Re: UAW workers strike GM

It is curious how so many people are against unions yet all of the things

> they enjoy in the workplace today all came about when coal miners and auto > workers, who were being used and abused by employers, finally banded > together in unions. When I was young my dad and other members of my > family worked for 12 hours a day six days a week in a steel mill and > earned just enough to get by. Steel workers did not unionize until the > early forties. > Even today union plants are the safest place to work. Today most > employers offer just enough to keep their workers from joining unions. Me > thinks they think unions are no good because that is what they hear from > their employers. ;)

True False

Yes, years ago the unions helped make American a great place for the worker. They were needed. They brought about much needed reform.

Then things changed. Unions started to worry more about themselves than the workers they represented. I've seen this firsthand in negotiations and in meetings before the negotiations. I've seen the dealings and then the big show for the workers. The workers did not know the contract was "settled" at lunch weeks before and they were just used as sources of income from dues.

I've seen dues collected every month for years and not one penny paid out. I'd not give them a penny.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski
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Really? Do you think all of the union lawyers work pro bono or the union hall appeared out of thin air or it operates by magic? You give the government a lot more than the few hours pay that you pay in union dues, do you ever "see" a penny of that coming your way? LOL

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Yeah, this guy was no lawyer. He was the union negotiator and packed a pistol. He told us how much money they needed for the union and that is the only thing he had to take back. These guys never saw the union hall or a penny of benefits. The shop steward got a few bucks a month for his position but he made more on the side cleaning the office on the side..

Oh, I forgot to mention. ---- We paid the workers more that called for in the contract. Why? because the both deserved it and we had to be competitive with neighboring companies that wanted the same workers.

At least for every dollar I give the government in taxes I get maybe a nickel in benefits. That is more than these guys got from the union.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

If you are the average working man in the US you are in the 28% income tax bracket, union dues is a few hours pay a month, get real

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

With the new two tier pay setup to pay new folks about 1/2 of regulars (that should create a real morale problem) with the 2nd tier people pay

1/2 of regular dues-or are they stuck with full dues for 1/2 pay?
Reply to
Jim Higgins

If indeed they earn only your assumed "half as much," they will pay half as much in dues for the exact same coverage as those that pay more, for their representation that provides the union with it's only power and that is to require management to abide by the contract.

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Get real? The guys paid union dues. They got NOTHING in return. Where is the justice in that or the justification for it? They were just sources or revenue for the union leaders. No one ever collected a penny in benefits of any time from the time I started in 1970 to the time the company was sold and closed in 1981. Why should they work a few hours for some union official that does nothing for them? Screw that.

Go ahead, send in your dues. I'm not. Never did, never will. I've managed to find my way in life independently.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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