoner friends . Last I herd even the unions dont hire summer workers, so as I said before, go raid Mamas fridge and dont spill your bong water on mommy's carpet. Oh, and if you could, tell us what union you worked for ?

I don't know what the hell anyone is talking about here regarding Pepsi merchandisers or route sales drivers. Where I come from in NJ, those guys were union. How do I know this? A friend of mine went to work for Pepsi in 1987. He got in through a friend who was a Pepsi employee. As far as I know my friend still works there or he even be retired by now. I have since moved away and lost contact.
Now, it seems we have a bit of misconception about the soft drink route sales people.
They do not drive all day and hit a few places. They do not drive vans.
These people operate articulated vehicles( trucks with a trailer) which requires a CDL. They all must pass a DOT test and medical screening. They are required to make deliveries, service their existing customers, arrange displays and sell new business.
****NOTE**** this is NOT a hoorah supporting unions. I am simply setting the record straight.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Right out of college I worked as a business consultant on Wall Street. We had a client that bought a company located in Livonia, MI that produced lightweight building panels. It was a union shop, Teamsters I believe. The place was bleeding red ink primarily due to bloated union contracts and work place rules. We tried to get reasonable concessions, like, its ridiculous to pay $30/hour + mega-generous benefits not to mention weeks of vacation for unskilled labor. They wouldn't budge an inch.

Moved the business to non-union Augusta, GA... still in business today as far as I know.

Perfect example of how certain unions which have bosses that put their rank and file in jeopardy by pricing their members out of work.

 

[boedicca]

I spent 33 years at a union shop and worked my self up to the top union job. I also spent many days and weeks working on a contract where I was one of those lazy fuckers that you guys talk about. While I was getting hammered by the company and getting to work 8 to 16 hrs for 8 hrs of reimbursed pay, they were working 10 to 12 hrs a day and weekends at the time and half and double time we got.
Over the years I saved about 15 employees their jobs, and many more from getting to the point they would be fired.

I told many union guys to be carefull of what your asking for because if the company couldn't make a good profit they would leave, that you had to be reasonable.

Out of the seven or eight contracts i was on, I can't tell you how many times the company came to us and said we had to have someting only to come back two years later and ask for something else. My response was why didn't you ask for that the first time if thats what you needed.

When I started on the committee we got 5.00 for each year of service, when I retired we had it up to 43.00 per year of service. We paid nothing to our pension but towards the end we started to pay some for healt care. I retired at 59 1/2 and paid 80.00 for me and my wife, on an 80/20 plan. since then the company has change that to 260.00 a month and we have to pay 800.00 per person deducable and then 80/20.

still a better deal then a lot of people, but it's only going to get worse as corp increase profit margins. That means they cut cost by getting employees to pick up the cost. Great deal for corp's and now for govenors. Bad for working and retired people.

The only problem states have is they don't fund their liabilities and just push them on to the future, and now they want screw the working guys, just like the corps do.

Five years ago I made a base pay of 55,000 with just a vocational degree. My average pay was areound 100,000 a year with overtime. The average worker made 18.00 per hr outside the skilled trades. The plant has been there since 1950's and to this day is pride and joy of the corp.

One thing I do remember well, something that got me pro union, it was when Reagen froze the wages that could be handed out. we got 10 cents, 20 cents and 10 cents over three years. Two months after we were forced to take this crap, the freeze was lifted. At a company meeting I asked a question, well since the freeze is over why don't we negotiate a new wage agreement?
I was told that's your problem not ours, you agreed to what we offered and thats all your going to get.

Reagan FROZE wages? Really.

I thought the wage and price control era predated Reagan.

 

[Wicked Jester]

Right out of college I worked as a business consultant on Wall Street. We had a client that bought a company located in Livonia, MI that produced lightweight building panels. It was a union shop, Teamsters I believe. The place was bleeding red ink primarily due to bloated union contracts and work place rules. We tried to get reasonable concessions, like, its ridiculous to pay $30/hour + mega-generous benefits not to mention weeks of vacation for unskilled labor. They wouldn't budge an inch.

Moved the business to non-union Augusta, GA... still in business today as far as I know.

