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Mike Wilson

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Been a While!!!



I still love and respect you all, but this G.M. thing (where I work) is taking

all of my attention, lately. I promise I will do whatever it takes to protect my

Union, and the way of life it provides me and my family, and to the many

others whose jobs and livelyhoods(?) depend on a good Union-Paying job!!!

I have read a few other post on this subject, just now, and I agree, in principal,

with some of them, and their author's viewpoints.

Let's all take care of our Families, respect our Country, and do what is right

by them...

Don't know what else to say right now other than Take Care!!!



I'll Be Back!!!

tracnblack...:)
 
Sorry to hear the problems you are having, and at a really bad time of year. However, I would like to point out that Unions don't protect your family or your way of life. The US Military does.
 
I see nowhere in that message that tracnblack said the Unions protect America.



Many benefits the American workforce enjoy were fought hard for by the Unions. Vacation time, Holiday pay, overtime pay, fair wages, etc. were fought for by hard working union men and women.



Good luck, my Union brother. Fight for what is right. Only you know what is best for your family.





Tom



Boilermakers, Local 900, Barberton, Ohio.
 
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I work in an open shop. The union here is so bad that only about 2 to 3 % of the work force are members. Often the members are misfits and troubble makers that only try to push the system to it's limits. I understand that or company as well as many others arnt the most careing or genorus of instutions and that if slavery were leagl that many of us would be out of a job. It's truely sad that it has become a clash between to power hungry greedy groups and no good will become from either. Yes some people do benifit from the unions as well as many benifit from corprate america but this is more of a example of the dog getting a good meal from the scraps falling off it's masters dinner table. I honestly feel that the unions driveing for higher and higher wages for unskilled factory jobs has helped to contriubte to moveing jobs over seas. Many of us (americans) have become use to the idea of entitlement. My daddy and his daddy worked for the company (with only a high school diploma at best) and lived the good life so I expect the same, they owe me. Companys are in bis. to make a profit and maximise that pontential, they are not a wellfair department. Gotta go to work.
 
Well said Walter.





I wish you good luck with the GM stuff though as I offer my prayers and support. I know that having a family member especially a head of house loose a good paying job really hurts (my dad did it three times in 5 years).



I have been a Union member and neither time did the union do anything good for me. All they did was breed distrust between management and labor, caused all sorts of financial headaches for the companies and protected those who should have been thrown out of the office or into jail in some cases.



The Unions did not protect me. They kept my wage high, which was thereby passed on to the customer.



There are two main reasons why Toyota, Hyundai and Mitsubishi are making money building cars here in the states that GM, Ford and Chrysler cannot do. #1 - They are not heavily unionized. Wages are still competative (or they wouldn't have a workforce) but the labor costs are half what GM's are. #2 - If the production of vehicles decline in quality, they can replace people easily or automate the operation without Union protest. All of the new facilities for the overseas car makers have almost double the automated abilities that the big three do, mainly becuase they don't have to keep a certain number of jobs per facility. At the rate things are going, the only human touch in assembling a car will be the initial drive off and the sale of the vehicle.



I'm sorry jobs are tightening, but the Unions don't have many places to point fingers at than themselves.
 
Unfortunately, unions have become to political in nature and we all know how politicians are in our country today.
 
I heard some interesting stats today about GM, and these are from memory but here goes:



- Avg GM employee hourly wage: $36



- Avg GM employee total wage + benefits annualized and hourly: $74



- # of "jobs" in the union job bank paid for by GM on a yearly basis (no work is done by anyone for these jobs): 1200



I don't know how true/accurate these are, but they were interesting to me.



Good luck TracNBlack.



TJR
 
And those folks laid off from the GM Plant here in Okla City get to keep collecting their full salary for a YEAR. Jeez, if I got laid off from my company, I'd only get a few weeks' severance pay, not an entire year.
 
