Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Unions down to about 12% of the workforce

Nobody can find good help and for that reason,these ARE the Good Old Days.

A guy with gumption and a shred of smarts,can go wherever he wishes and be greedily reeled into the fold.....................

yeah,... he'll get reeled in aw-ite,.....

If I need more help on a job, I call the union hall and they send me a Journeyman plumber. If the plumber the hall sends me is a good hand then I will keep him as long as I need to. If he isnt worth crap as some of the guys arent, then I lay him off and make another call to the hall.

Jamie

I don't live in a union town nor am I easily impressed.The company that signs my check and the union that represents our membership have jelled into a orginization that makes a good product.Sounds like you have second hand info coming from your friends.Which unions have you worked with and why did you leave?

There's more good work readily available now,than ever before. Benefit packages have improved,conditions have improved and all is ripe for the picking.

My kids futures are paved with gold...................

My pride wouldn't allow me,to boot up for a Union.................

I'll have some of what this guy is smokin',....

Amazing the opportunities that abound,if you are willing to get off your ass and work.

Give it a whirl.

I'm gonna work on catching a Steelhead....................

[quote

I wasn't picking on you bushy! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I just think the system could benefit from a little updating! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> Now I do realize I get to pick my insurance company! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> [/quote]
Forgot to mention that insurance hourly rates paid to shops are artificially low as compared to mechanic shops. Our shop labour rate is only $55.00 hour while mechanic shop rates in this area are slightly over $100.00 per hour. The average autobody tech gets $22-$25 bucks an hour with no time and a half for the hours gained over the hours he works. mechanic are getting paid $30-$45 hour. So in a sense the insurance companies keep the shareholders happy cause the hourly rate they pay appears low, they can throw extra hours at a job to keep the shops and techs happy. Also in an area like this where there is an extreme shortage of labourers, we cannot accomidate all the jobs, the insurance companies will try to outbid the other companies in an effort to get their claimes fixed and have the customers back in their vehicles. Some companies will have their customers without their car for months while they try to find somebody to fix their vehicle at cut rates.

I gotta go load some shells and spend a few hours at the range this afternoon, it's only -5, we don't get many warm days like this.

Bitch whine and cry instead of geeting of your arse and doing what it takes, the classic union ethic.

I take that as a no.But yer a friggin' expert on them.

I totaly agree that a good hand is going to work steady, union or not. As a plumber around here the union employers and jobs are better.

Jamie

I'm off today,... but thanks for the suggestion.

By the way,.. I've been doing "what it takes" for quite some time now,... fairly successfully, I might add.

I totally agree with Stick, and will happily ad that it has NEVER been easier to get better education than it is today! When I was working on my undergraduate degree, I never dreamed there would be night/weekend graduate programs (of quality) that would not require you to put your life on hold for 2 years to complete..................Anyone can change their life if they actually desire to.......

I could not fathom looking my wife and kids in the face if I relied on someone else to bargain wages/benefit's etc.........

I am off most every day and have been doing what it takes from the beginning, not for some time. I can see things for what they are an how to achive them with out paying someone to me backup and sniveling.

So what was the incident that made you decide to become a lazy ass?

No doubt the A bombs were destructive in the extreme, but there would have been far more dead had we invaded rather than use the bomb. There were more people killed in the "conventional" battle to liberate Manila than there were at Nagasaki or Hiroshima.

When I first spotted this thread (days ago) I decided to ignore it. I figured much the same as the anti-LEO threads, it would be the same people bashing unions who just can�t get enough of it, almost to an obsession with the unions. The same people who really believe that unions are at fault for jobs going over seas.
The fact that many employers now ignore Mexico (as being too expensive), instead opting to move half way around the world instead of a thousand miles to the south, where they can pay $10 per day; is some how the fault of the unions?

I wonder if anyone even knows how many of these companies that moved off shore were even union�if they weren�t, what would you then attribute the move to? When you figure that out, then ask why a union shop would have different motives for laying off and moving off shore.

People like to point to Europe as a snapshot to those who won�t wise up to the spread of Muslims through out the continent, well I�ll then point to Mexico and ask you what happened to the Mexican middle class, and why wouldn�t you think it could happen here if we continue down the same path?

Almost everyone on this board believes the U.S government is easing down the road to corruption, but then give that same government the benefit of the doubt when they create laws and tax breaks for those who stuff their pockets full of contributions.

Many tout the economy as being healthy, well how is it that home sales are down? I work in construction & I made 10K less in �06, than in �05. My gas bill, fuel bill, grocery bill all rose sharply. I�ll grant you my 401K did pretty well, life is good for the stock market, but as far as living in the current, there are no new Remingtons or Rugers in my near future.

Somebody shamed the unions for trying to organize the illegals, well WTF do you expect? that is the workforce! The government doesn�t do a damn thing to stop it, what choice do the unions have here? Let the illegal continue to drive down worker wages, or play the same game the government & business is in.

It appears that the illegal is here to stay no? Then why would I want him out there working for half my wage? The day the U.S government gets serious about stopping the flood of cheap labor, is the same day I�ll be concerned about the unions trying to organize them. Business takes advantage of a corrupt U.S government that allows the flood of cheap labor, but then we slam the unions who at first fought illegal immigration, but now have adapted to the corruption?
I guess some would rather the blue collar in this country just bend over and accept it it like...........sheeple, maybe?

When the post count on this thread raised up to nine pages I begin to think that this thread might be some what different, so I looked in�here we are�somebody pass me the popcorn.

Lots of strong opinions on the union- non union issue. I work in a union shop (millwright) as stated earlier in this thread. I have worked steady since 1971 in both union non union shops.
so if 36yrs of obsevation is worth anything here goes. there are good non union employeers but they are not that common, the law of the land only loosely holds them in check, safety, enviroment, worker respect can be real bad bosses relatives get the best kick at the jobs and alot of the time you will be carrying there load, you have to suck hole to get holidays, you have to endure the rightous all powerfull owner/ supervisor, these are worse case but there is a bit of this in all of them. The union situation has a much better safety record things are done right the employeer is monitored at all times to operate within the law of the land and mutually agreed contract, they like this as the union does much of there work for them in that respect. I and my work mates are repected in our workplace, by deed and by position( mr supervisor when you talk to me you talk to all of us), I don't have to suck hole to get what is mine , the rules are clearly known and documented. We have a good working relationship with our employeer although its a constant battle to keep each other on the straight and narrow. What is trouble some is that some on this thread have such strong feelings against, one or the other. We do not heckle non union contractors on our site these guys have to provide for their families as I do, its just that their situation is not as good. Because, of my work in support of production facility slip shod work is not tolerated by the employeer , my work mates or by me, we have to live with this rpoduction monster the contractors come and go. If you want to "improve yourself" I have not noticed a lock on the door. One other thing my employeer is in the process of chain link and razor wire on the perimeter of the property, we ask whats that about, we ship product to USA and are told we must be secure because osama might slip something into the mix. Is your government putting y'all on lock down? No fun living in fear, the sand ***** has you all out of joint.

Semi retirement, early.