Just look at what's happening in Ohio. Businesses bound by bloated union wages and benefits are fleeing in droves to Southwestern States and Cities to escape the business killing unions.....Jobs are being lost in droves.

And of course, like Wisconsin, the citizens of Ohio elected a Governor to put an end to that crap. To help bring back business and JOBS!

Of course these union apologists wll never admit to the damage done by union thuggery across this country.

 

[DiamondDave]

My union experience... 2nd job I interviewed for after my military hitch....

HR Department: Mr. D, we would like to hire you for the position you applied for.

Me: Great and thank you. I felt very positive about the interview I had.

HR Department: The salary being offered is $X/hr for 37.5 hours per week. Vacation accrual is 5 weeks a year to start. You receive 12 sick days per year. Your benefits are provided by Y and include medical, dental, vision, and legal. Do you have any questions about this offer?

Me: The salary you are offering is currently less than what I make now, and I divulged my current salary compensation to you on my last visit. Why am I only being paid for 37.5 hours per week? Why is there only 1 insurance option and what is the cost of this option? I would like to negotiate and I am seeking $X+9%, which would give me a slight raise over my current compensation as an incentive to leave my current job. I like the increased vacation and sick time, but I do not understand why I would be offered less pay and I do not understand why I am working less than 40 hours per week. I am looking for full time employment.

HR Department: We are not authorized to negotiate, as this is the starting union wage for this position, and....

Me: Excuse me? This is a union position?

HR Department: Yes sir. This is a union position. We can explain the costs of your union dues, your union rules, your initial work schedule, your probationary period, your eventual rotating schedule....

Me: Excuse me again. I am willing, and actually prefer to be a non-union worker. I do not wish to pay union dues. I do not wish to partake of union benefits, and I would like to see the company rules and not union rules for employment. Would you send me the information I would need and any needed forms to reject my participation in the union.

HR Department: Mr. D, there is no option. All of these positions, per union contract, must be union employees. You Must pay the union dues and it will automatically be subtracted from your paycheck each pay period....

Me: Excuse me one more time please. You are telling me that I must join the union to be hired into this position? That I am forced to belong to an organization that I do not wish to join, if I want to be employed by your company for this position, and that this organization is not a part of your company? That all of my benefits are union benefits and not the benefits that you, for example as a manager, participate in in this company? That my salary is standard and not negotiable, regardless of whether or not I am highly qualified with more experience than any average entry level worker for this position...

HR Department: Yes Mr. D. Now if you can give us a number to fax all of this information over, we would like to process your formal offer letter.

Me: No thank you. Consider this my formal rejection of your offer for employment. Please do not bother to contact me in the future for any position that is related to the union. I prefer to stand on my own merits and negotiate appropriate compensation for my personal skills and aptitude. I do not like to be forced to join any organization, whether it be a union, a church, or whatever else. Thank you kindly, and have a nice day.

HR Department: Mr. D, if you would....

Me: Click... dial tone....

 

[thereisnospoon]

I spent 33 years at a union shop and worked my self up to the top union job. I also spent many days and weeks working on a contract where I was one of those lazy fuckers that you guys talk about. While I was getting hammered by the company and getting to work 8 to 16 hrs for 8 hrs of reimbursed pay, they were working 10 to 12 hrs a day and weekends at the time and half and double time we got.
Over the years I saved about 15 employees their jobs, and many more from getting to the point they would be fired.

I told many union guys to be carefull of what your asking for because if the company couldn't make a good profit they would leave, that you had to be reasonable.

Out of the seven or eight contracts i was on, I can't tell you how many times the company came to us and said we had to have someting only to come back two years later and ask for something else. My response was why didn't you ask for that the first time if thats what you needed.

When I started on the committee we got 5.00 for each year of service, when I retired we had it up to 43.00 per year of service. We paid nothing to our pension but towards the end we started to pay some for healt care. I retired at 59 1/2 and paid 80.00 for me and my wife, on an 80/20 plan. since then the company has change that to 260.00 a month and we have to pay 800.00 per person deducable and then 80/20.

still a better deal then a lot of people, but it's only going to get worse as corp increase profit margins. That means they cut cost by getting employees to pick up the cost. Great deal for corp's and now for govenors. Bad for working and retired people.