I have been a union electrican for a long time and it has been good to me. But it is going to far when they garentee jobs and you draw pay when layed off and have to keep a job bank the construction end is not like that but we too now are pricing us out of work it is hard to compeet with the other shops. I hate anyone to loose jobs but GM is in big trouble with there costs and medical and Pen plans there is no way they can compete. I drive an american car (2005 sport trac) and love it but the Nissan is made here close to me and a lot of people work there and the Saturn plant is cutting back Hope they can change a little and keep it going a lot of my friends work there.

Good luck to all of the UAW members from an old IBEW member
 
It's sad when unskilled assembly line workers get better pay and benefits then teachers, firefighters or police. What's this world coming to?
 
It's sad when unskilled assembly line workers get better pay and benefits then teachers, firefighters or police. What's this world coming to?
Click to expand...



Could what do for a living be considered unskilled? Have you ever built cars? Do you know what it is like?



Heat, dangers of looking fingers and eyes, and any other hazzards we do know about, better yet can't even imagine?



Something to think about.



BTW, the police force, firefighters, and teachers also have a union. What is the problem? If union workers make too much, why are they "underpaid"?





Tom
 
I was a union member (UFCW) for about 8 years and all it ever did was make it impossible to get promoted unless the more senior members were promoted first. Most (not all) of the senior members were as worthless as crap and only had their jobs because of the union. Several of them were actually functionally illiterate as well.



The union tacked a note upon the bulletin board one day that stated: "Workers must leave premises IMMEDIATELY after clocking out". I tacked a note under it stating: "This is why the Japanese are kicking our butts." Sure enough, the next day I was called into an office with the union steward and berated for my "bad attitude".



My father is a retired union electrician (IBEW 881) and he only considered it good company to drink with (union meetings) and a way to get a week or two off when they went on strikes. Beyond that, it was just something he paid for. I should note, however, that he worked at the same power plant for about 35 years, then was forced into early retirement when the power company wanted to replace the older workers with cheaper, younger workers. The union didn't even voice a protest.
 
Give me a break Tom. Your telling me building cars is more dangerous then firefighting? And how much training is necessary to do this job? I have been a proud union member for over 20 years but our union is more concerned about staffing shortages and unsafe conditions then pay.

[Broken External Image]:
 
TomT,



I never said that. What I was simply commenting on is that we really do not know what it is like to do a different job, unless we do it ourselves.



I can not imagine what it would be like to walk into a burning house to save somebody's life. Until I have done it myself, I will try not to insinuate that one worker is "unskilled".



BTW, my union is more concerned about safe working conditions then they are about raises too. What is the rate of inflation? Our pay increases are only 3% for the life our contract. Not big money here.





Tom
 
I have a dangerous job too. Maybe we should unionize. Wait… it’s forbidden by law… thank goodness.



To piggyback on eledhel’s story… I got “in trouble” with a shop steward once. I put that in quotes because I was non-union and could’ve given a rat’s butt what he thought. I moved a trashcan in the break room of a military aircraft hangar (National Guard). Each doorway that lead out of the break room had a trashcan right beside it. The cans next to IP (Instructor Pilot) alley and the life support shop were always nearly empty. The one near the boiler room door was never used and the one going to the hangar area was always overflowing. I figured if people were too lazy to walk the 10 extra feet to an empty trashcan, I’d move the one by the boiler room over so they would have 2 at that doorway. I worked the swing shift and came in every night to find the trashcan moved back and trash overflowing once again onto the floor. After this scenario repeated itself many times I was informed that the shop steward was PO’d and that I needed union approval (Association Of Civilian Technicians – ACT) to move the trash can. It is a good thing that those workers had the union to stand up for their rights. What a CROCK!
 
I think it is the federal government that labels assembly line work as "unskilled". I saw a site a few months ago that explained the workforce like this:



1970 Occupations

70% unskilled

20% skilled

10% managerial/professional



2000 Occupations

20% unskilled

70% skilled

10% managerial/professional
 

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