Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Labor Unions?

I dropped out of a union inspection company that lied about my hours to bump me out of my benefits and when I called the union they told me I was wrong and to go F myself (in those words).
years later I received a letter from the union stating there had been a mistake with my reported hours but it was to late because I was no longer an active member in the union.

I started working for a non union inspection company and one worker was worried about his retirement so he called the Operating Engineers rep.
the other workers hesitated but was for joining.

I did not want to join but the other workers talked me it to voting for it.

After the vote and the union came in. The union rep. informed the company that I was the one that called them and I was the one that talked everyone into voting for the union.

Dirty bastids cost me my job and I have had nothing but run ins with them every time they set foot on a job site.

Inspectors do not have to be union to work on union jobs. We represent the owners for the quality control for the projects.

The operating Engineers still strong arm company's and owners here in Communist Mexifornia and after they have cost me several jobs I get very vocal when they approach me. The last time I was inspecting Union Pipe Fitters on a Hospital job and the union rep. demanded to know who the Inspector was from the Pipe Fitter Foreman. He was a bit nervous about answering the rep. when I stood up and yelled out. I AM THE INSPECTOR ON THIS JOB.
The rep. verbally attacked me and the old Ironworker came out of me. that rep was runnin and I was right behind him yappin away.

The Operating Engineers threatened to pull all of the equipment operators off the job until the Hospital removed all of the non union inspectors.

The Hospital was tired of the unions crap and told them go right ahead we will bring in another company that we have already been in contact from out of State. They will be here tomorrow.

Unions are just Organized Crime syndicates now days.

Yes we needed them back in the day.

And yes I agree about the Construction company's and how some of them treat there employees but a lot of the employees deserve what they get.

I know because I have been watching them work for the past 28 years as an inspector and even though I am broken and can not do the heavy work I can still work them under the table.

Workers these days do not have the same ethics about an honest days pay for an honest days pay.

I hate unions. Growing up I watched the United Mine Workers completely destroy WV's economy.

I hate unions also.

I think that in places where unions have been a fact of life for a long time, an self-perpetuating adversarial relationship between management and labor has developed that persists even when no longer necessary.

As an example, I worked for Nokia Mobile Phones in Fort Worth during the late 90s. There was never a union presence, and the work atmosphere was unbeatable during the time I was there.

In early 2000, I went to work at Motorola in Fort Worth. Motorola's HQ was in the Chicago area where there had been a longstanding union presence. Much of the management at the Fort Worth location came from the Arlington Heights facilities and offices, as well as some of the operations types. The atmosphere at Motorola was oppressive, and it seemed everyone there was looking to slip a knife into your back at the drop of a hat. I always figured it was part of Motorola culture that evolved in the presence of the adversarial relationship between management and the union.

I didn't shed a single tear when they announced massive layoffs in late 2001. I missed the paycheck, but not another single aspect of that gig.

Oh brother. Everybody has a fugkin' excuse.

If your employer puts you in insanely adverse conditions and you want to work them, go right ahead. They needed a union like I need another beer.

Learn to fugkin' type or get a CDL for Christ sake.

Or here's an insane concept nobody thinks of any more. Try moving?




Dave

The context is this - those Guv employees are not working for a corporation or business that contributes anything to the economy, the employees contribute nothing to the making of a profit but rather get paid well by fellow taxpayers, and they do not work under conditions where excellence is required - or even expected. And their employment is protected by all sorts of rules and guarantees.

So - a "union" is not needed and, due to the above noted context, government workers should not be unionized. Further, in such a sensible context, there would be zero free/paid time given to union work - and at least that 162.5 million would not be going down the drain.

Growing up in WV I watched coal companies declare bankruptcy, not pay pensions for their workers and open up 2 months later under another name. I watched them lie about black lung tests and screw workers out of disability classification. Unions may have done some bad. But the coal companies hurt WV 100 times over the good they did.

LMAO.





Dave

I belonged to carpenters local 100, for 46 years. I'm am proud to say I'm union member!!!

Having dealt with many MSHA inspections I can say with certainty that the MSHA is a poster child if government incompetence. I wouldn't depend on them to keep me safe, nor would anyone else with half a brain.

I worked in the USW for 4 months. Moved to supervision as soon as I could and immediately negotiated myself better wages and benefits vs what USW could do for me.
I have also supervised IBEW and UAW employees. The IBEW are pretty good as unions go. The USW and UAW are complete bums.

I just read through the entire thread. I get the feeling many of the positions are based on one-off happenings similar to "oh I had a problem with a Remington (Winchester or) and I will never have another one." I was a union member for many years and also served on the executive for a lot of those years. I can honestly say I have seen both good and bad but overall the union presence was positive. A lot depends on the make up of the work force and the caliber of management they had to work with.

I have now been retired for nearly 24 years so can't honestly comment on current conditions.

One of my part time jobs prior to finishing school was working for a large transport company. One of my jobs was to prepare the mileage reports from which the drivers were paid. Once the drivers learned they could trust me I had many of them coming to me to obtain copies of their mileage reports to use in disputes with the company who constantly kept trying to short change them. The company wasn't unionized and in order to stick up for their rights the drivers banded together in groups of 6 or 8 to go to the company head office to argue their cases.

I have seen so many pro and con cases that I can't begin to cover them here. Maybe they are not needed as much now as they once were but I know for a fact if they never had existed working conditions, wages and benefits would be much worse than they are now.

Jim

Unions ain't all bad and employers ain't all good. Unions have grown too big and powerful and serve the interests of the brass first.

Would you depend on a union?

Dad always told me if you got caught with matches or a lighter in a mine it was an automatic firing and the union said good bye to you.

Absolutely not. The best and the brightest are not the ones that assume "leadership" positions within the union in most cases.

I've watched OSHA inspectors doing a general random walk-thru visit a few times at a manufacturing plant I worked at for a couple of decades.

It was like they had no idea what they should be looking for.

Plant management was usually tipped off beforehand by other companies whenever OSHA was in town. They'd hide or shut down what they knew or believed they could be gigged for and slap some yellow paint on anything that might be passed off as a safety guard. Usually wind up with a few minor non-critical infractions, like 110 receptacles, fans, a pallet or something leaning where it might trip or fall over on someone and such stuff, mostly just to prove they were there, I suspect.

One time in 20+ years they got hit extra hard by OSHA inspectors. The reason that time was because a few very knowledgeable electricians and maintenance employees put together a lengthy technically detailed list of serious safety infractions and sent it to OSHA along with a note stating duplicate lists would be sent to appropriate authorities in government as well as news media. The OSHA inspectors that they sent out that time knew their chit, too.

The same company refused to even let OSHA inspectors inside their facility the next time they showed up a few years later.

And the union was locked on?

They fund the destruction of our country by Progressive Fascists, AKA Dems.

Never worked in a union.
I managed one plant, 20 employees that decertified.
I became president of a company late in my career. One of my plants went on strike, and essentially refused to negotiate. We replaced most of them. The plant became immensely more safe and efficient.
I could never work for a socialist organization, like a union.

I was n the carpenters union. I got vested for 3 weeks. On a Friday afternoon they said they have no more work for me. ( Thanks, 2:30 PM on a Friday) I got home and a message for me , the diggers will be there Monday to dig your basement for my house. I said I'll build my own house and got unemployment for 6 months. The house was almost done and I went self employed . Never looked back . Supposed to get $ 730 month when I turn 63. If I do I will be happy. I liked 2 of the 4 companies I worked union for . If I had chance I doubt I'd go back . Too much democrat cheerleading.