The only problem states have is they don't fund their liabilities and just push them on to the future, and now they want screw the working guys, just like the corps do.

Five years ago I made a base pay of 55,000 with just a vocational degree. My average pay was areound 100,000 a year with overtime. The average worker made 18.00 per hr outside the skilled trades. The plant has been there since 1950's and to this day is pride and joy of the corp.

One thing I do remember well, something that got me pro union, it was when Reagen froze the wages that could be handed out. we got 10 cents, 20 cents and 10 cents over three years. Two months after we were forced to take this crap, the freeze was lifted. At a company meeting I asked a question, well since the freeze is over why don't we negotiate a new wage agreement?
I was told that's your problem not ours, you agreed to what we offered and thats all your going to get.

Reagan didn't freeze wages. Nixon first introduced wage and price controls. Carter ordered them as well and Carter also placed a freeze on federal hiring.
You were a union guy. The union bosses tell the rank and file that all of the worker's problems are created by management. They also hammer into the heads of workers that the company is making a profit off the backs of the workers and that this is criminal.
Ok, I get it.
On to health insurance.....The reason why your premiums went form zero to the end payment you made is simple....The rising cost of health care and of course the cost to insure employees, skyrocketed. As a an employee enrolled in the company insurance policy, you are a consumer. The costs of doing business are always passed along to the end user. For decades, unions protected their members from the realities of cost be grinding out free medical insurance from the company. That has reached a tipping point. Businesses can no longer afford to absorb the costs. Businesses have shut down facilities because unions refused to open their eyes to reality.

 

[Dexter25]

Ok you are not incorrect, You just are not telling the truth. Well you are about what the minimum wage was in 2005 but that it about it. If the pussy's you run with get yelled at work they most likely were doing something wrong. Second, merchandising is not rocket science. The fact that you were a merchandiser says allot about you. If you have a drivers license and can count to 100 then you can do it. It is considered unskilled labor and only deserves minimum wage. As for PBG, the pay scale was uniform in all non union warehouses . That is why they stay non-union. So go to your moms fridge, grab a pp&j, smoke a bowl and surf your porn freeloader.

Freeloader? Please explain to me exactly what makes me a freeloader. This ought to be good.

By "Pussies I run with" (by the way pussy's is possessive.) I assume you are referring to the Pepsi merchandisers that I often came across at work. So here is the thing, maybe they did do something wrong however, here in the United States, professionalism, and respect are expected in the work place. Now I understand that people like you typically believe that an employer should be able to talk down to, and mistreat his or her employees, however, it is not tolerated here. If that is the type of environment you prefer,there are still many third world countries that operate like that.

No one was ever spoken down to. If they repeatedly screwed up they got fired.


The one thing I certainly agree with you on is that merchandising is unskilled labor, and really does not take any type of genius to do. The disagreement I have with you is the idea that that type of work only deserves minimum wage. Merchandising, while being unskilled labor, is physically demanding. On top of that a lot of times requires long hours, and traveling hundreds of miles a day. Quite frankly, you would have to be an idiot to do the job for minimum wage. You see, here in America we also believe that EVERYONE deserves an opportunity to earn a liveable wage above poverty. That is one of the values our forefathers believed in. Again, if that is something you take issue with, the option of relocating to one of those third world countries I mentioned above.

So you have to move ten or fifteen cases of soda and make a display look pretty. Big deal. You get maybe an hour total hard labor in an eight hour bad spent mostly driving. And gabbing on a cell phone. Boo Hoo.

So, what exactly does me being a merchandiser say about me? That I was an eighteen year old kid looking for a job while he was off from college classes? That the job was available, and I was willing to do the work?

In closing, I would like to state again that the very foundation of America is opportunity for all. If you are willing to work, than the opportunity for you to prosper is there. Now, over the last thirty years or so, a breed of folks decided that opportunity for all is a bad idea. Most of these people are billionaire corporation owners and CEOs who believe that the American worker should be "more competitive" with the third world countries, and work 16 hour days for three dollars a day. The others who drink the billionaire kool aid are those foolish enough to believe that they too will someday be a billionaire. They believe that it will just trickle on down... eventually. I think I speak for most of the middle class that if you are one of these people, you are not wanted here, and you don't deserve to be here.If you want a third world society, then move to a third world country,don't try and make ours one.

