Re: Another Reason I Hate Unions
I am friends with enough union workers to know that there are those with great work ethic and skills and not all are lazy or fat, and I have worked with enough bums to know that they are everywhere.
I think everyone here can agree that unions were ABSOLUTELY necessary at one point. Now they have outlived that usefulness and tend to promote greed, laziness, apathy, and complacency. Example: I work for one of 6 shops owned here in the NE. Three are union and three are not. BTW, the three that are not were getting all the perks we currently have before we merged with the union shops, so the union didn't benefit us. Us three that are not kick the shit out of the three that are in profits, safety, turn-around time, customer satisfaction, and everything else. All the shops hear about it from the owner on a quarterly basis. I know, this is only one example so don't jump down my throat.
A lot is getting said about a "decent income or wage". You mean like the one the Harley Davidson workers thought they should keep when they went on strike a few years ago in York; all benefits, pensions, and insurance fully paid for on top of a starting wage of $21.00 on the factory floor. This is such a joke. No assembly line worker deserves this starting out. The funniest part was, some lazy union boss was getting paid to sit on his butt while he "helped" the members(laborers) who were out picketing on the coldest recorded day of the year. Again, just another isolated example.
I get sick of the teachers in our district crying how they deserve more money. They only work 8 months, have all holidays paid for, vacation, pension, full insurance, and teach the same thing over and over, so they don't have to keep up to date with new products, building codes, laws, construction material, etc. Thanks to the Right-To-Know law in this state, I have all of their salaries. They make more in 8 months than most people in this rural area do in a year. Still, another isolated example.
I know someone that works for the State. I hear horrible stories from him about what goes on and no one gets fired. I would be kicked to the curb in a heart beat with my company for such laziness or pulling such BS. All this because of union protection. Yet again, an isolated example.
I know there were a lot of reasons and factors for this, but the steel industry leaving Pittsburgh. Nuff said.
As for prevailing wage. That is what drives prices up. If prevailing wage didn't exist, a company could undercut a union company and do it cheaper which would cost the tax payer or customer less. I know this would happen because I have first hand experience with this.
Everyone has and is entitled to their opinion. And mine is that I will work for less money if it means not handing some of my wage over to a greedy union. So, I guess you could say that the institution of a union is kinda like a greedy corporation...Just with less purpose. Union president=CEO