Happy Labor Day

[Luddly Neddite]

Ignore these reasons to support unions at your economic peril

Here Are The Reasons to thank worker unions:

1. Breaks at Work, including a Lunch Break not offered prior by Many
2. Weekends Off, Generally for the Masses
3. Pensions
4. Social Security
5. Unemployment Insurance
6. Worker’s Compensation (Worker’s Comp)
7. Holiday Pay
8. Sick Leave
9. Military Leave
10. Paid Vacation
11. FMLA – Family Medical Leave of Absence
12. Pregnancy and Parental Leave
13. Child Labor Laws
14. Laws tended to End Sweatshops in the United States
15. Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations
16. Minimum Wage
17. Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees
18. Health Care Insurance coverage collectively thru your Employer
19. Dental Insurance coverage collectively thru your Employer (Not Everyone Offers, But Many Actually Do offer Dental)
20. Life Insurance coverage collectively thru your Employer (Not Everyone Offers, But Many Actually Do offer Life)
21. Vision Insurance coverage collectively thru your Employer (Not Everyone Offers, But Many Actually Do offer Vision)
22. The Right to Strike
23. Public Education for Children
24. Civil Rights Act/Title VII (Prohibits Employer Discrimination)
25. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
26. Attained the 8-Hour Work Day as a Standard Day for Work
27. The 40 Hour Work Week became the Standard Work Week
28. Overtime Pay for General Employees (Normally past 40 Hours of Work within a Week)
29. Privacy Rights
30. Wrongful Termination Laws
31. Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS)
32. Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)
33. Whistleblower Protection Laws
34. Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)
35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)
36. Sexual Harassment Laws
37. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
38. Age Discrimination Employment Act of 1967

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Report As Union Membership Rates Decrease Middle Class Incomes Shrink ThinkProgress

The power of unions to create prosperity for working families is well recognized: Organized labor is one of the few voices for the economic interests of the middle class in our government. Unions were key to creating and protecting the social safety net (including Social Security and Medicare) and winning major legislative victories for working families such as the Equal Pay Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and — most recently — the Affordable Care Act.

And unions ensure that workers are paid fair wages. Unionized workers today make significantly more on than their non-union counterparts — about $2.50 more per hour than an otherwise comparable worker in the typical state according to a recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

When unions were stronger in the middle part of the last century, American workers wages rose as they became increasingly more productive. But today, as union strength has decreased, this link has broken down: even though American workers grow increasingly more productive, their wages have stagnated. At the same time, more and more income has become concentrated at the very top of the income scale.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

8211 20 Reasons To Thank Labor Unions

1. Minimum Wage: Without federally mandated minimum wage, we’d still be working for pennies.


2. Child Labor Laws: Without these laws, children would be hired as cheap labor.


3. Paid Vacations: Did you go on a cruise this year? Perhaps to the Grand Canyon or another country? Thank a union.

4. Employer Health Care, Dental, and Vision Insurance: If you have a medical, dental, or vision care plan through your employer, your a lucky person. All because of organized labor.

5. Pensions: If you were able to retire at 65 and get pension checks in the mail, congratulations, you’re living proof that unions work.

6. Safety Conditions: Do you work at a potentially hazardous job but have safety regulations in place to protect you? If so, unions are responsible for your continued safety.

7. Collective Bargaining: Just having the right to negotiate with your employer is a benefit guaranteed by a union.

8. Weekends: If you have weekends off to spend with your families, a labor union is responsible for giving you that time off.

9. Sick Leave: Did you get to use a work provided sick day to get well? Unions fought for that too.

10. Overtime: Are you able to work overtime and get paid even more for it? Thank a union.



11. 8 Hour Work Day: Without unions, we’d all be working non-stop 24/7. Because of unions you’re able to go home and spend some time at home with family and friends before you catch 6-8 hours of sleep.

12. 40 Hour Work Week: Just like number 11, without unions, we’d never have a day off and work would encompass our entire life.

13. Unemployment Benefits: Are you unemployed but receive unemployment benefits to care for your family until you find another job? One word. Unions.

14. Wrongful Termination Laws: Because of unions, you can’t be fired for stupid reasons, like the color of your skin or because you make too much money.

15. Pay Raises: Unions are responsible for your ability to ask for and receive pay raises.

16. Holiday Pay: Do you at least get some holidays off? If so, thank a union.

17. Pregnancy and Parental Leave: In some countries, women give birth on the job and have to go back to work the next day. Corporations would make women do the same thing here if not for the determination of a union.

18. The Right To Strike: We have the right to organize and protest against the government. A union fought for your right to organize and strike against your employer.

19. Equal Pay For Women: Women finally get equal pay for equal work. Thank a union.

20. Laws Ending Sweatshops: Because of unions, sweatshops, which employ cheap labor with harsh conditions, are illegal.
Every right that a worker has in the workplace is all because a union fought hard to get it. As Republicans continue to wipe out unions and weaken them, they also weaken us and our ability to fight back against unfair business practices. We are at risk of losing all the things that unions fought long and hard to secure. Even our jobs are at risk. Because of unions, many of the jobs Americans still hold, have not been outsourced overseas. Unions protect jobs in America and where there are unions, there are jobs. Because the private sector has largely wiped out unions, big corporations are able to lay off American workers and give those jobs to cheap labor overseas. If you want a job, or want to keep yours, organize or join a union and fight for your right to work. Unions fight for the American worker, therefore they fight for us. Anyone who says that unions are un-American only wants to get rid of the above list so that they can make ridiculous profits off the backs off a cheap labor workforce. If you support American workers, American jobs, and the continued prosperity of the American people, support labor unions.

 

[Moonglow]

I've worked on commercial masonry crews that got a 30 min. lunch break on a 12 hour day, and they were telling you to hurry back from lunch...no other breaks given.. After 40 hours no overtime, they wanted to bank your hours for a rainy day.. On Prevailing wage jobs they take your pay($46.00 and hour) over reg pay($21.00 an hour) and put the difference in a type of retirement account and then charge you to withdraw the funds before 65.. There are still some areas that have not come up to speed with the 21st century benefits enjoyed by other workers...

In other words,,they screw you in construction as much as they can....

 

[Manonthestreet]

I make more than my union counterparts whose pension is being stolen too.

 

[Mr. H.]

In Illinois alone, there are 300,000 government employees who collectively pay over $120 million per year in union dues.

Is this shit really necessary? These days, the majority of employers provide for the working conditions mentioned in the OP.

Unions have become a cottage industry and are no longer a needed entity.

Government unions in Illinois Are members getting what they pay for