You work you get paid. No food stamp recipient ever wrote me a check. What I am saying about and the majority of those who belong to unions do so because they are to lazy, or unable to be worth the money they want, so they have to try and bully there employers into paying them for nothing.I am represented by me. To day I made my self 1200 dollars. I and others like my self do just fine with no union. As a matter of fact, People like me are what the unions hate the most.

Oh please. Like employers have never bullied employees? If you honestly think that the billionaire employers are innocent victims, you need to get in touch with reality.

You made 1200 dollars today? Good for you. (I'm guessing you sold some type of drugs?) You must understand that your situation is unique to yourself. You obviously have something that works for you, and your happy with that. No representation needed. But, there are working conditions that exist that are simply atrocious. Low pay for backbreaking work. Employers take advantage of people who have no other choice. Working long hours, for very little pay. It is a situation like this where a union is good.

Another thing, next time you get paid an overtime wage for hours worked over 40, thank the unions. Next time you are offered a benefits package that includes health care, thank the unions. If you ever get hurt at work, and can not go to work to earn a living, but are given worker's compensation to pay your bills while you are out, thank the unions for that as well.

I am currently not a union member, however I support them through my experiences. When I was a union member, I busted my ass, as did my coworkers. Believe it or not, paying higher wages attracts a higher quality of worker. You get what you pay for in any situation. People don't join unions because they are lazy, they join unions to be protected from greedy employers taking advantage of them.

Also, I didn't realize we were talking about food stamp recipients here. Why would they be writing you checks, and why is it in this conversation? Also, I don't think union members hate you the most,its more likely that they just don't really care about you.

 

[Dexter25]

So you have to move ten or fifteen cases of soda and make a display look pretty. Big deal. You get maybe an hour total hard labor in an eight hour bad spent mostly driving. And gabbing on a cell phone. Boo Hoo.

Actually, I typically moved closer to about fifteen hundred cases on a slow day.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

Freeloader? Please explain to me exactly what makes me a freeloader. This ought to be good.

By "Pussies I run with" (by the way pussy's is possessive.) I assume you are referring to the Pepsi merchandisers that I often came across at work. So here is the thing, maybe they did do something wrong however, here in the United States, professionalism, and respect are expected in the work place. Now I understand that people like you typically believe that an employer should be able to talk down to, and mistreat his or her employees, however, it is not tolerated here. If that is the type of environment you prefer,there are still many third world countries that operate like that.

No one was ever spoken down to. If they repeatedly screwed up they got fired.


The one thing I certainly agree with you on is that merchandising is unskilled labor, and really does not take any type of genius to do. The disagreement I have with you is the idea that that type of work only deserves minimum wage. Merchandising, while being unskilled labor, is physically demanding. On top of that a lot of times requires long hours, and traveling hundreds of miles a day. Quite frankly, you would have to be an idiot to do the job for minimum wage. You see, here in America we also believe that EVERYONE deserves an opportunity to earn a liveable wage above poverty. That is one of the values our forefathers believed in. Again, if that is something you take issue with, the option of relocating to one of those third world countries I mentioned above.

So you have to move ten or fifteen cases of soda and make a display look pretty. Big deal. You get maybe an hour total hard labor in an eight hour bad spent mostly driving. And gabbing on a cell phone. Boo Hoo.

So, what exactly does me being a merchandiser say about me? That I was an eighteen year old kid looking for a job while he was off from college classes? That the job was available, and I was willing to do the work?

In closing, I would like to state again that the very foundation of America is opportunity for all. If you are willing to work, than the opportunity for you to prosper is there. Now, over the last thirty years or so, a breed of folks decided that opportunity for all is a bad idea. Most of these people are billionaire corporation owners and CEOs who believe that the American worker should be "more competitive" with the third world countries, and work 16 hour days for three dollars a day. The others who drink the billionaire kool aid are those foolish enough to believe that they too will someday be a billionaire. They believe that it will just trickle on down... eventually. I think I speak for most of the middle class that if you are one of these people, you are not wanted here, and you don't deserve to be here.If you want a third world society, then move to a third world country,don't try and make ours one.

You work you get paid. No food stamp recipient ever wrote me a check. What I am saying about and the majority of those who belong to unions do so because they are to lazy, or unable to be worth the money they want, so they have to try and bully there employers into paying them for nothing.I am represented by me. To day I made my self 1200 dollars. I and others like my self do just fine with no union. As a matter of fact, People like me are what the unions hate the most.

Oh please. Like employers have never bullied employees? If you honestly think that the billionaire employers are innocent victims, you need to get in touch with reality.

You made 1200 dollars today? Good for you. (I'm guessing you sold some type of drugs?) You must understand that your situation is unique to yourself. You obviously have something that works for you, and your happy with that. No representation needed. But, there are working conditions that exist that are simply atrocious. Low pay for backbreaking work. Employers take advantage of people who have no other choice. Working long hours, for very little pay. It is a situation like this where a union is good.

Another thing, next time you get paid an overtime wage for hours worked over 40, thank the unions. Next time you are offered a benefits package that includes health care, thank the unions. If you ever get hurt at work, and can not go to work to earn a living, but are given worker's compensation to pay your bills while you are out, thank the unions for that as well.

I am currently not a union member, however I support them through my experiences. When I was a union member, I busted my ass, as did my coworkers. Believe it or not, paying higher wages attracts a higher quality of worker. You get what you pay for in any situation. People don't join unions because they are lazy, they join unions to be protected from greedy employers taking advantage of them.

Also, I didn't realize we were talking about food stamp recipients here. Why would they be writing you checks, and why is it in this conversation? Also, I don't think union members hate you the most,its more likely that they just don't really care about you.

For one thing, I represent my self. If I dont like some one I dont work for I leave. I will say that back in the old days unions made the work place better in every industry. But, they have become a monster that serves as a money gathering device for the DNC and the foot soldiers for that same political party. I dont sell drugs. They cost to much. Now the unions need to be checked, At the public level. Now go look at the fart thread and lighten up.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Freeloader? Please explain to me exactly what makes me a freeloader. This ought to be good.

By "Pussies I run with" (by the way pussy's is possessive.) I assume you are referring to the Pepsi merchandisers that I often came across at work. So here is the thing, maybe they did do something wrong however, here in the United States, professionalism, and respect are expected in the work place. Now I understand that people like you typically believe that an employer should be able to talk down to, and mistreat his or her employees, however, it is not tolerated here. If that is the type of environment you prefer,there are still many third world countries that operate like that.

No one was ever spoken down to. If they repeatedly screwed up they got fired.


The one thing I certainly agree with you on is that merchandising is unskilled labor, and really does not take any type of genius to do. The disagreement I have with you is the idea that that type of work only deserves minimum wage. Merchandising, while being unskilled labor, is physically demanding. On top of that a lot of times requires long hours, and traveling hundreds of miles a day. Quite frankly, you would have to be an idiot to do the job for minimum wage. You see, here in America we also believe that EVERYONE deserves an opportunity to earn a liveable wage above poverty. That is one of the values our forefathers believed in. Again, if that is something you take issue with, the option of relocating to one of those third world countries I mentioned above.

So you have to move ten or fifteen cases of soda and make a display look pretty. Big deal. You get maybe an hour total hard labor in an eight hour bad spent mostly driving. And gabbing on a cell phone. Boo Hoo.

So, what exactly does me being a merchandiser say about me? That I was an eighteen year old kid looking for a job while he was off from college classes? That the job was available, and I was willing to do the work?

In closing, I would like to state again that the very foundation of America is opportunity for all. If you are willing to work, than the opportunity for you to prosper is there. Now, over the last thirty years or so, a breed of folks decided that opportunity for all is a bad idea. Most of these people are billionaire corporation owners and CEOs who believe that the American worker should be "more competitive" with the third world countries, and work 16 hour days for three dollars a day. The others who drink the billionaire kool aid are those foolish enough to believe that they too will someday be a billionaire. They believe that it will just trickle on down... eventually. I think I speak for most of the middle class that if you are one of these people, you are not wanted here, and you don't deserve to be here.If you want a third world society, then move to a third world country,don't try and make ours one.

You work you get paid. No food stamp recipient ever wrote me a check. What I am saying about and the majority of those who belong to unions do so because they are to lazy, or unable to be worth the money they want, so they have to try and bully there employers into paying them for nothing.I am represented by me. To day I made my self 1200 dollars. I and others like my self do just fine with no union. As a matter of fact, People like me are what the unions hate the most.

Oh please. Like employers have never bullied employees? If you honestly think that the billionaire employers are innocent victims, you need to get in touch with reality.

You made 1200 dollars today? Good for you. (I'm guessing you sold some type of drugs?) You must understand that your situation is unique to yourself. You obviously have something that works for you, and your happy with that. No representation needed. But, there are working conditions that exist that are simply atrocious. Low pay for backbreaking work. Employers take advantage of people who have no other choice. Working long hours, for very little pay. It is a situation like this where a union is good.

Another thing, next time you get paid an overtime wage for hours worked over 40, thank the unions. Next time you are offered a benefits package that includes health care, thank the unions. If you ever get hurt at work, and can not go to work to earn a living, but are given worker's compensation to pay your bills while you are out, thank the unions for that as well.

I am currently not a union member, however I support them through my experiences. When I was a union member, I busted my ass, as did my coworkers. Believe it or not, paying higher wages attracts a higher quality of worker. You get what you pay for in any situation. People don't join unions because they are lazy, they join unions to be protected from greedy employers taking advantage of them.

Also, I didn't realize we were talking about food stamp recipients here. Why would they be writing you checks, and why is it in this conversation? Also, I don't think union members hate you the most,its more likely that they just don't really care about you.

i have to laugh every time one of you union robots plays the standard "all business owners are evil " and the we all must kneel at the union altar" cards.
Yeah well stow it.
You people use the same God Damned buzzwords at every turn..
You used ...."billionaire" "employer"( twice) "Low pay",( twice), "back breaking work" and "busted ass"....Oh and I love this one...."no choice"...really? Tell me where we allow indentured servitude in the US....Oh, you mentioned "union" 8 times....
Now, give examples of these terrible working conditions...
Oh, you lost any credibility you may have when you accused the other poster of "selling some sort of drugs"....What the fuck is that all about....
With bullshit comments like that it comes as no surprise you union people are looked upon with utter disdain. You bring it on yourselves.

 

[Momanohedhunter]

You work you get paid. No food stamp recipient ever wrote me a check. What I am saying about and the majority of those who belong to unions do so because they are to lazy, or unable to be worth the money they want, so they have to try and bully there employers into paying them for nothing.I am represented by me. To day I made my self 1200 dollars. I and others like my self do just fine with no union. As a matter of fact, People like me are what the unions hate the most.

Oh please. Like employers have never bullied employees? If you honestly think that the billionaire employers are innocent victims, you need to get in touch with reality.

You made 1200 dollars today? Good for you. (I'm guessing you sold some type of drugs?) You must understand that your situation is unique to yourself. You obviously have something that works for you, and your happy with that. No representation needed. But, there are working conditions that exist that are simply atrocious. Low pay for backbreaking work. Employers take advantage of people who have no other choice. Working long hours, for very little pay. It is a situation like this where a union is good.

Another thing, next time you get paid an overtime wage for hours worked over 40, thank the unions. Next time you are offered a benefits package that includes health care, thank the unions. If you ever get hurt at work, and can not go to work to earn a living, but are given worker's compensation to pay your bills while you are out, thank the unions for that as well.

I am currently not a union member, however I support them through my experiences. When I was a union member, I busted my ass, as did my coworkers. Believe it or not, paying higher wages attracts a higher quality of worker. You get what you pay for in any situation. People don't join unions because they are lazy, they join unions to be protected from greedy employers taking advantage of them.

Also, I didn't realize we were talking about food stamp recipients here. Why would they be writing you checks, and why is it in this conversation? Also, I don't think union members hate you the most,its more likely that they just don't really care about you.

i have to laugh every time one of you union robots plays the standard "all business owners are evil " and the we all must kneel at the union altar" cards.
Yeah well stow it.
You people use the same God Damned buzzwords at every turn..
You used ...."billionaire" "employer"( twice) "Low pay",( twice), "back breaking work" and "busted ass"....Oh and I love this one...."no choice"...really? Tell me where we allow indentured servitude in the US....Oh, you mentioned "union" 8 times....
Now, give examples of these terrible working conditions...
Oh, you lost any credibility you may have when you accused the other poster of "selling some sort of drugs"....What the fuck is that all about....
With bullshit comments like that it comes as no surprise you union people are looked upon with utter disdain. You bring it on yourselves.

Independent contractors give unions the willies bad.

 

[shintao]

Interesting thread, considering the cons have spent a lifetime convincing people they shouldn't join the Union and attempting even now to break collective bargaining & lower wages & benefits of Union workers.

Amid all of this, is the Union workers endurance and employement continues, while the individuals who refused Unions are all unemployed and starving, and finding it unconsciousable they lost all their benefits and had to take cuts in pay, while Union workers are still going strong.

There seems to be a lesson here. LOL!!!

 

[thereisnospoon]

Oh please. Like employers have never bullied employees? If you honestly think that the billionaire employers are innocent victims, you need to get in touch with reality.

You made 1200 dollars today? Good for you. (I'm guessing you sold some type of drugs?) You must understand that your situation is unique to yourself. You obviously have something that works for you, and your happy with that. No representation needed. But, there are working conditions that exist that are simply atrocious. Low pay for backbreaking work. Employers take advantage of people who have no other choice. Working long hours, for very little pay. It is a situation like this where a union is good.

Another thing, next time you get paid an overtime wage for hours worked over 40, thank the unions. Next time you are offered a benefits package that includes health care, thank the unions. If you ever get hurt at work, and can not go to work to earn a living, but are given worker's compensation to pay your bills while you are out, thank the unions for that as well.

I am currently not a union member, however I support them through my experiences. When I was a union member, I busted my ass, as did my coworkers. Believe it or not, paying higher wages attracts a higher quality of worker. You get what you pay for in any situation. People don't join unions because they are lazy, they join unions to be protected from greedy employers taking advantage of them.

Also, I didn't realize we were talking about food stamp recipients here. Why would they be writing you checks, and why is it in this conversation? Also, I don't think union members hate you the most,its more likely that they just don't really care about you.

i have to laugh every time one of you union robots plays the standard "all business owners are evil " and the we all must kneel at the union altar" cards.
Yeah well stow it.
You people use the same God Damned buzzwords at every turn..
You used ...."billionaire" "employer"( twice) "Low pay",( twice), "back breaking work" and "busted ass"....Oh and I love this one...."no choice"...really? Tell me where we allow indentured servitude in the US....Oh, you mentioned "union" 8 times....
Now, give examples of these terrible working conditions...
Oh, you lost any credibility you may have when you accused the other poster of "selling some sort of drugs"....What the fuck is that all about....
With bullshit comments like that it comes as no surprise you union people are looked upon with utter disdain. You bring it on yourselves.

Independent contractors give unions the willies bad.

Oh heel yeah they do. I was an Independent contractor in the satellite tv business for 12 years. Here in NC that really didn't matter..Right to work state. But couple of guys I knew from posting on a satellite website who work in NJ and NY got shit all the time for not joining a union.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Interesting thread, considering the cons have spent a lifetime convincing people they shouldn't join the Union and attempting even now to break collective bargaining & lower wages & benefits of Union workers.

Amid all of this, is the Union workers endurance on employement continues, while the individuals who refused Unions are all unemployed and starving, and finding it unconsciousable they lost all their benefits and had to take cuts in pay, while Union workers are still going strong.

There seems to be a lesson here. LOL!!!

Going strong? What the fuck are you talking about...since the 60's unions have lost 80% of their share of the total US workforce.
Union people are usually the first to get cut.
Companies relocate or open new businesses in certain states just to avoid having to deal with these pain in the ass unions.
Unions had their time. They are now obsolete.